Thanking Lifties

[riverc0il]

how often do you thank your liftie for holding the chair for you? unless the liftie doesn't do a good job and i get some calf bang action, i attept to thank the liftie every load unless a given load situation requires careful attention. i really love it when lifties are into their job and talking it up with the skiers. one of the lifties at the zoomer triple at cannon is a great liftie with perfect hold and always asks how things are and is really upbeat! nothing beats a good liftie and they definitely deserve some thanks if the job is being well done.

 

[billski]

not only

Not only do I say "thanks", but I wish them a very jolly "GOOD MORNING!" That way I can quickly figure out which ones are on the ball, conscious, semi-conscious or asleep at the wheel

 

[Greg]

I usually do a quick "how ya doing?" before the first load and then a "thank you". If I'm riding the same chair over and over, he/she will get another "thanks" or two.

 

[ALLSKIING]

I do it most of the time. Last week at Mt Snow the chair on the north face banged my calf HARD everytime I got on the lift. It hurt the next day!No thanks to that liftie.

 

[TeleGrrrl]

I guess it's my strict upbringing, but I thank the Liftie every time. Old habits die hard, and also when you work in a public service position it's nice to hear some one thank you for what you do.

tg

 

[miskier]

I do most of the time but here in lower Michigan with the short rus and a high speed quad you could see the same lift operator 20 or more times in a hour.

 

[ChileMass]

Yeah - it's sorta ingrained in me to thank the liftie basically every time. Someone standing around doing a thankless job out in the cold - even the slackers and brain-dead ones deserve a little thanks. Most of them, though are very friendly and do it because they just love being outdoors.

 

[tjd]

Just About Every Time

I thank them just about every time.

Not only that, I also like to at least wave to the lifities working the booth at the top to acknowledge them as well.

I guess it's just part of the politeness I'd like to see in the sport

 

[Vortex]

I thank them almost every time. I might miss when loading my kids, but get them next time. Kind of like thanking the tolltaker.. I also had that banged into my head as a kid. A sales job makes you confortable comunicating anyway, plus these folks are there because they like the mountains like us.

 

[skidbump]

will be purchasing each lift base crew i use a bag of candy for sat trip to belleayre..

 

[ctenidae]

I try to say thanks if possible, sometime's it's jsut not workable. Chatting with them is good, when you can- sometimes you find stuff out before the masses do. I also try to acknowledge teh guys working the line- if they remember younext time you're in line, you can gt semi-preferential treatment. Getting even one chair sooner is better than one chair later.

 

[thetrailboss]

how often do you thank your liftie for holding the chair for you? unless the liftie doesn't do a good job and i get some calf bang action, i attept to thank the liftie every load unless a given load situation requires careful attention. i really love it when lifties are into their job and talking it up with the skiers. one of the lifties at the zoomer triple at cannon is a great liftie with perfect hold and always asks how things are and is really upbeat! nothing beats a good liftie and they definitely deserve some thanks if the job is being well done.

Pretty much same for me...I also chat with them about conditions and other things as well. Got to break up their day :wink: The lifties at Pat's are always nice to us...they recognize us as well. It's a tough job!

 

[dmc]

Whats so tough about running a chairlift??

I thank them if they go the extra effort and slow the chair down...
But I'm actually a very polite person... Everyone likes to be thanked....

I have become friends with a couple lifties here but they work over at the beginner area now..

 

[thetrailboss]

Whats so tough about running a chairlift??

I thank them if they go the extra effort and slow the chair down...
But I'm actually a very polite person... Everyone likes to be thanked....

I have become friends with a couple lifties here but they work over at the beginner area now..

It's the people who ride it that make it tough...remember the old Warren Miller clips of folks falling off and/or not following directions? :wink: :lol:

I try to be nice as well because being a liftie means you stand there all day and watch other people ski (but on your day off you can have the place to yourself). Watching others ski on a nice powder day would be torture for Trailboss :x

 

[dmc]

Whats so tough about running a chairlift??

I thank them if they go the extra effort and slow the chair down...
But I'm actually a very polite person... Everyone likes to be thanked....

I have become friends with a couple lifties here but they work over at the beginner area now..

It's the people who ride it that make it tough...remember the old Warren Miller clips of folks falling off and/or not following directions? :wink: :lol:

I try to be nice as well because being a liftie means you stand there all day and watch other people ski (but on your day off you can have the place to yourself). Watching others ski on a nice powder day would be torture for Trailboss :x

Lots of those old Warren Miller chair shots were filmed at the bigginer area at Hunter... funny...

Most of the lifties at Hunter dont even ski... I get to know them cause if I forget my pass they still let me get on the lift...

 

[bvibert]

Whats so tough about running a chairlift??

I thank them if they go the extra effort and slow the chair down...
But I'm actually a very polite person... Everyone likes to be thanked....

I have become friends with a couple lifties here but they work over at the beginner area now..

It's the people who ride it that make it tough...remember the old Warren Miller clips of folks falling off and/or not following directions? :wink: :lol:

I try to be nice as well because being a liftie means you stand there all day and watch other people ski (but on your day off you can have the place to yourself). Watching others ski on a nice powder day would be torture for Trailboss :x

Nothing is hard about running the lift. The hardest part of the job is dealing with the people who use (or attempt to use it ) It can get pretty boring too, so its nice when people talk with you. It can be a little tough on your arms bumping the faster fixed grip chairs all day long too...

I think typically they like to put the better lifties at the beginner areas because those are the lifts that have the customers that need a good liftie the most.

Trailboss nailed it, by far the hardest part of the job has been when the snow is falling, the conditions are sweet, and there is no one there... but I'm stuck watching the chairs go by...

 

[riverc0il]

i was expecting a broader range of responses to this poll! must speak to the caliber of AZ forum members that nearly 90% of respondents so far list either always or most of the time... quite the friendly bunch! from my experience as a solo skier, most people i ride lifts with never thank the lifties.

it may be easy enough to be a good liftie, but it's just as easy to be a bad one. hopefully a little thanks goes a long way when you're watching others do what you'd rather be doing!

 

[ctenidae]

It's not so much that we're friendly, we're just all brazen liars.
Not saying that liars can't be friendly...

 

[Lostone]

I almost never say thank you, but I almost always talk to them.

Most know me by sight and talk back, often joking.

The ticket checkers know and address me by name. (It's on my pass.)

I'm friendly to almost everyone. Why not? this is Sugarbush. Not K-mart! :blink: :lol:

 

[bvibert]

...from my experience as a solo skier, most people i ride lifts with never thank the lifties.

That matches my experience as a liftie (one season), most people don't thank the lifties... I'll be honest, I didn't even think to thank them until I was one myself...

it may be easy enough to be a good liftie, but it's just as easy to be a bad one. hopefully a little thanks goes a long way when you're watching others do what you'd rather be doing!

It does go a long way, at least for me.