Jay Peak bombshell

oldtimer · Dec 11, 2015

Steve Wright is my hero::
1) the Saratoga hockey reply was priceless. All to infrequently do those of us in the service industry say what is on our minds. We all know that team, that parent and the attitude. Good for Steve, Jay and all those involved.

2) while I am personally sad his tenure as GM at Burke lasted less than half life of a cold Corona at quitting time, I admire him for takjng a "no thank you" stance when certain irrefutable facts became clear.

3) I admire his directness about snow and weather conditions-

thank you Steve

mbedle said:
Sorry about the bump, and maybe this has already been mentioned. Have any of you ever read Steve Wright's responses to bad TripAdvisor reviews on Jay Peak Resort. Holly shit, this guy is a legend for calling bullshit!!!!

Whiteout · Dec 11, 2015

pearlybakerbest, Manager at Jay Peak Resort, responded to this review, 3 weeks ago
Thanks for your review and single star, shining like a beacon.

While 99% of our hockey teams, kids and parents are able to play well and get along with others, alas, there are those pesky 1 percenters. In this case, witness the midgets of Saratoga. They took it upon themselves to litter the hallways with de facto picnics, bands of roaming children who were set free on the resort like packs of scattered walkers, who not only harassed other guests but took it upon themselves to remind one scared guest, 'we're hockey kids, we can do what we want.' and, in general, treated the resort and its staff like they could do whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted to do it. In short, we don't roll it out that way up here. We're glad you enjoyed the hockey and, you're right, it is great. And were we in a position to recommend your team as having the ability to comport itself like normal adults, we too would be unable. In short, you won't be welcomed back.

Best personal regards and every luck to whomsoever has their door darkened by y'all next.

Steve Wright
Jay Peak

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ak_Resort-Jay_Northeast_Kingdom_Vermont.html#

deadheadskier · Dec 11, 2015

Awesome! I wish more businesses responded in a such ways when the customer is wrong

mbedle · Dec 11, 2015

My hat is off to him. It is really nice to see a little bit of push back from companies on bogus bad reviews. Plus, Steve has the magic tongue on responses.

deadheadskier · Dec 11, 2015

I worked for Marriott for quite some time. They were pussies and would never respond like that. They'd cave and send a gift certificate. That's probably the number one reason why people go on their social media smear campaigns; to get free stuff.

thetrailboss · Dec 11, 2015

deadheadskier said:
I worked for Marriott for quite some time. They were pussies and would never respond like that. They'd cave and send a gift certificate. That's probably the number one reason why people go on their social media smear campaigns; to get free stuff.

Don't laugh. A lot of folks do. Their negative behavior is being negatively reinforced.

WWF-VT · Dec 11, 2015

Whiteout said:
pearlybakerbest, Manager at Jay Peak Resort, responded to this review, 3 weeks ago
Thanks for your review and single star, shining like a beacon.

While 99% of our hockey teams, kids and parents are able to play well and get along with others, alas, there are those pesky 1 percenters. In this case, witness the midgets of Saratoga. They took it upon themselves to litter the hallways with de facto picnics, bands of roaming children who were set free on the resort like packs of scattered walkers, who not only harassed other guests but took it upon themselves to remind one scared guest, 'we're hockey kids, we can do what we want.' and, in general, treated the resort and its staff like they could do whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted to do it. In short, we don't roll it out that way up here. We're glad you enjoyed the hockey and, you're right, it is great. And were we in a position to recommend your team as having the ability to comport itself like normal adults, we too would be unable. In short, you won't be welcomed back.

Best personal regards and every luck to whomsoever has their door darkened by y'all next.

Steve Wright
Jay Peak

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ak_Resort-Jay_Northeast_Kingdom_Vermont.html#

You have to appreciate Steve Wright' s Grateful Dead link with the "pearlybakerbest" name on TripAdvisor.

deadheadskier · Dec 11, 2015

Love it.

BenedictGomez · Dec 11, 2015

deadheadskier said:
I worked for Marriott for quite some time. They were pussies and would never respond like that. They'd cave and send a gift certificate. That's probably the number one reason why people go on their social media smear campaigns; to get free stuff.

I think it's probably #2, behind genuine, sincere, annoyance.

Though I disagree on the rest - snarky replies might seem "cool", I get it, but there are more marketing studies on this than can be contained in a library, and generally speaking, it's not a smart customer strategy.

deadheadskier · Dec 11, 2015

No, free stuff is definitely number one. I no longer work for Marriott, but now spend two nights a week in their hotels. Out of the 80+ nights I've stayed in a Marriott since 1/1/15, I've registered a complaint about five times for various reasons; mostly the room not being ready at 4PM when I arrive.

As a customer it's been a canned response of "sorry, here's 5K Marriott points". As a former manager with the company I was instructed to write/offer those same canned responses.

I suppose I could be a jerk and complain every stay knowing the canned 5k point response, but that's not fair to the business.

Please share the marketing studies proving the snarky response to social media shaming negatively affects someone's business. I don't believe you. Sounds like an opp ed piece to me.

VTKilarney · Dec 12, 2015

It may be the primary reason to complain directly to the hotel, but is it really the primary reason to complain anonymously on Tripadvisor? That seems much harder to believe.

.

56fish · Dec 12, 2015

deadheadskier said:
Please share the marketing studies proving the snarky response to social media shaming negatively affects someone's business. I don't believe you. Sounds like an opp ed piece to me.

+1

Two employees at JPR, both unfamiliar w/ this forum and, each other confirmed the absolutely terrible behavior of the guests previously discussed. The customer is most definitely not always right. Some have absolutely no class or character - their thoughts are generally dismissed by most. Their opinions carry very little weight.

BenedictGomez · Dec 13, 2015

56fish said:
The customer is most definitely not always right. Some have absolutely no class or character - their thoughts are generally dismissed by most.

Everything you said is correct.

But the customer should still be treated (if at all possible and assuming it's not a really exceptional case) as if they ARE correct, even if they are not correct. Acquiring customers is extremely expensive, and false witness while always unfair is incredibly damaging.

Which is why, while DHS thinks Marriott International are morons, they're actually smart. They apparently employ the "bite your tongue" philosophy. There's a reason some companies go bankrupt, while others become ~$20 Billion dollar multi-national publicly traded conglomerates. I get why they hand out those points like candy, even when they know it's 100% BS.

And I'm not sure how this is shaking out in the new world of "instantaneous reviews and feedback" but I imagine it might be getting even worse. Unfair Yelp reviews, for instance, has been cited for unfairly causing major harm to businesses, and lawsuits are growing common. There have even been (non-inexpensive) lawsuits! I'd be fibbing if I said my $$ decision hasnt been swayed a few times by some negative reviews, be it a service role, a restaurant, or other, etc...

Smellytele · Dec 13, 2015

Thinking about this from other customer's prospectives, if I was there and had to experience other customer behaving this way and management doing nothing about I would pissed even more.
Other have said negative reviews sway where they spend their money. While I agree I take some of the negative reviews as crying spoiled brats. I tend to take the ones about the product a little more serious then about the service and "rudeness" of the staff.

Whiteout · Dec 13, 2015

If I go to Jay, it's not to be in the hotel. I'd be out in the woods anyway.

BenedictGomez · Dec 13, 2015

Whiteout said:
If I go to Jay, it's not to be in the hotel. I'd be out in the woods anyway.

I think almost everyone on this board would agree. I'm just getting a little nervous as to when that might be in 2016.

jaybird · Dec 13, 2015

Hockey Families don't surprise anyone.
Steve Wright did the Right thing !

darent · Dec 13, 2015

I have a friend whose ex wife made a hobby of complaining to get free stuff, from sending back diners to crabbing about hotel stays, was really embarrassing to be around.she managed to get a free midweek stay at a Vermont ski area because she wrote a scathing critic of its operations.

mriceyman · Dec 14, 2015

darent said:
I have a friend whose ex wife made a hobby of complaining to get free stuff, from sending back diners to crabbing about hotel stays, was really embarrassing to be around.she managed to get a free midweek stay at a Vermont ski area because she wrote a scathing critic of its operations.

And im sure she took the free week. Im not sure why if it was so terrible. Hell i get mad at my wife for complaining even tho sometimes she has every right to be upset

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

56fish · Dec 14, 2015

Not to keep this off topic but.....sorry

Smellytele said:
Thinking about this from other customer's prospectives, if I was there and had to experience other customer behaving this way and management doing nothing about I would pissed even more.

That's what started the conversation I had w/ JPR staff - other guests couldn't believe the behavior wasn't addressed.

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