Letter: Here’s why guests aren’t embracing Vail Resorts’ dining options
With regards to the recent article about the CEO of Vail Resorts and her comments about why guests aren’t embracing the return of on-mountain dining, I think that she is entirely off-track. The reason why people aren’t eating on the mountain, Kirstin Lynch, is because your service sucks.
After a recent visit to Talons (one of the on-mountain dining options at Beaver Creek), I was completely appalled at what we experienced. From the lack of any employee at all clearing dirty plates and wiping down tables to the extremely long lines, I can’t understand why anyone would look to go anywhere else (said in jest).
During the pandemic, things were at the complete opposite ends of the extreme, where cleanliness took top billing. I just wish we could get back to “normal” where there are employees who have a job of doing nothing but cleaning down tables. As well as keeping an eye on things, like cleaning up the spilled order of French fries that sat at the bottom of the stairs for more than 20 minutes. The same goes for having staff who can actually replace the silverware in the silverware bins, instead of putting out the large plastic bin of forks that guests could not tell whether it was clean or not — some people grabbed from it, others put their dirty forks in it. It was disgusting. So, I’m curious to know where all of this additional staffing exists that you tell us you have. Because it certainly wasn’t there on this day.
Then there were the lines. This was prior to busy spring break on a Friday at lunch. There were lines 12 people deep for most items, so I picked the soup line, which wasn’t too bad. The guest in front of me asked to see the broccoli cheddar soup. She was told they were out. I stepped up next and ordered a bowl of chili. They were out of rolls, so I got two packages of crackers. How hard is it to have rolls that most likely aren’t baked on site? Especially for a $15 bowl of chili.
When I went to check out and order a soda, I was told that the soda machine was broken, but was given a full-size glass for water. Which is a total bonus, since bottled waters on the mountain cost more than $6!
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Based on this horrible experience, you can count me as one of the guests whose daily behavior has not fully returned and probably won’t for awhile. Kirstin, you might want to get out of your office in Broomfield and actually come to eat on the mountain to see for yourself what the real issues are. And maybe hire some managers who can return the level of service to pre-pandemic levels.
Suzy Smith
Edwards
