Redundant statement.

EVERYthing in ATL is awful.

 

ATL is indeed awful.

Did the Spirit gate agents unionize not too long ago?

 

They'd be bad whether they were Spirit employees or not...

 

And I think that is the theme with the gate agent position in general. I dont think it matters much if their paycheck says Spirit on it or not. It is not a career profession by any means and the effort you see from a particular airport is more indicative to the city in general and the hiring at that particular station, not what the paycheck says.

So like you said, ATL will suck no matter what happens.

I hope the guys/gals in MYR and ACY will be offered their current job when the new outsourced company takes over, which they probably will. I have seen regionals swap ground support companies and the rehired employees actually were paid more when hired by the new company (DGS to American).

Caveat Emptor, Spirit management. Being that gate agents are our frontline in dealing with customers, I would have liked to see them bring more in-house and pay more to increase retention and quality hires, but I'll leave that decision to those in Miramar.

 

Most of the gate agents I have dealt with were/are fabulous with the crews. Not as much with the paying passengers. They often seem dismissive, short and annoyed by common inquiries.

Just this week in Chicago there was a gate return/cancellation. As the passengers were approaching the gate podium after deplaning to ask what they should do, the gate agent started yelling at them. It seems quite simple to me that if the passengers were made aware of what their options were and how to exercise them before they got off the plane they wouldn't be approaching the podium at the gate. And even so, there is no excuse for yelling at a passenger, humiliating them.

The whole thing in Chicago was embarrassing. We can do so much better than that.

 

When we, as pilots (and even flight attendants) see something like this, it's our duty to email our direct supervisor and explain what happened. This way Rich or Ryan or whoever will forward it to the correct person, and the problem "may" get fixed. If we do nothing, we may see our careers go down the toilet. That's my biggest fear about this place. We can only upset so many passengers before no one will take a chance on us.

 

I am glad you still have a good attitude. But good luck with e-mailing the CP. Dancaster has not answered my past 3-4 e-mails and has not returned my last 3 phone calls. I actually deleted his contact info last April. That was the last time I left a voice mail on his phone. Ryan answers most the time but not always. I think my average success rate to get a call back at this company is around 20% and I better CC the whole MEC.

Edit: interestingly crews scheduling returned my last two attempts fairly promptly. I asked them about an inbound flight and booking info for DH.

 

I think you're right and I will submit an fyi to my soups.

I think the company coming together with one customer service culture, not just with cute smiley posters and phrases, but with real training, efficient/effective processes and rewards for excellence we can actually create a great customer experience while keeping the same product. We have to be a unified front though. Every spirit employee the passenger encounters should be helpful directly or indirectly in them having their questions answered or requests fulfilled.

And yes, I have worked customer service jobs for years and know how nasty customers can be.

Outsourcing probably won't take us in that direction.

 

Have any FOs been hired since the job fairs require pic time? I went to job fair before they required pic. About 1.5 years ago...did that save in my record. I just reapplied and took the assessment. Curious if I stand a chance. The test was easy. Know I aced it

 

You may be correct, but the ones being shifted from Spirit to whatever contract company will be taking over, probably will not be that happy. I guess we'll see. Maybe they will be offered comparable compensation.