Transforming Guest Care Through AI-Powered Simulation

Spirit Airlines is well known for affordable options for travelers. Known for its low fares and expansive network across the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean, Spirit is deeply committed to delivering exceptional service at every touchpoint. At the heart of this commitment is the Guest Care team- always ready to support Guests at every step of their journey. To elevate the Guest experience even further, Spirit transformed its agent training approach by partnering with Bright (now Zenarate) leveraging AI-powered conversation simulations. These lifelike practice scenarios empower agents to confidently handle even the most complex calls before ever speaking with a Guest, ensuring every interaction reflects Spirit’s commitment to delivering exceptional Guest service.

• Key Results 
  • Substantial revenue pre-interaction boost– Revenue per call (RPC) increased for voice agents and chat agents
  • Faster time to proficiency– Agents displayed faster times to proficiency with tools during nesting periods
  • Consistent training standards– Standardized competency scoring across contact centers
  • Confident agents– Guest Care agents reported feeling better prepared and to handle more complex scenarios when they start taking real calls

About Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines lives by their mission to provide “easy, affordable options to connect with the people and places that matter most” while staying true to being “the Best Value in the Sky.” A critical component of this mission is delivering an exceptional Guest experience through Spirit’s Guest Care team, which covers new bookings, flight changes, complaints, and special service requests.

With a global footprint spanning seven contact centers and a team of dedicated agents, Spirit’s Guest Care team handles Guest-support requests coming in from phone calls and live chats to social media and emails. Wanting to improve Guest experience and bring additional value to the company, the headquarters Guest Care Training team sought a smarter, more scalable approach to training—one that would deliver measurable value while keeping costs in check.

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“We were doing role plays where scenarios would be given to agents in groups of two and they would switch back and forth playing Guest and agent. This was a struggle for trainers to monitor and reporting was difficult.”

[Spirit Logo]

Kait Collins

Specialist, Knowledge Management & Curriculum Development at Spirit Airlines

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Inconsistent Practice and Limited Real-World Readiness

The Guest Care headquarters training team conducted a curriculum-wide gap analysis and determined that while agents were well-versed in policy and procedures, they had limited opportunities to practice real-world conversations before engaging with Guests. This gap made it difficult to build confidence and consistency across interactions.

Hard-to-Scale Role-Play Sessions

The traditional agent-to-agent role plays were tough to monitor, especially in virtual classes. With one to two trainers paired up and trying to keep tabs on 15-20 agents—and switching between playing Guest and agent roles—it was time consuming and hard to keep up.

“We were doing role plays where scenarios would be given to agents in groups of two and they would switch back and forth playing Guest and agent,” explains Kait Collins, Specialist, Knowledge Management & Curriculum Development at Spirit Airlines. “This was a struggle for trainers to monitor and reporting was difficult.”

Dated Training Environments

Within training, agents were facing challenges with having to use system environments that didn’t match what they would actually use on Guest calls and chats. Even before that, getting everyone logged in was proving difficult for both trainers and agents.

Certification Scoring Inconsistencies

With multiple training programs going on across the enterprise, the Guest Care headquarters (HDQ) team were finding inconsistencies across certification scoring and limited visibility into why certain scores were given.

Confidence Gaps in Early Calls

Due to the lack of practical application in training, agent confidence only started to ramp up during nesting when a trainer would join initial calls to lend assistance if needed. This meant longer handle times and agents needing extended periods of support from trainers.

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“What really confirmed our decision was the conversation builders, the overall real-life practice, and the ability to replace our practical assessment.”

[Spirit Logo]

Kait Collins

Specialist, Knowledge Management & Curriculum Development at Spirit Airlines

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Finding the Right Fit for Scalable, Realistic Training

Spirit was seeking opportunities to enhance Guest Care training and deliver a consistent training experience.  They weren’t looking for just any training platform, they needed one that could support their specific needs and provide trainers and agents with one that was scalable and flexible.

Their ideal solution needed:

• Realistic practice that felt like actual Guest conversations
• Solid reporting with detailed performance analytics
• Confidence-building opportunities through safe practice spaces
• Scalable assessments that worked across all their contact centers

Why Zenarate: Realistic Simulations, Measurable Coaching, Faster Readiness

During their evaluation, several things differentiated Zenarate. The AI-powered conversation builders offered the most realistic practice available. Agents could have actual conversations with AI instead of following formal scripts. The platform’s software simulations solved training environment issues by providing accurate simulations that matched Spirit’s current system.

But what convinced them to choose Zenarate was its detailed reporting capabilities on everything from policy adherence to soft skills like tone and upselling.

“What really confirmed our decision is the conversation builders, the overall real-life practice, and the ability to replace our practical assessment,” said Collins.

[QUOTE]

“Having the Zenarate team really support us through the implementation process and provide us with that initial build made all the difference. We were only required to be SMEs on our own processes.”

[Spirit Logo]

Kait Collins

Specialist, Knowledge Management & Curriculum Development at Spirit Airlines

[END QUOTE]

Rolling It Out

The implementation started with new voice agents at two contact centers, with Zenarate’s team providing hands-on support through the build process. After the initial pilot showed great results, Spirit rolled it out across all contact centers for both voice and chat agents.

“Having the Zenarate team really support us through the implementation process and provide us with that initial build made all the difference,” Collins explains. “We were only required to be SMEs on our own processes.”

Higher Revenue, Faster Proficiency, and Confident Agents

The transformation Spirit achieved through Zenarate’s platform improved key metrics in areas such as revenue, agent confidence and time to productivity, Guest satisfaction (GSAT) scores, and first call resolution (FCR). These results show the real business value of AI training tools.

In addition, Spirit improved GSAT and FCR scores – even during a period of rapid strategic change that required major updates to training materials to support new company policies.

Effective Training

The new training experience has changed how Spirit’s agents develop skills and confidence. Agents now get personalized feedback from both AI systems and trainers, with detailed insights into specific improvement areas. And the realistic practice environment lets agents practice complex scenarios over and over in a controlled space before talking to real Guests, building both competence and confidence. This gave trainers more control over class success through better coaching capabilities and comprehensive reporting.

Smooth Operations

Since implementing Zenarate, the team has found agents don’t require as much support during nesting, with trainers reporting that new hires show up on the floor better prepared and more confident. The AI-powered assessments have eliminated scoring inconsistencies across multiple sites and trainers, giving them standards that HDQ could track and control. This has helped improve training quality while cutting down on extra work for trainers who used to spend hours on manual assessments.

Expanding Generative AI Training and Continuous Improvement

Spirit Airlines has plans to continue expanding their use of Zenarate’s platform. The team is moving toward generative AI simulations, which will provide even more realistic and varied practice scenarios.

Bringing continued value to the company, Spirit is excited about using Zenarate to improve its refresher training. The results they’ve already achieved in revenue per call show the platform’s potential for driving even bigger business impact as they continue refining and expanding their training programs.

Spirit’s Experience with Zenarate

Spirit Airlines has and continues to transform their training approach, achieving significant improvements in revenue generation, operational efficiency, and agent confidence through Zenarate’s AI-powered learning and performance platform.