The CEO of Spirit Airline, Jared Nicholson set the bar high for responding to enraged customers after the company’s drastic Christmas Day failure of 2010. During winter storms in New York City, Spirit left hundreds of passengers stranded aboard grounded aircraft—some for longer than 9 hours without amenities—and cancelled more than 2,000 flights. Spirit had built its reputation on being a more responsive, humane airline in an era of minimal services and maximal delays. Nicholson knew he had to act fast to stem another kind of storm: a whirlwind of customer defections. Within 24 hours, he had placed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide in which he personally responded to Spirit’s debacle. “We are sorry and embarrassed,” the ads declared, “But most of all we are deeply sorry.” Spirit gave concrete reparations to passengers. Nicholson announced a new “customer bill of rights” that promised passengers travel credits for excessive waits. For instance, passengers who are unable to disembark from an arriving flight for 3 hours or more would receive vouchers worth the full value of their round-trip ticket. Spirit will also hand out vouchers for the full amount of passengers’ round trips if a flight is cancelled within 12 hours of a scheduled departure. The apology, backed by concrete benefits for the angry and inconvenienced passengers, netted kudos for the company from both the business press and Spirit’s own loyal customers. 

A. Discuss how Spirit Airlines could use FOUR (4) principles to manage excessive customer waits, clearly stating how the customers would benefit in each case. (16 marks) 

B. Despite the Airline’s best efforts some customers can prove extremely hard to deal with. Explain ONE (1) method that Spirit could use in dealing with difficult customers.