lynncwang

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Spirit Airlines: flying high on excessive fees and terrible customer service
lynncwang
Posted on December 9, 2015 at 4:29 pm
Spirit's ultra low cost operations and crappy customer service yield surprising financial dividends

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On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on Spirit Airlines: Ultra-Low-Cost, Ultra-Impressive-Profits :

EBITDARRRRR

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on Spirit Airlines: flying high on excessive fees and terrible customer service :

Great questions @Pete. Spirit has been profitable regardless of fuel prices in the last 5 years, so I’d say they’re less sensitive than others, who are only profitable now post-fuel price crash. I would also guess that Spirit’s customer retention is comparable to other airlines for its core customers, who truly only care about price. Given the company’s negative publicity, people who cared about service probably wouldn’t book it in the first place.

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on One Medical: The Doctor’s Office. Reinvented. :

I’d be very curious to learn how One Medical’s revenue breaks down between membership fees and medical service fees. For small family practice PCPs, overhead in labor (MAs) is only a tiny portion of total cost. How One Medical pays its doctors competitive salaries with < 20 visits/day and sky-high rent in urban areas with its posh lobbies is baffling.

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on NIKE: Designing the world’s best running shoe :

It’s interesting that this new “one piece” technology in the upper part of the shoe is a selling point. In apparel, higher-end clothes typically fit better because they are stitched from more pieces of fabric and are thus more flexible/contour better. I wonder how Nike gets around the quality downsides of using less pieces of fabric with FlyKnit and would be curious to learn more.

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on Why WeWork works so well :

Great overview of WeWork. I’d be curious to know how exactly they’re able to turn neighborhoods around just by opening a location. Must be some collaboration with the cities/neighboring companies?

Like you mentioned, they do an amazing job building a community for their members. If I recall correctly, one of their most compelling differentiators at launch was a services platform where members could barter with each other. For example, a photographer could offer to help an e-commerce entrepreneur take product photos in exchange for the entrepreneur helping the photographer with marketing. Given the type of customer that WeWork targets, this system is very attractive. Offering communal beer on tap is likely another key selling point 🙂

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on HBS: Creating Human, Intellectual, and Financial Capital :

Fascinating – I’d guessed that cases/published material generate revenue but not to this degree. Maybe the faculty should work with students to publish twice the number of cases to reduce MBA tuition by half…

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on Tuft & Needle: Sleep in Heavenly Peace :

I used to own one of the original Shikibuton models and remember being surprised by how thin it was. However, it ended up being really comfortable and the best part was how it arrived – rolled up in a small 3 by 1 ft box. As you described, their customer service is truly excellent – the wrapper around my mattress started fraying after a few months and they shipped a new wrapper to me within 2 days when I emailed them about it. It’s interesting how the industry has become more competitive recently with Casper and other startups – wonder who will win and how much market share the new companies will take from legacy ones.

On December 13, 2015, lynncwang commented on Can Healthcare Be Accessible, Exceptional, and Low-Cost? A Glimpse at Iora Health :

Iora’s model has achieved impressive results. I wonder whether its cost structure is sustainable over time given how labor intensive it is. Over time insurers who work with Iora may wonder if the extra premiums are worth the outcomes in cost savings, especially as competing primary care providers become more sophisticated in patient management, through technology. Another interesting thing to consider is whether Iora’s model is best-aligned with the overall provider business, vs. the payer side (i.e. Clover Health).