Letter: Rob, welcome back

When Rob Katz was previously running the show, employees like Gary Shimanowitz were keenly aware of Rob Katz’s philosophy: “Do whatever you have to do to improve the customer experience.” Since Rob’s previous departure as CEO, Vail Resorts has been driven by the Marketing Department, not the Customer Service Department. The quest for improved customer service would have driven the stock and revenues beyond the achievements of the marketers. 

• Mountain safety: The maps bury the Skier’s Responsibility Code; the napkins no longer contain it. On every chairlift, advertising prevails, not any skier rules. The ski instructors, in my experience, never mention the skier’s code. It appears Vail Resorts has budgeted more for handling lawsuits than addressing mountain safety. Too many skiers and riders do not know who has the right-of-way on the mountain. And the lack of yellow jackets on the mountain is obvious.
• The website is a disaster, filled with a lack of information and often misinformation. The grooming report must be accurate daily. It is frightful when a skier enters a black trail he or she read would be groomed. The Bachelor Gulch camera was down for the entire season. The tracking system for recording vertical feet and the number of chairlifts ridden is too often wrong and sometimes doesn’t record entire days. 
• Customers do not appreciate the constant quest for increasing profits that are price-driven. Soup is one example — smaller bowls, bigger prices every year. Same customer abuse for all food and drink. Instead of attracting more customers, you are driving us away. 
• Parking is the constant quest for increasing Vail Resorts revenues without increasing service or investing in vertical solutions. 
• Arrowhead could open earlier if Vail Resorts would commit to the additional personnel, water and equipment required to do so. It is a choice Vail Resorts makes every year, which it attributes to the World Cup Race(s) at Beaver Creek. It is possible for both things to occur. 

Rob, welcome back, and if you are reading this, please restore your previous CEO philosophy. It is “all about the Customer Experience.” Let us locals be able to rave about our customer experiences again. 

Bob Kurlander
Edwards