QUESTION: "I'VE NEVER SKIED BEFORE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO START THIS YEAR. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?"

MOUNTAIN 1

First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Oh my goodness gracious! Besides getting your legs into shape, let me transfer you up to John Doe in our learning center and he can get you all the details! Hold on one second please.
Transferred…
Answering Phone: John Doe.
SAM: Restated question.
Staff: When do you want to do it?
SAM: I’m not sure yet. I’m staying with a friend this winter near your area, but I’m not sure of the exact dates I’ll come up.
Staff: Yup. Ummm, well when you’re up here I would give us a call and make a reservation for one of our learn-to lessons. It costs $80 and it’ll take care of everything—lift ticket, equipment rentals and lesson, the whole nine yards.
SAM: Awesome, so you definitely recommend a lesson then?
Staff: Absolutely. And you can certainly do a private lesson as well.
SAM: Great, thanks. Is there any other advice you would give someone that’s never skied before or is there something first-timers forget or don’t think of?
Staff: Umm, dress warmly. One pair of ski socks, not two or three or four. Umm, make sure the socks are long. None of those short athletic socks, make sure it comes up to your knee. Hat, gloves, goggles or some sort of eye protection. And yeah, make sure you’re prepared to be outside for a while.

Rating: 5
Comment: Good tips, but maybe a little too short and sweet.



MOUNTAIN 2
First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator.
Answering Phone: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: OK, um, I mean are you looking for, like, you probably need rentals. Are you coming midweek, weekends?
SAM: I’ll probably come on a weekend.
Staff: So weekends are you going to be staying at the hotel?
SAM: No, I would be driving up for the day so I don’t need a hotel.
Staff: OK, well we do offer rentals here, which are $38 for the day on weekends. Now if you come on a holiday weekend, of course, it’s going to be a little more expensive.
SAM: OK. And rentals, those are the equipment?
Staff: Yup, ski or snowboard. And that does include your boots, your skis and your poles. And then we do have group lessons if you’ve never skied before. We do have a beginner’s lesson we can offer you. It’s $35 if done separately or there’s a package you can purchase that includes your ticket, lesson and rental.
SAM: Great, and how much is that package?
Staff: Let’s see here… on a weekend that package is $99.
SAM: Sounds good.
Staff: Yeah, so that’s a good savings. And the lessons are offered at like 10 and 11 a.m. for beginners. And then any other time after that for the daily lessons, which are offered five times a day and they’re at ten, eleven, one, three and 5:30 p.m. And remember if you come on a Sunday, we close at five, but Monday through Friday we close at nine.
SAM: Great. And so I should call back to arrange a lesson?
Staff: Well, no, group lessons are just walk-ins and if you do want a private lesson, we do offer those as well.
SAM: Sounds good. Well, I like the idea of the group lesson.
Staff: Yeah! That way you get the feel of being out on the snow, it gets you going and then if you’re really getting good you could take a private lesson as well.
SAM: That’s a great idea. Anything else you recommend?
Staff: Um, dress in layers! And if you’re trying snowboarding, I would recommend wrist guards because you’re gonna fall a lot, but you won’t need them for skiing. And then I would consider a helmet perhaps, which is never a bad idea!
SAM: Good to know. Thanks so much!

Rating: 8
Comment: Good info + good attitude = big points.


MOUNTAIN 3

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator.
Answering Phone: Male.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Sure, yes, that’s great to hear. The best thing to do is to go to our website, www.abc.com and click on Mountain at the top and then click on Snow School. There you will see all the ski lesson packages. Click on “adult programs” to see the details.
SAM: Great, I can do that.
Staff: Yeah, and you will see the Level 1, 2 and 3 group lessons and if you complete all three you will get a four-day X mountain card so you can come back and practice.
SAM: Oh wow, that’s a nice incentive, thanks!
Staff: Sure thing. And once you know the package or lesson you would like to do you can call back on this number and reserve your spot.
SAM: Perfect. Is there anything else you would recommend?
Staff: Ah yes. Dress very warmly, hat, gloves, goggles, warm socks and waterproof pants and jacket. You will be outside the whole time so you want to be comfortable.

Rating: 9
Comment: One of the only areas to lead me right to their website, where all the information is nicely laid out.


MOUNTAIN 4

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Waited 3 minutes!
Answering Phone: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Umm, well, what would you like to start off with? Just you and ah, like, how many people?
SAM: Well, I was just talking about it with a friend so I’m not sure if we’ll come together, but I was just wondering what I need to prepare for…
Staff: OK, umm, exactly, we actually have a package, it’s called X and you can, like, choose to do one day, two days or three days. And it, uh, involves a lesson, up to an hour, rental equipment and then you get ah, um, like, the lift ticket as well.
SAM: Cool, OK.
Staff: Yeah and if you do, um, the three days you’ll, umm, ah, you’ll be able to do a lot more with that. So I would definitely suggest doing the three instead of, like, the one day because every single day you’ll learn something new. And you’ll, so yeah, you can definitely do one of those and that’s just, like, one of our beginner programs.
SAM: Sure, yeah that sounds good. So you think I should just start with that lesson package and then go from there?
Staff: Yes, and you can apply for that online. (Apply?!)
SAM: OK, just go to your website I assume?
Staff: Yeah.
SAM: Thanks. Well is there anything else you would suggest for a first timer?
Staff: Um, I mean, I suggest probably since you haven’t, like, you’ve never done it before?
SAM: Nope. (Pretty sure I just said that…)
Staff: So, um, I would just wait on buying any type of, like, kind of equipment because, like, if you do the X program you’ll get rental equipment. So just in case ‘cause you don’t want to spend, ya know, a lot of money on equipment that if you’re, like, if you don’t like it or, like, you just aren’t interested in it, like doing it, then that would just be a pain to return everything. (What? Was that English?)
SAM: OK.
Staff: So, I would definitely suggest doing that instead just, like, if you really are interested in learning about it and really trying this out then definitely start with our beginner program.
SAM: OK. Well I guess I’ll go online and apply for that lesson.
Staff: All right, you’re welcome. Bye.

Rating: 2
Comment: The word “like” should not exist in customer service. Like, never, period.

MOUNTAIN 5

First Contact: Automated machine. Chose “live person.”
Answering Phone: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Sure, ha ha ha, well there’s all kinds of things to know. So you’ve never skied or snowboarded before. Have you ever been up in the wilderness in the winter before?
SAM: I have, yes, but not a lot.
Staff: So you feel comfortable driving and getting here?
SAM: Oh, yeah.
Staff: OK. Excellent. Well then we offer a wonderful program. First-timers can do learn-to-ski and it’s $70 if you’re at my window. And that’s all inclusive of equipment, and that would be hard equipment, lift ticket and two hours of instruction. And then at the end of that, if you really liked it, I would turn that into a $139 learn-to-ski lesson. So you would get three, two-hour lessons and you get to choose the days, um, the lift ticket each day and the equipment those three days for $139.
SAM: Oh, wow, that’s a good deal.
Staff: Yeah, just because you might get out there and go, “Whoa, I hate this. I wouldn’t do it if someone paid me!” Or, you get out there and you love it and say, “Wow!” and then $70 a time is still a discount with everything they give you and then putting that together with two other times for $139 is a great deal. And that gets you out thinking, “Gosh, do I like it? Do I want to keep trying it?” The first time you’re out there for two hours so if you take the morning class which starts at 10, you’ll have the basics and then you can just go out and have fun for the rest of the day.
SAM: Awesome, those sound like some great options. Do I need to call and reserve my lesson?
Staff: You know you don’t even need to. What I told you about the group lesson, it’s walk-in availability, but we’ll just want you here an hour beforehand. So it’s a 10 o’clock lesson so we’ll want you in my parking lot at 9 a.m. And you’ll need a parking pass, which you can either buy on your way here or at the lodge. And then come on into the rental shop building where they’ll issue you your equipment and lift ticket and tell you where to meet the coach out on the hill.
SAM: Thanks so much, that sounds pretty easy.
Staff: Yeah and we offer those lessons at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., seven days a week. And if you go to my website, which is www.abc.com, on the opening page there’s a black banner at the top and in that is a “deals” button, click on that and you can usually get that $70 product for $50 online. That way you can get a little savings.
SAM: Awesome, thank you so much.
Staff: Sure and, ya know, you’re a brand-new skier so think about a helmet. They don’t include that with rentals, but I never used to wear helmet and now you couldn’t get me out there without one! Ya know, you gotta protect the gray matter!
SAM: That’s a good idea, thank you.
Staff: Sure thing, do you have any other questions?

Rating: 10
Comment: That’s how it’s done, folks. And we edited this down for print! See the whole conversation on-line.

Identity Revealed: Mt. Hood Meadows, OR