In this month’s Mountain Spy, we tackle a seemingly easy question, but the responses vary—as usual. I’M COMING TO THE AREA FOR A BACHELORETTE PARTY NEXT MONTH. IS THERE ANYTHING FOR US TO DO AT YOUR RESORT? MOUNTAIN 1, NY First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Unfortunately, we’re not open for summer operations at this point. We don’t have an exact date, but it is going to be closer to July. So a month from now, we won’t really have anything going on. Silence…. Staff: Umm, yeah, where are you staying? SAM: I am not 100 percent sure, one of the other girls is booking lodging, but I think it’s about 15 minutes away. Staff: I was trying to think of other things in the area. Are you looking to do outdoorsy things? SAM: Any recommendation you have would be great. Staff: The X center is open, they have a pretty cool museum and wild walk up above the trees. There’s also the Y ropes course; they should be open by then. There’s the Z Museum if you are interested in stuff like that. Then of course, there is always Lake W, they’ll be open with go-karts, and um, different activities, and shopping, dining, and a bunch of other activities. That’s about 40 minutes from us. Then there is always whitewater rafting in the area, you could rent uh, canoes, hiking. There’s a couple options. Ha ha. SAM: Great, thanks for the information. Staff: You’re welcome. Good luck and have a great bachelorette party! Rating: 7.5 Comment: Big points for alternative activities outside the resort. Helping customers find what they’re looking for, even if your resort can’t provide it, always leaves a good impression. MOUNTAIN 2, CA First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Yeah, let me get you over to our vacation desk and they can let you know about the summer activities we have going on. SAM: Cool. Thank you. Staff: You’re welcome, one second… Transferred… Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Um, yeah. There is so, um, you’ll be here after the 18th, correct, of next month? SAM: Yup, not until July. Staff: Oh, perfect. So July is when we’ll have everything in full swing. So we have an ultimate adventure pass that gets you up the gondola and then there’s like a roller coaster up there that’s included, a tubing hill, three ropes courses, and a zip line. And that’s for $89 a person. You can also just take scenic gondola rides as well. SAM: Oh, wow. And that’s one price for all day on all of those things? Staff: Correct. Yup, so that’s that. And then we have some other activities that you can buy separately. It’s totally up to you. SAM: Cool. So it sounds like you have a few things we can look into. Staff: Yeah, totally. Um, if you look on the website it probably has a better listing, and like, it will have, like, an explanation of what they all are. Maybe some pictures. SAM: Sounds good. I can look on your website, sure thing. Staff: Cool. You can also pre-book, too. So if you wanted to book on the website, you can, or you can give us a call back. We’re open from 10 to 4 and that’s Pacific Time. SAM: OK. I guess I’ll take a look at your website and check it out. Staff: Alright, sounds good. Have a great day. Rating: 8.5 Comment: Short and sweet, but with the key details included. Minus 1.5 for not giving the specific website address. MOUNTAIN 3, CO First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Uhhh, sure. You’re talking to X resort, is that where you’re going to be around? SAM: Yup. We’ll be around your resort. (Why do you think I’m calling you, sir?) Staff: Sure, um, you’re coming in July? SAM: Correct. Mid-July. Staff: Um, we have mountain biking, hiking, scenic chairlift rides, outdoor BBQ at the top of the mountain. And then we have activities like putt-putt golf and things like that. Um, and then we have a bunch of restaurants in the village, and, so um, yeah, that’s sort of what we offer. SAM: OK. So you’ve got some options. Great. Staff: Yeah. Yeah. Silence…. SAM: OK. Staff: And then we have wine excursions and Jeep tours. The tours take about an hour-and-a-half up the mountain. And then we have—typically on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—we have wine excursions. So it’s a Jeep tour plus a stop at X for wine tasting. So... yeah. Silence…. SAM: Sounds cool. Thanks. Staff: If you go to abc.com we have all this information on there. SAM: Great, thanks. I was wondering if your website had more details. Staff: Yeah, and depending on which days you are here we have some concerts throughout the summer. They’re listed under events. So… um, yeah. Silence…. SAM: Well, alright then. Thanks for the info! Staff: Yup. Bye. Rating: 3 Comment: Plus 3 points for giving me options and volunteering the website info, minus 7 for having the personality of a rock. So... yeah. MOUNTAIN 4, BC First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Oh, well, we do have the x mountain coaster! And that’s a pretty fun way to go. SAM: Cool. And what is that exactly? Staff: Um, if you check out our website, it’s basically a glorified single-rail downhill roller coaster. And it’s a pretty fun one! SAM: Sweet. Sounds fun. Staff: Yeah! Other than that, we’ve got a little bit of hiking around the resort, we’ve got a couple restaurants that are open, but most of the attractions around are in town, as well. SAM: Great, thanks. We have some girls looking at town, and one mentioned your area, so we wanted to see what you had to offer. Staff: Yeah! I mean, it depends what you’re into. I mean, the mountain coaster is definitely fun, but if you’re into what else X has to offer definitely in-town we’ve got a lot going on. We’ve got our national park and then a bunch of biking trails in town and all that good stuff. SAM: Yeah, for sure. We like adventure. So I can go on your website and look at this coaster? Staff: Yeah, check that out. And then for everything else in this area, a good website is abc.com, and that’s going to have everything. That’s basically the website for our tourism branch. So that’s got pretty much everything that’s going on. SAM: Perfect. Well, I’ll look into all that stuff and go from there. Thanks! Staff: Sounds good. Well, thanks for coming up, we’ll see you soon. Rating: 9 Comment: An enthusiastic attitude about what the resort offers gets me pumped to check it out. Well done! MOUNTAIN 5, NH First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: What’s the date? Because we are open this weekend and then we close until Father’s Day. SAM: We are looking at mid-July. Staff: Yep, we’ll be open then with all of our summer attractions. Silence…. SAM: OK. Great. Staff: OK. Silence…. SAM: Thank you very— Staff: Click! SAM: —much. Rating: 0 Comment: Yep...hang up on a guest while she thanks you for underwhelming info. No, thank you. MOUNTAIN 6, NH First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Have you already reserved the party through us? SAM: No, we’re just looking at area activities. Staff: OK, well, our four main attractions are the zip tour, which is zip lining for $85 a person. How big is your party? Because sometimes we do group rates. SAM: I think we have about 10. Staff: OK, I believe you need more than that for the group rates. Um, we have Segway tours if you know what that is. It’s those machines you ride. We also have an aerial tree top adventure course, which is essentially ropes courses. They start at rather easy and go through five sections to rather difficult. And we have what’s called the X Zone out back, which has such things as a stunt jump where you climb up and jump down into an airbag, a tubing course where you slide down and it launches you into an airbag. What’s the date of your party? SAM: We’re looking at early to mid-July. Staff: OK, so on July 4th, if it stays on schedule, we are looking at opening our brand-new mountain coaster! That’s a roller coaster, but it’s not built up in the air. You go up the mountain and come down it. It uses the mountain instead of a structure that’s up in the air. Super fun! SAM: Cool! Staff: Yeah, and you know, if you buy the Discover Pass, that has all those smaller activities like the jumps I told you about. You also get paddle boats and chairlift rides and mountain bikes and a bunch of things included. All of that is on the website if you want to peruse it on your own time. You go under the summer tab on the website and everything is there. SAM: Great, I’ll take a look. Staff: Any other questions? SAM: I think that’s it for right now. Staff: Sounds good. And if you check out the calendar on the website, we sometimes have large events and activities, there’s usually a lot going on. But what we offer is those four main activities I told you about. I would recommend the zip tour, if you and your party are adventure fans, that’s usually the most dynamic thing for a group. SAM: Awesome, thanks. Staff: Hey, thank you. Thanks for your call! Rating: 10 Comment: Very polite and provided enough info to make me feel like an expert. Winner, winner! Identity revealed: Gunstock Mountain 7, MA First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: We have our mountain adventure park, which has an alpine slide, mountain coasters, rock climbing wall, there’s a zip ride, we have a ropes course. So there’s a lot of outdoor activities to do and then we have pools and hot tubs. SAM: Excellent! Silence…. SAM: All right, I guess that answers my question. Staff: OK, and if you actually go to our website, it’s got all the pictures and stuff of everything we have. It lets you kind of, ha-ha, scope it out ha-ha. SAM: Perfect, I’ll check it out. Staff: Thanks for calling. Rating: 3 Comment: It’s a good thing a picture is worth a thousand words… Mountain 8, MN First Contact: Automated machine. SAM: dialed extension. Staff: Automated menu. SAM: dialed extension. Staff: Automated menu. SAM: dialed extension. Staff: Same automated menu. SAM: dialed extension. Staff: Same automated menu again. SAM: dialed extension. Staff: Same automated menu yet another time. SAM: I give up…. Rating: 0 Comment: If I can’t get through your automatic menus while I am getting paid to sit on the phone, what makes you think guests will spend their free time doing it? Mountain 9, MI First Contact: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Well, we have all-inclusive, but you need to be staying with us. SAM: I’m not sure where we’re staying, one of the other girls is booking lodging. Staff: OK, we don’t rent kayaks, it’s all for our lodging guests, we don’t have enough for others guests. SAM: OK. Staff: Well, thank you very much for calling. Rating: 1 Comment: I totally understand that in the summer you operate as a lodging facility, but come on—cross-sell! Mountain 10, PA First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: I’ll tell you what, let me go ahead and put you through to reservations and they can tell you something. SAM: OK, great. Transferred … Answering phone: Female. SAM: Re-stated question. Staff: I’m sure. We’re open all year round. What dates are you looking at? SAM: We are looking at end of June or beginning of July. Staff: Sure, June or July, sure. We have two different zip lines we have on property, there’s a spa service, a sporting play facility, the 18-hole golf course, the alpine slide, the alpine tower, we have mini golf, bowling, and sometimes on Friday or Saturday night, they sometimes have a DJ from 9 to 1 or other entertainment in the Bavarian Lounge. SAM: OK. Staff: We also—if you’re looking at accommodations, if we have openings—we have condos, cabins, and chalets depending on the dates you’re coming. SAM: I think one of the other girls is booking lodging, so I am not sure what her plan is. Staff: Yeah, because it is a two-night minimum on the weekends. Uh, if she’s looking, we do have different types of accommodations. Now, if she’s looking the first weekend in July, I’m not sure what she’s looking for, uh, the first weekend of July would just be in condos or cabins, the main hotel is full. Do you have a specific date so I could give you a better idea of rates? SAM: That’s OK, I am just looking into activities that we could do. Staff: Well sure, you know whoever is in charge of lodging should book now, because things do fill up. SAM: I’ll let her know, thank you. Staff: Sure, is there anything else I can help you with today? SAM: That’s all, thank you. Rating: 6 Comment: Great start, but we sort of got off track there for a while, don’t you think? Mountain 11, UT First Contact: Automated machine. Chose operator. Answering phone: Female. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Uh, when are you coming up? SAM: Mid July. Another gal made the booking, but I know it’s around mid-July. Staff: OK. So, right now everything is closed, but by that point everything will be open. So all the restaurants, there’s a bar, you can take one of the chairlifts up and hike around, uh, there’s disc golf up on the mountain which is pretty fun. And then we rent bikes here, and scooters and the discs and stuff. SAM: OK, great. So you have some options. Staff: Yeah, yeah. And if you don’t want to hike there, right across the street is some great hiking as well. SAM: OK. Staff: Yeah, there’s a lot of hiking, um, the Frisbee golf is really fun! SAM: For sure. I love disc golf. I’m not sure if everyone has played, but that could be a fun option. Staff: Yeah, exactly. And even if they don’t want to play, it’s fun to just kind of hike around with everybody. You know, you can always take a cooler up with you. I don’t know if you drink, but you can bring some beers up, you know, make a day of it! SAM: Oh fun, yeah. Do we take the chairlift up or start at the bottom? Staff: You go up the chairlift. The course starts about mid-mountain off the chair. SAM: Sounds easy. And you guys would allow us to bring a cooler with some drinks? Staff: Oh yeah, totally. SAM: Great! That could be fun. Thanks so much for your help! I’ll talk to the group and see what they want to do. Staff Rating: 7 Comment: Not an overwhelming amount of detail, but a great personality with an upbeat attitude always gets high points. Mountain 12, NM Answering phone: Male. SAM: Stated question. Staff: Well, we opened on the 26th for summer. We have gondola rides for sightseeing, we have mountain biking, we have zip lining with a wonderful zip line. We have food and beverage, there’s retail, there’s hiking. And you said when? SAM: It’s going to be mid-July. Staff: Oh, OK, I was going to tell you about our X festival, but that’s coming up next weekend. We’ll have music and games and stuff up here. SAM: No worries. It sounds like from what you said earlier, you have quite a few activities. Staff: Yes, ma’am. We also have disc golf if you’re interested in disc golf. SAM: Yeah, some of us are, for sure. We could maybe do that. Staff: Yeah, so now the course is free, but if you need to rent the discs, they’re $10. SAM: OK. Um, is there somewhere I can look to see more details of what you offer? Staff: Sure. You can go to our website. It’s xyz.com and just check it out, and if you have any questions feel free to call me back. SAM: Great, thanks. I’ll take a look and share it with the group and we can see what we like and I can give you a call back if I have any other questions. Staff: Yeah. We have a 5.5 mile bike trail. It’s fun, I’ve done it. So yeah, go check it out and give me a call back with any questions. SAM: Thanks for your help. Staff: You bet. Have a great day. Rating: 6 Comment: Not the smoothest conversation I’ve ever had, and the zip line tour is truly phenomenal—it could have received some extra promotion.
