A lot of ski areas hold brewers’ festivals, Oktoberfests, and other similar events in the fall where the beer flows like wine. Those that charge admission often offer a reduced price for designated drivers, which is great. Nobody should drink and drive. We can preach responsibility and making good choices all day long, but the reality is, people are going to drink at events that are centered on drinking, and not all of them will have a DD.
Visitors coming from more urban areas expect there to be ride shares everywhere they go, so it usually isn’t necessary for them to assign a DD. However, many of these folks are surprised when they visit a rural ski area to find there aren’t any ride shares, not to mention taxi services. If you’re hosting an event where sampling alcohol is the primary activity, make sure visitors are aware of the transportation situation in your area—and make sure your staff can answer questions about it.
Of course, we didn’t expect every ski area we called to have local ride shares or taxis, but we also didn’t expect the staffers answering the phone to be rude and unhelpful, as many of them were. It’s not a complicated question, and it isn’t difficult to be polite, regardless of whether one has the answers a caller is looking for.
Got a question you think would be good for the Spy to ask? Send it to jordyn@saminfo.com.
MOUNTAIN 1, MI
First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: (long pause) Um, you can, like, download the Uber app and see. I don’t think we have them too much around here. We are a smaller area, but some people might do them. I’m not too familiar because I have never used it before.
SAM: Dang, OK.
Staff: I’m sure there might be some people that do it.
SAM: Yeah, I can take a look. In case you don’t have Ubers around, do you know if there are taxis?
Staff: Um, I don’t believe so.
SAM: Shoot.
Staff: I’ve never seen a taxi here (laughs).
SAM: Oh, wow. OK, I was hoping there would be some sort of ride service.
Staff: Yeah…
SAM: Alright, so we may just have to have a DD or something then.
Staff: Probably a good idea.
SAM: Thank you.
Staff: Yep, goodbye.
Score: 5
Comment: She was polite, but not much help. For the record, there are plenty of ride shares available in the area—and the nearby city has a handful of taxi companies. People will need a ride home from your beer festival. Know your stuff.
MOUNTAIN 2, UT
First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: You’re staying at the resort?
SAM: No, we’re staying off the resort.
Staff: (annoyed) So, we don’t have Ubers or taxis.
SAM: Oh, OK.
Staff: Have you gone to our website and looked up the free shuttle service?
SAM: No, I did not see that.
Staff: Yeah, so if you go on our website and look up the free shuttle service under [event name] that would be a good place to start (rude).
SAM: Do you know how far they go into town? I think we are staying near [town].
Staff: So, they go to the bottom of the hill and then you can get an Uber from there.
SAM: OK. So, there are Ubers down there just not up by the resort?
Staff: Yeah, exactly, they just don’t go up the mountain.
SAM: That makes sense. Thank you.
Staff: Yep, goodbye.
Score: 4
Comment: They’ve thought about how guests can get home safely after drinking, and this could have been the winning call—if she wasn’t rude about giving the information. Sure, I missed the shuttle info on the website, but isn’t that why people call?
MOUNTAIN 3, NY
First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: (monotoned) Um, I’m not quite sure. I would say they would be hard to find.
SAM: OK, we’re just not from the area, so I wanted to check first.
Staff: Yeah, I know there are some, but it may take a while.
SAM: That makes sense. Do you know if there are taxis or other options?
Staff: Not that I know of (over it).
SAM: Dang it.
Staff: Yeah…
SAM: Alright, well, thank you.
Staff: Yep, goodbye.
Score: 3
Comment: She didn’t have much info—and had even less interest in talking to me. She might as well have said, “You’re gonna have to
figure it out. Bye.”
MOUNTAIN 4, WY
First Contact: Male.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: I know there are some, but I don’t think there are a lot (sincere).
SAM: OK. Do you know if there are taxis?
Staff: Yeah, there are some taxis, but on a busy weekend they may not be available.
SAM: OK, that makes sense.
Staff: Yeah, I just don’t want to have you and your friends stranded up here, so I’m not sure if you should rely on taxis or Ubers.
SAM: Yeah, that’s a good point.
Staff: You could always just have a designated driver.
SAM: That’s probably what we’ll end up doing.
Staff: Sounds good, have a great day.
SAM: You too, goodbye.
Score: 7
Comment: No promises on Ubers or taxis, but at least he was honest—and actually seemed to care if we made it home.
MOUNTAIN 5, VT
First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: (snippy) Not a lot of Ubers in the area.
SAM: Oh, OK.
Staff: We don’t have any affiliation with them. You just have to check with Uber (rude).
SAM: We’re just not from the area so I wasn’t sure if you would be more familiar with ride options.
Staff: Yeah, not a lot of Ubers in this area.
SAM: Do you know if there are taxis or anything?
Staff: (uninterested) Couple taxis, not that we have any affiliation with, but I would just Google search for taxi services and you would see there are not a ton of options.
SAM: OK, yeah, sounds like one of us will just have to be the designated driver. Well, thank you.
Staff: Bye, have a good day.
Score: 1
Comment: Not a lot of Ubers in the area, but she was uber rude. Ugh. How about a little basic hospitality for a caller who isn’t from the area, i.e., almost every person that would call this resort with a question.
MOUNTAIN 6, CA
First Contact: Female.
SAM: Stated question.
Staff: Are you staying in [town]?
SAM: Yes, but through an Airbnb.
Staff: OK, that’s no problem. [Bus name] is actually running during that time. So, I would download their app, and the great thing is that it is free (chipper).
SAM: Oh, that’s perfect!
Staff: It’s kind of like a sprinter-style van, and they will take you. They should be running until like midnight but the [event] ends at 10 just due to noise ordinances.
SAM: That makes sense.
Staff: Yeah, so it’s [bus name], and when you look at your app it shows a red vehicle driving around and they will come and pick you up and drop you off.
SAM: Oh, great. Do you know if I need to schedule the ride with them or is it just at certain bus stops?
Staff: So, you would schedule it with them, and they would pick you up at your Airbnb.
SAM: Well, that works out great!
Staff: (excited) Yeah! We don’t really have too many Ubers up here, but I would probably just have one as a backup because I have a feeling there might be a bunch of Ubers driving around, especially during the festival.
SAM: Great, that can be our backup plan.
Thank you!
Staff: No problem! Have a great day.
Score: 10
Comment: Finally, someone who had answers and energy. What a revelation. Even if she told me there wasn’t an available shuttle or ride share, her polite and enthusiastic delivery would have still made this call a 10. Solid gold.
Identity Revealed: Palisades Tahoe
