VAIL SUCKS

[Smellytele]

Their Facebook page announced 2 days ago that they will opening tomorrow with only intermediate terrain.

Are talking about Wildcat? I know they are opening but that doesn't solve the issue where you can not see if reservation spots are still available for day tickets for any date at Wildcat but all other places you can.

 

[thebigo]

Are you kidding me vail? Out of all the epic screw ups since they came to town, the shitshow today at wildcat trumps them all.

Nothing above the tomcat had been pushed out, it was unskiable. Solid frozen whales with post holes everywhere and snowguns in the middle of the trail. The upper portion of lynx is rough enough early season, then they go and put a hoard of people on a bullet proof lynx with massive whales and tripod guns in the middle of the trail.

For a company that preaches safety, this was the opposite of safe. Every skier I talked to was one and done. I cannot imagine how pissed you would be if you actually bought a ticket.

I don't know what happened, below the tomcat was excellent, usually it is the opposite early season. Whatever happened the obvious solution was to open with the tomcat. It was spinning when we got there but not open.

To be clear: the coverage, staff, crowd and lift were spectacular but upper lynx should not have been open. I have to think they will push it out tonight and tomorrow morning should be good.

 

[asnowmobiler]

Just got this email.

Within the next few weeks, we will have successfully opened all 34 of our North American resorts from Whistler Blackcomb to Vail to Stowe. So many of our employees across Vail Resorts have spent countless hours helping to prepare for a re-imagined mountain experience this winter, with safety as our collective priority. We developed a new enterprise-wide reservation system to ensure you have the space needed to spread out and stay safe; we implemented extensive safety protocols, including strict face covering and physical distancing requirements; and we debuted free Epic Coverage pass protection to provide a peace of mind during times of great uncertainty. But for all we got right, I would be remiss to ignore where we clearly fell short. Weighing heavily on my mind is the frustration I have heard from too many pass holders and guests regarding their customer service experience with our call centers. If you are included amongst those who have been unable to reach a customer service agent for help, or encountered long call center or chat wait times, I want you to know we have heard you loud and clear. And we agree. It is unacceptable, and I personally apologize to you for your experience. Due to the pandemic, we introduced a lot of changes this season – including pass credits, a reservation system and Epic Coverage – and our call center experienced a more than fourfold increase in the number of guests needing assistance. Despite doubling our staffing and introducing new online chat functionality and other features, our infrastructure was ultimately not designed to handle the volume. It is a huge miss on our part, especially for a company that tries to be an out-front leader within our industry. This is certainly not the fault of our call center agents, who have tried their best to provide great service under difficult circumstances. It is my fault for not ensuring we were better prepared. Here’s what I want you to know moving forward. We are on it. From implementing new backend systems to leveraging demand forecasting, we are committed to upgrading our customer service operation so it meets the standard of our mission to deliver an Experience of a Lifetime to our guests. I wish I could say it will all improve overnight, but candidly, this is going to take some time to get up and running. While we work on this transformation, I want to be transparent that our call center and chat wait times may continue to be longer than normal for the immediate future. Please bear with us, and know that our hard-working team of representatives will get to you as soon as they are able. We have also created several FAQ sites with quick answers to many questions related to reservations, Epic Coverage and resort safety. Make sure you check out the below.​

Reservations FAQs Epic Coverage FAQs Safety FAQs (resort-specific safety information is available on each resort website)

There is no doubt that 2020 has been a uniquely challenging year, but the joy of skiing and riding in fresh mountain air and wide-open spaces remains unchanged. I speak on behalf of the entire Vail Resorts team when I say we are grateful for your continued patience, loyalty and support. Wishing you all a safe holiday season and a happy New Year. Rob Katz​

 

[cdskier]

It isn't often that a CEO point blank says "this is my fault". Kudos to him for that. Although there are still other areas at Vail that need improvement other than just their call center/customer service area. I'd like to see him address complaints such as the lack of effective local communications and useful information on their snow reports...

 

[gittist]

It isn't often that a CEO point blank says "this is my fault". Kudos to him for that. Although there are still other areas at Vail that need improvement other than just their call center/customer service area. I'd like to see him address complaints such as the lack of effective local communications and useful information on their snow reports...

Agree 100%!

 

[Mainer]

Was at wildcat at 930 today, over a half hour wait to get season passes. Lot was almost full. At least 50 People in front of us crowded in line to get passes ( filled out online stuff for passes weeks ago but never got sent passes). Can’t boot up in lodge but they don’t mind u crowding to get passes. Top half of mountain wasn’t groomed, calling it intermediate was a stretch(should have said experts only) Poor people that brought their kids were in for a surprise. It is hard to plan for a family when the website doesn’t ever get updated. Basically a WROD, which is fine for November. But for mid December wtf have they been doing. That being said it was a nice to go skiing, with the shutdown probably the longest I’ve been without skiing since I started (30 yrs ago). Tomorrow is going to be fffing scary, good luck. I’m second guessing my pass choice, but with the mt Washington Valley local pass not available this year It is what is. Vail definitely sucks. Hopefully they stay open for late season c lot bbqs but don’t hold your breath. Did I mention vail sucks

 

[thebigo]

I am going to append my earlier post. We went home for lunch and school then saw the tomcat open on website. Headed back up to ride the tomcat, did one lap then daughter wanted to take the quad. Was surprised to see some decent bump lines skied into upper lynx. Some of the bumps were damn near as big as her but she had a blast lapping lynx for the remainder of afternoon. That being said, upper lynx reminded me of the tomcat schuss this afternoon, compete with the grass and rocks between bumps. I would not recommend it this weekend for anyone typically uncomfortable on the schuss. I suspect wildcat and attitash will be completly different places next weekend.

I was pleased to see familiar faces among the staff.

 

[abc]

It isn't often that a CEO point blank says "this is my fault". Kudos to him for that. Although there are still other areas at Vail that need improvement other than just their call center/customer service area. I'd like to see him address complaints such as the lack of effective local communications and useful information on their snow reports...

Better than NOT accepting responsibility, yes.

But it's his JOB to prevent this from happening in the first place. He clearly failed. He had few options after the fact. He can pretend it was working fine, blame others for the screw up, or accept the responsibility HE screwed up.

Was at wildcat at 930 today, over a half hour wait to get season passes.

Guess what? Vail wants to charge to mail new passes to pass holders! Between that and long lines waiting to get new passes printed. I wonder if the CEO had thought of that?

How much of the long wait on call center is a result of other issues? If you make every one of your minor options so complicated, your call center will be even more overwhelmed. People who have REAL issues can't get through and they may NOT buy a pass as a result... penny-wise and pound foolish.

 

[urungus]

Vail Resorts cancels some guest reservations at Breckenridge

Additional capacity restrictions and limited open terrain are causing headaches at ski areas across Summit County, leading to canceled reservations at Breckenridge Ski Resort this weekend. Vail Resorts officials announced the cancellations in a letter...

www.summitdaily.com

 

[chuckstah]

Better than NOT accepting responsibility, yes.

But it's his JOB to prevent this from happening in the first place. He clearly failed. He had few options after the fact. He can pretend it was working fine, blame others for the screw up, or accept the responsibility HE screwed up.


Guess what? Vail wants to charge to mail new passes to pass holders! Between that and long lines waiting to get new passes printed. I wonder if the CEO had thought of that?

How much of the long wait on call center is a result of other issues? If you make every one of your minor options so complicated, your call center will be even more overwhelmed. People who have REAL issues can't get through and they may NOT buy a pass as a result... penny-wise and pound foolish.

As to paying to have the pass shipped, I said no, I'm not paying for that, it should be included. To my surprise, there was my pass in the mail box a couple weeks later. No charge. It's certainly a terrible policy in a pandemic year, but at $6, I'm sure they pocketed a few million from those who did pay.

 

[abc]

As to paying to have the pass shipped, I said no, I'm not paying for that, it should be included. To my surprise, there was my pass in the mail box a couple weeks later. No charge. It's certainly a terrible policy in a pandemic year, but at $6, I'm sure they pocketed a few million from those who did pay.

Jeez! Surprise, surprise? A good one though.

What does the envelope looks like? Does it has Vail (or the logo) on it?

I said no also, thinking it could take a while and I would have gone skiing before that and can get it printed no the mountain. But as it turns out, I haven't gone yet. On the other hand, I have been very slow in opening up my mails except those I expect to receive. Hope I didn't missed it because I don't recognize it!

 

[chuckstah]

Jeez! Surprise, surprise? A good one though.

What does the envelope looks like? Does it has Vail (or the logo) on it?

I said no also, thinking it could take a while and I would have gone skiing before that and can get it printed no the mountain. But as it turns out, I haven't gone yet. On the other hand, I have been very slow in opening up my mails except those I expect to receive. Hope I didn't missed it because I don't recognize it!

I don't think is was well marked, but I knew it was likely the pass from the envelope. Can't remember the details, it was a while ago now.

 

[catskillman]

ours looked like junk mail - no envelope - cardboard trifold - taped at the side......

 

[thebigo]

Far be it for me to defend vail but I do not remember any issues with the mailing. Ours showed up shortly after placing the order, at no charge, with good presentation and branded literature.

On the call center issue, I have to assume the child pass issues alone generated a significant volume of calls. There is no northeast child option and there is no under five option for anyone.

There was a woman in an okemo jacket that appeared to be directing staff at the cat today. Does anyone know who the new gm is at the cat?

 

[njdiver85]

I think it's good that he has admitted customer service sucks balls, but it should have been done a month ago!!!! Clearly, this was a calculated response to address investors finally catching on to the fact that things at Vail are not so good and this bad press on social media could ultimately affect the bottom line for YEARS!!!!

 

[sugarbushskier]

C'mon VAIL snow reporters....it's 8:05 on a Saturday morning and the Mt Snow "report" shows information last updated on Friday at 7:35 AM.

How hard is it to provide even the most basic info? Vail????

 

[njdiver85]

Seriously, the mountain has been open for 12 minutes now and you are still showing yesterday's 7am snow report. WTF?? Vail sucks more with each passing day!

Apparently they updated the report on Twitter, but the link they provide there also takes you to yesterday's report on the website. Wow!

 

[Edd]

Best we can do is complain directly. I just sent them feedback on the snow reports. It’s likely to fall on deaf ears but worth a try if enough people do it.

Snow reports should be detailed and released by 6:30am, IMO. Not everyone does this but Wildcat and BW pull it off routinely in a normal year.

 

[deadheadskier]

A couple of observations

The reason why their call center is overwhelmed is twofold

The Epic website blows and is completely not intuitive. I bet a huge amount of the call volume would be decreased if the website was better as many of the calls are probably related to website navigation.

The hours for the call center blow. 8-5 MST? Really? They own like a dozen EST resorts with tens of millions of pass holders living here. Open that center up at 8AM EST at minimum. Hell, it really should be open 24 hours a day like a Marriott or Hilton if they want to promote themselves as a premium resort operator.

 

[abc]

The hours for the call center blow. 8-5 MST? Really? They own like a dozen EST resorts with tens of millions of pass holders living here. Open that center up at 8AM EST at minimum.

+1

This is AFTER the CEO admitted he’s at fault for the terrible performance of the call center!

This is exactly what I meant, it’s his job to prevent the problem in the first place!!!