THE QUESTION: WHAT KIND OF SUMMER ACTIVITIES OR ATTRACTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

Mountain 1

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose guest services.
Answering Phone: Female, nice sounding.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Umm, we have an Alpine slide and a scenic chairlift ride. We have mountain biking, miniature golf, disc golf, umm, a bouncy castle, we have a bungy tramp, we have a mechanical bull. And then, um, we have a free movie night on XX and XX.
SAM: Sweet, that all sounds great. What is the Alpine slide?
Staff: It’s just, if you ride the chairlift up, it’s actually in the mountain. And you sit on, um, kinda, you sit on, like, some, kinda like, they’re like, not sleds, but you sit on top of these, they’re kind of like sleds. And then you ride down the slide.
(Is everyone as confused as I am? It’s actually in the mountain?)
SAM: Oh, okay. So is it like a really long track or is it short?
Staff: Well you ride the chairlift up and get off at midway.
SAM: Oh, so it’s pretty long.
Staff: Yeeah.
SAM: And can kids do it?
Staff: Uh, yeah kids can do it they just have to be, let me check on the exact requirements.
Staff: So for the Alpine slide, chairlift ride and mountain bike uplift, children have to be 3 years old and 36 inches tall to ride the chairlift, and then 6 years old and 46 inches to ride the flight alone.
SAM: Great, that all sounds like a good time.
Staff: Yes, it is. I mean right now it’s closed for the day because of the weather, but any other day we should be open.
SAM: Perfect, thanks so much for all the info.

Rating: 5
Comment: Great start, but lost me at the Alpine slide.


Mountain 2

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator.
Answering Phone: “Welcome to X mountain reservations, my name is Jane, my I have your name please?”
SAM: “Um, Sarah!” Stated question.
Staff: Uhhh, on the mountain? Or, uhhh, around the area?
SAM: On the mountain.
Staff: Well, uuh, there’s a ton of hiking. There’s mountain biking… uhh, are you bringing kids?
SAM: Yes. I babysit for a family in the summer and was thinking of bringing the kids.
Staff: Gotcha. Okay, umm, well down at the base of the mountain there’s a putt-putt course, and there’s a trampoline where they strap you in so the kids can fly a little higher and a little more controlled. It’s not a regular trampoline, it’s actually called a bungy thing.
SAM: Oh, sweet.
Staff: Umm, there’s ahhh, something else at the base there that I cannot, uhhhh (silence…), oh, it’s a wall. Wall climbing.
SAM: Oh, okay.
Staff: Ya know, they hook ‘em up to a line so they don’t fall or if they do, they’re tied up. And it’s, ahhh, with the little, ya know, uhh, uhhh handholds and what not.
SAM: All right, yeah, that sounds fun.
Staff: Yeah, I mean there’s a ton of hiking.
SAM: For sure it all sounds great and you definitely have some stuff for kids. Thanks so much for all the info.
Staff: Uhhh, sure, no prob.

Rating: 3
Comment: Slowly put down whatever you’re smoking, Jane.


mountain 3

First Contact: Operator. Transferred somewhere…
Answering Phone: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Just one moment. Helping another customer in the background. Ok, um, what exactly were you looking for?
SAM: Well, I was thinking of taking some kids that I babysit there for a day. I was just wondering what kind of rides or activities you had.
Staff: Um, it just of depends on the day.
SAM: Okay…
Staff: We have different activities on different days. Silence…
SAM: All right. Do you have any rides maybe or anything like that?
Staff: We have an outdoor pool and an Alpine slide.
SAM: Oh well, those sound fun. What’s an Alpine slide, though?
Staff: It’s a, it’s like a, I think it’s 116 feet long, I think. It’s like a coaster, you actually sit in a scooter and go down it. It’s a dry slide.
SAM: Oooh, that sounds fun.
Staff: For the coaster you have to be 52” to ride by yourself.
SAM: Great, and then you have a waterpark?
Staff: Yes.
SAM: Perfect, so that’s all you have in the summer?
Staff: Well, yeeeaah, but it just depends on what day you’re coming.
SAM: Sure, I was just wondering about hiking or stuff like that.
Staff: Yeah um, like we have a map here so you can just pick one and go. Um, yeeeah…
SAM: A map, okay. I guess I could check that out when I come. Thanks.
Staff: Ummm, yeeah. Thanks for calling.

Rating: 4
Comment: Only listed two out of the multiple attractions they have, and didn’t bother with a website mention.


mountain 4

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator.
Answering Phone: Male. Nice sounding.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Well we have the X park, which just opened this year, which is a ropes course and zipline. Do you have a computer? You can go online and see the whole ah, the whole, ahhh…
SAM: Yup, I do have a computer.
Staff: Okay just go to xyz.com and then open our website and then I think it’s “attractions” or just go under “summer” and it’ll open it all up for you.
SAM: Okay, perfect, and that will give me everything I need to know?
Staff: Yup, absolutely.
SAM: Great, thanks.
Staff: You’re welcome, ba-bye.

Rating: 5
Comment: This resort is like an amusement park and he just falls back on the website? Come on, get pumped for what you have and talk it up!


mountain 5

First Contact: Automated machine. Stayed on the line.
Answering Phone: Operator.
Transferred to front desk… put on hold for nine long minutes! Really?
Answering Phone: Female. “Heeey, this is Kelly.”
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Eh, uhh, gosh, in general?
SAM: Yeah, I’m thinking of taking some kids I babysit there for a day.
Staff: Um, for like day passes we have the mountainside pool. You can come down for the day and it’s $22 for an adult and 7 and under kids are free, 7 to 17 it’s $17.
SAM: Okay, that works.
Staff: Yeah, we’ve got a bunch of like walking and hiking trails that would be free.
SAM: That could be fun. Do you have any rides or anything?
Staff: Um, not really, the mountain pool that I just talked about, they have a tube slide there that you can ride with a kiddie slide, too.
SAM: So it’s just that and hiking? You don’t have anything else?
Staff: Not really, you could try mountain X, they have a lot of those things.
SAM: Okay, thanks so much.

Rating: 2
Comment: Kelly tried, but guess what else they offer according to their website? Mini golf, disc golf, climbing adventures, biking, skate park, llama treks, segway tours, dog carting, geocaching, kayaking, and a slew of children’s programs—and she tried to send me down the road. And who would really stay on hold for nine minutes?


mountain 6

First Contact: Female. Nice sounding.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Okay. We have a zipride, an Alpine Slide, an Alpine coaster. We have lift-served trails for mountain biking and hiking. There is a miniature golf course, there is a small climbing wall, umm, a trampoline and then there’s also a little carousel, and an aeroplane ride and train ride for little kids!
SAM: Niiiice. What are the Alpine Slide and the Alpine coaster? Is that what you said?
Staff: Yup, sure thing. The Alpine Slide you sit in a plastic sled and you start by taking a chairlift ride up to the top of the ride and then you put your sled in the concrete track and you control your speed with the brakes as you go down through twists and turns back down to the base of the resort.
SAM: Ooh neat.
Staff: Yeah, and the Alpine coaster is similar, um, it’s a bit more like a roller coaster. You actually sit in a slide on a metal track and are pulled up to the top on the track and then the brakes release. This goes faster and has more G-force because you are actually harnessed in, but you still control your speed on the way down.
SAM: Awesome. Do you go upside down on it?
Staff: No, no. No worries, you don’t go upside down.
SAM: Sounds good. So the Alpine Slide sounds like kids can ride it?
Staff: They can yes, but there are some height and weight restrictions. Umm, for the Alpine Slide you have to be at least 2 years old and in order to drive you have to be at least 48 inches tall. And if you’re under 48 inches tall then you can ride as a passenger with someone over the age of 18. And then for the Alpine coaster, in order to be a driver, you have to be over 54 inches in height. And then two people can ride together. You don’t necessarily have to have someone over 18 to ride with two people.
SAM: Good stuff! And then you mentioned something else, like the trampoline?
Staff: Yeah the XX. It’s like a trampoline. You are strapped in a harness and you bounce on the trampoline and can do flips and stuff. The kids love it.
SAM: Great. Well, you definitely have a lot to offer, thanks so much for all the info.
Staff: Yup, so we’re scheduled to be open until October, weather permitting.
SAM: Great, thanks so much.

Rating: 9
Comment: Minus one for no website mention, but finally some great Alpine slide/coaster explanations, and she had a great attitude!

Identity Revealed: Park City