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(c) Elliott Publishing.

Bad Service
Cheap Charlie · April 24, 2000

During the past week I had the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City and ski in the Park City region.

Deer Valley, The Canyons and Park City Mountain Resort are the three major ski resorts in that area. I was there for the annual editorial meeting of the contributors to Skiing America, a guidebook to the top resorts in North America.

The trip proved to be a valuable lesson in customer service. As cheap as I am, good service is well worth the price you pay for it. Good value is measured by far more than only price.

Deer Valley is one of the most expensive ski resorts in North America measured by the one-day lift ticket price. Even though I grimaced when I saw the lift ticket prices, the overall Deer Valley experience proved to be one of the best values in the ski industry.

Everyone from the lift attendant to the ski check person smiled and provided more service than was expected. The Deer Valley cafeteria staff was attentive and the brass-and-glass counters gleamed providing a great setting for excellent food. And the meals ended up costing just about the same as a breakfast or lunch at the downtown diner. A customer couldn't ask for more.Deer Valley treats everyone like royalty.

The previous day my contributors skied at Park City Mountain Resort. The lift ticket prices turned out to be almost the same as those at Deer Valley, however the management does not project the same aura of customer service. Everything seems pedestrian.

The single-day lift ticket pricing highlights the management's approach to customer service. If a customer were to call several days before arriving in at Park City Mountain Resort and ask about the lift ticket prices, they would not receive a price.

Instead, the resort informs customers that they have "variable" pricing. They set it each morning based on what they feel the traffic will bear.

Park City Mountain Resort practices the absolute opposite of customer service. The most basic service any business can offer a customer is their prices. Park City Mountain Resort saves all convenience and consideration for themselves. Customers come last.

My recommendation is to bypass Park City Mountain Resort and drive up the hill to Deer Valley where they act like they appreciate your business and go out of their way to provide real customer service.

On the days we skied, the difference in the lift ticket price between the resorts was only $1.00. Or, stop at The Canyons and experience a new world of skiing with thousands of acres of expert and tree skiing as well as some of Utah's longest and most extensive cruising terrain. If you are a snowboarder, or traveling with one, you'll have to stick with The Canyons since Deer Valley is reserved only for skiers.

The best way to encourage good customer service is to vote with your feet and go to the resorts, airlines, restaurants and hotels that provide good customer service and value for money.

If customers continue to meekly put up with poor service, they will only get more of the same or even lesser service.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at charlie@ticked.com or access his Web site.