Make password recovery easy! 5 ways Spirit Airlines could improve their experience

Forget your password?

It may is fairly basic functionality on most sites and apps that require membership, but it is one of the most important features available. We all have dozens of passwords that we need to remember daily - many are variations upon one or two. And its hard to remember which one you used where. Most people forget their passwords at one time or another. I constantly forget. This feature is my best friend.

I flew on Spirit Airlines Sunday. And because of the nature of Spirit, I really wanted to check-in online Saturday night and avoid a number of fees. However, I forgot my account password.

I thought: Have no fear, password assistance is here!

So I clicked on the "Forget your password?" link, entered my email address, and then got a pop up window/layer thing I needed to click again -- a two-step process. Why would anyone do this? Jef Raskin would turn over in his grave to see this. So unnecessary.

Did you see the message on the screen - Wait up to 30 minutes for an email?

Up to 30 minutes to change your password?

A question to the developers: why could it take that long to generate such an email?

 

Anyway, I got frustrated and called support to see if I could maybe make some headway there with my password issues. I only called to get a recording and hear that it could take up to an hour for the email.

An hour? Seriously?

So I stopped trying to get a new password on Saturday night, and therefore stopped trying to check into my flight for Sunday. I figured I would try again on Sunday morning when my patience was refreshed.

Sunday morning I got a bunch of emails from Spirit to change my password, none of those passwords worked, so I tried the "Forgot your password" 2-step business and I got an email in 3 minutes this time. Awesome!

I used the password and got to a screen where I could enter a new password - awesome!

I tried entering an all text password (there are no password rules or any indicator that the password needs to be secure), and unfortunately, I had a typo in one of my entered passwords. This is where the infinite loop started and I got massively confused. I saw this screen as my error message: 

How did I get here from where I was? A mystery!

So I used the password that I knew got me to the next screen and tried again. And again. And again. I went in this infinite loop, until I tried a password that come to find out was what I used previously and then got this:

ACK!

This is no longer security - this is just pure madness! Give me instructions for what makes a good password and stop making me guess already! 

I finally got out of the infinite loop and could carry on with my life. I doubt that account will be dusted off and used any time soon after this experience.

 

5 lessons from Spirit's site:

• A user should receive a password retrieval email in 5 minutes or less. There is no excuse for a system to take 30 minutes to auto-generate an email. 

• Provide password guidance. Sites that don't do this frustrate their users and they will go away. There is no harm in including an error message or a line of instruction to let the user know what is expected. A rule is a rule - and we all want to uphold good security. But when you don't tell us, it becomes a game of trial and error - and no one has time for that.

• Put error messages on the screen where the error is. (I know, basic, but need to say it.) Error messages should be near the error, otherwise, the user will get confused and not understand what he did wrong.

• Infinite loop scenarios are discouraging and confusing. Guide the user to complete the task. The system's structure shouldn't be first priority. Users are giving you money to use a product/service - their needs should be first. Systems don't pay the bills (last I checked, they created them.).

• Pressing the return/enter key should have the same function as selecting the submit button on a form. (Another basic principle.) This is pretty standard, but for those of us still on keyboards, we don't switch between taps/mouse clicks and the keyboard unless needed. An enter key should do the trick if a user is filling out a form (tab between fields and enter/return to submit the form). The desktop system isn't dead yet - and won't be for a while - so designing purely for taps and mobile isn't a wise choice.

 

 

 

Comments

[MMM]

It's June 2023 and I am having this exact problem; password reset loop. I don't understand why this isn't resolved SPIRIT!!! The chat needs to have a tech support button for exactly this kind of issue. FRUSTRATING!!

[Mary Brodie]

I emailled them to fix it and sent them this post a couple of times. All I heard was crickets. That tells you everything you need to know about Spirit Airlines.

[[email protected]]

WOW... 2020 and STILL having this issue!? WHY DON'T THEY FIX IT!
I'm about to go with another airline SIMPLY because of THIS.

[Ersin]

I couldnt get an account just because of their password policy. I used MaOS's preferred strong password, but still didn't accept it. %100 there is a problem on the site.

[Dillion Harris]

This is ridiculous. It's 2019 and Spirit still cannot streamline the password resetting process. I've spend 5 days on this and no progress. Solution: try southwest.

[Mary]

I feel bad. I wish I could help. When I sent this blog post and comments to them, there were crickets. And then an email to say they would send to the right people. And crickets. I wish I had more helpful information. I'd try calling them direct. That may help.

[Kathy]

Was anyone successful in getting their password reset? I’ve been trying for 4 days now and nothing. If anyone has a contact or advice for actually getting the password reset please help! I am so frustrated and am getting absolutely no where with spirit.

[Mary Brodie]

I'm so sorry to those that continue to experience these issues. Such a shame, especially in today's online world.

As an update...I did send this blog post and its comments to Spirit Airlines and told them they may want to look into this issue.

I did get a response. They have forwarded this to their online development team. I offered my services to help (of course, right :) that's my job :) ). I haven't heard back. But from what I know, a handful of people in Spirit are aware of the issue, the comments, and how it is a problem. Not sure if they will take action....

[anna]

June 2018 and I’m having the same problems!!!I’ve been battling with this for 2 days now!!!Ticket price been go up 300%!!!!!

[Catherine barnes]

It’s 2018 and I’m having the same problems!!! I can’t login into my account, I’m not getting emails and on top of that my flight was delayed over 6 hours and they promised us a voucher and now they are saying they don’t see anything about a voucher!!!! I paid the $59 to become a $9 member and now I can’t login into my account!! I’ve been battling with this fir 3 days now!!!!

[Viktoria]

Hi,

this is soooo funny- same problem 4 years after...
i dont even get a new password :(

[Tom Shepardson]

Running into the same thing. Tried a reset multiple times in the past 2 days and have yet to receive a password reset e-mail. Thanks for posting this!

[MARCY DESMARAIS]

Im having same issue. Have miles to use and can't get in and not receiving an email. My miles are due to expire.

[Mary]

Ugh! So sorry, Gail! That's more than frustrating. If their online experience was great, it would make traveling with them an entirely different experience.

[Gail]

Every time I go to spirit airlines to login they tell me my password is invalid! I fly every month. This is totally frustrating. I'm a $9 cob member that can't get into my account! UGH!!! I have a lot of miles I can't use because they won't let me into my account. Been good no on for 4 years! Please help. Can not reset password no matte what I do.

[jake]

me too... wtf why is it like this

[Mary]

Hi Jeff! I'm glad the article is helpful. And in software, Web sites, etc - it's never the user's fault. It's the system - the product managers, the UX designers, the programmers - they should include cusotmers in testing to understand their perspective. So yeah, totally not you - and never you :)

[jeff harms]

Thanks so much for posting this so we all don't feel like we're nuts. It's them. Not us.

[jeff harms]

Yeah, three years later. They still haven't fixed the problem. It's no big secret that Spirit Airlines totally, in every category, sucks.

[Josh]

It is July 2017 and I am a software developer waiting for my wife to receive an email from Spirit so we can spend hundreds of dollars on them to book a flight.

It's been 20 minutes so far. This is unheard of and I can only think that they do this for incentive.

[Passed off in same situation]

This is obviously intentional. They prevent you from on line check in do that you have to pay $10. Plus bag fees. What possible financial incentive would they have to fix that?? They clearly agent interested in customer retention since there are unlimited customers in line to get their "cheap" fares that they can nickel and dime and also screw around. Class action lawsuit anyone?pretty sure intention to screw the customer could be prived during discovery.

[Mary Brodie]

Chris - you are making me wonder if I should approach Spirit to get them to fix it....I can't believe it's still a problem. I bet they don't even realize how bad it is and how customers walk away from their madness....

[chris]

I am having the same experience.....nearly two years after you post.
Am not able to book my ticket online. It's pathetic!

[pp]

shame shame

[W]

This is exactly what I'm facing tonight...Get it together, spirit. >:(