Idea to Improve Ski Bowl Usage at Gore

JasonWx wrote

Harv,
You are marketing guy...
Look at the names of all the MAJOR ski resorts...
Of course there are a few clunkers..But 95% have a name that draws you in..

Snowbird/Alta/Powder Mt/Aspen/Snowmass/Vail/Heavenly /Crystal/Whistler etc
They make you think of snow, winter or the mountains..

Jason I am the marketing guy. Take my word for it. Iceland and Greenland.

Imagine all the money a ski area could make if it's name was Tits and Cocaine.

You would get some kick ass bands playing in the Cloudspin Lounge, too.

D.B. Cooper wrote

You would get some kick ass bands playing in the Cloudspin Lounge, too.

HAHA!

raisingarizona wrote

D.B. Cooper wrote

You would get some kick ass bands playing in the Cloudspin Lounge, too.

HAHA!

FKNA! I'd do alot more weekends trips if this comes true.

brooklynrob wrote

Service wise I think Gore is just generally unfriendly in terms of staff. It's ain't Beaver Creek, that's for sure, but again, that may be by design to keep it a "hidden gem." I've just some to accept that some of the Gore staff are going to be surly.

Funny you say this.  I consider both Gore and Beaver Creek my "home mountains".  Have season passes for both and ski each about 15 days per year.  Anyway, each have their pluses and minuses.  At Beaver Creek the skiers are surely and at Gore it's the employees (many, not all).  
Another big difference is that Beaver Creek employees are there to ski whereas many Gore mtn. employees are not skiers, rather just there for a paycheck.

That said, I have had a far better experience at Gore as far as ski school than I have had a Beaver Creek.

I ski Gore, I ski BC, spend a lot of time in NC establishments, Never seen anyone not welcome a guest to our community. I agree it's not all about you!

BRLKED wrote

I ski Gore, I ski BC, spend a lot of time in NC establishments, Never seen anyone not welcome a guest to our community. I agree it's not all about you!

I don't want or need (or like to pay for) the service levels of Beaver Creek or Stratton. I prefer a low-key skiing focused mountain and town. I don't need fancy pants hot chocolate, marshmallows, or fake gas fires. After I ski I want a cheap bowl of chili and a soft bed and that's about it.

That said, the general impression I get of the staff at Gore is 1) they hate their jobs, and 2) a general grumpiness and miserableness. I have washed dishes, waited tables, worked in cafeterias myself -- I am not expecting folks to dance around in joy as they work. But the staff at Gore seem an especially joyless lot, and if the goal is attracting more visitors to Gore (still an open question), that would put people off to becoming repeat customers when other places like Stratton are on point with their service levels.

As to North Creek, what I've observed is a couple restaurants (e.g. Basil & Wicks) that seem to have good service. I have also seen other places, which I won't name, right in "downtown" North Creek, where the service was really bad -- very long waits for tables even when there we many tables available, entrees taking 60 min plus to serve, etc. In North Creek, from what I've seen, it's less about attitude, and more about service levels.

Again, if Gore/North Creek doesn't want to increase their visitors during the winter, especially repeat visitors, none of this matters, and business as usual is fine.

My view was that for Gore to survive and thrive it's going to need to increase its visits, and that depends at least in part on the services levels of both Gore itself and North Creek.

Again, that doesn't mean Gore/NC needs to go the other extreme of the elitist, snobby, my sh*t don't stink, Spyder gear and fur coats BC/Stratton/Deer Valley scene. I'd just like a happy medium in a low-key, skiing focused place.

brooklynrob wrote

That said, the general impression I get of the staff at Gore is 1) they hate their jobs, and 2) a general grumpiness and miserableness. I have washed dishes, waited tables, worked in cafeterias myself -- I am not expecting folks to dance around in joy as they work. But the staff at Gore seem an especially joyless lot, and if the goal is attracting more visitors to Gore (still an open question), that would put people off to becoming repeat customers when other places like Stratton are on point with their service levels.

I'm not the most observant person around, but I've rarely felt the negative vibe you describe at gore. The instructors and mountain hosts I've met have been enthusiastic. Lifties are very pleasant. Ticket sales and customers service have also been fine. I'll concede that the folks cleaning tables in the lodge don't necessarily seem too happy, but they are stuck cleaning up after slobs who are too lazy to throw out their own trash.

tom