This week at Stowe was both informative and educational as it was fun. Working in lift operations and guest services this week allowed me to meet some pretty interesting and genuinely nice people. On Friday, we were in lift operations. It was really cool being able to take rides up and down the chairlift without equipment on. Coming back down the chairlift was also something I'd never done before. We were able to check out the terminals of a few different chairs as well as the gondola. It was really cool to check out the technical aspect of the machines we depend on daily. Everything seems to run so smoothly on a regular basis but there really is a lot going on and to see it all working was pretty cool. Probably the most beneficial part of Stowes lift operations for the mountain has to be their recent shift to the RFID system. Similar to EZ-Pass, there are scanners that pick up the lift ticket, in the form of a re-loadable card, on the customer. When it does, it sends a signal to the stoppers either allowing the customer through or not depending on whether or not their ticket is valid for the day. The coolest part about it is that it shows all of the customers information to the lift attendant who works at the entrance to the lift. This information can be useful for many reasons, like identifying a missing individual, as well as cutting down on theft of services. Its easy to take someone else's ticket, but showing a mans photo with a girl skier is a lot easier to spot out. This is good for the mountain as well as the customer as they are able to get through the lift lines much quicker than when manual scanners need to be used. It also cuts back on the staffing needs and dullness of being a lift attendant.
On Saturday we worked in guest services. We were fortunate to work with a woman named Heidi who was very nice and showed us everything there was to know about guest services. She even hooked us up with some very professional looking vests. With her we learned a lot about Stowe's program to improve the customer's experience at the resort at all places and at all times. Each week, a rule is focused on by every department. This week focused on the "zone of influence" rule. A smile and nod at 10 feet, and an ask for any way to help within 5 feet. We were also able to fish for e-mails for a survey sent out by a company working for Stowe on how the customers experience was. The mountain uses these surveys to improve the customer experience in the future. Almost all of customer service revolved around this point. The better the customer satisfaction, the more likely they are to return, as well as more likely to recommend it to a friend. This is extremely important for a mountain, as building their core and returning customers is essential to running in the long term.
I was able to take some great photos from this weekend, and I'll be loaded them up on another post. At the end of the day, Heidi was nice enough to show us the "Front Four." These are the nicest rooms available for both rent and ownership in Stowe's main lodge. It was extremely impressive and we were happy to have a chance to check out what is normally an exclusive area. It was another great week at Stowe and we're all looking forward to our last day there on Friday, where we will be spending the day with VP of Mountain Ops, Scott Reeves.
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