I wish that upper management would actually listen to us when we say things like “we need help enforcing the mask policy because inside departments are not putting mask warning notices on pass profiles”
The response to this from Jeremy riss has been “well I’ve seen people giving warnings”
Warnings are useless if we don’t document those warnings and THAT is what I am asking for. A guest can be warned at the front steps, and then inside the main lodge. Then again at sahale,. And then at mount hood express where a liftie will finally put a comment on the profile, but at that point the guest has potentially been warned several times already.
This creates an environment where guests feel they can abuse the system simply by being friendly when getting a reminder.
Inside departments need to be given the tools to actually do this correctly.
We are getting so much pressure put on us to do this, and then when we do, you are not supporting us. Saying that we are too confrontational when giving warnings.
I propose this scenario. A guest with no mask gets warned to put it up by three employees around the lodge, none of which ask for his pass.
Finally when a liftie doing their job properly asks for their pass, the simple act of asking for the pass becomes “aggression” in the eyes of the guest because three other employees didn’t do their job fully.
Partial enforcement puts the team in danger, it makes the job harder, and it accomplishes nothing. Please stop dismissing these pleas for help. We are asking you for help. We are asking for help. I don’t know how else to say it. We need help. Stop saying “I see it happening” because we wouldn’t be asking for help if we didn’t need it.
Thanks for your thoughts and I apologize you do not feel listened to. Whether at the lift, in the lodge or other areas masks are required what we have discussed is reminding guests to put their mask up the first time and if they do so without issue we thank them and let them keep riding or go about their business in the lodge. If we see the same guest with their mask down again at that point we ask for their pass, I generally take a photo of it and put a comment in their profile. If I run across someone who already has a comment in their profile at that point we look at a suspension.
With the volume of mask reminders we are doing, in the lodges and at the lifts I do not think it would be realistic to put a warning in every single profile for someone that forgot to put their mask up.
I have noticed comments from team members in the areas that have to deal with a lot of mask reminders Lift Ops, Culinary, Rental, MLC, DPS and Guest Services all sometimes feel like they are the only ones dealing with it but the reality is all these areas and more are dealing with it regularly and having challenging interactions with guests.
When we deal with an uncooperative guest those interactions are never fun and it makes me sad that so many of our team members have had to do so. It is an unfortunate part of this season, that hopefully we won't have to deal with next year.
Please reach out to me if you want to discuss further.
-Jeremy Riss (Jeremy.Riss@skihood.com)
This season has been exhausting. I'm looking forward to the end of the season. Seasonal workers do not get paid enough or compensated correctly for the work that we do. I wish there were health insurance/dental insurance options. Please start a workers union. With how the executive team has treated seasonal workers, I don't want to come back next year.
I am sorry to hear you feel mistreated by the executive team. If you are open to it please send me an email with more details so I can better understand the ways in which you feel this is happening.
-Jeremy Riss
Jeremy.Riss@skihood.com
We have the employee ticket exchange and classes to Yoga-which is great. But is there some type of groupon discount we could get on vehicle accessories(wiper blades, light bulbs, fluid, etc...) and/or car repairs. A list of a couple shops that would give discount(or even priority) to Meadows employees.
Please offer another side besides French fries with the burgers and sandwiches. As someone who is trying to reduce carbs, it is frustrating to only have Fries offered. Soup? Salad-and not pasta salad. As for the salads-what happened? starchy and carb loaded grain and noodle salad is what available. A creaser salad is my only option if i want to stand in line. No spinach? arugula? feta? gorgonzola?
The food is also always cold. I have to reheat everything- the soup is served luke warm and i don't even leave the lodge and walk far enough to have it to have time to cool off.
and what is up with that really gross citrus chicken. really WTF? so gross. teeny tiny pieces of shred chicken with large pieces of slimy chewy tough skin. I thought i got bad plate, asked for a replacement. Same thing. Everyone i have spoke to about this has had the same experience.
I love the direction Meadows has taken with Pre-emptive closing with nasty weather. So many years i have worked here and the- open no mater what attitude- has done damage to employee moral on several levels.
Thank You Greg for make the right call. your leadership has been quite refreshing.
Back to employee appreciation...i started in 2002 and Meadows and the Drake family have always looked out for their employees. But in the last couple years HR has really stepped up the game. Thank You. Any employee love for folks with bad teeth? the power bars are a little tough.
Lots of Love
Keep it going!
Thanks for your feedback. I have been trying to reduce carbs as well. Have you tried the South Sister Salad, I would highly recommend it. I have not noticed the food being cold at all and have not heard that comment about any of the food except the pizza. Which items are you noticing coming out cold?
-Jeremy Riss
I'm going to refrain from using stronger language because I feel my point will come across better, however that doesn't mean I don't want to. The bus system is a joke. The drivers are kind , respectful, and efficient, but im not complaining about them. The reservation system is overly complicated and tedious, though misunderstanding online I have had to drive up on numerous occasions doubling or tripling my gas expenses. In my opinion the UI should be improved or tge whole system should be done away with all together. Another grievance I have is the policy to keep the winds open at all times on the busses. It is not only without justification but at least on one occasion has required the bus I was riding to stop and pull over to defrost the wind shield for close to 30+ mins. If air flow is required for safety is makes no sence for the lodges not to acquire the same policy. Many of the "covid safety" rules are only about safety until they are about money and im sick of it. This includes the outdoor mask policy. In my oppinion (which is supported by statistics) it is beyond ridiculous. I love MHM and this year being my first working here I have a new found love for the employees but as the season goes on that love has continuously turned to disappointment. I begrudgingly have followed all the rules but it has certainly made my and im sure many other employees seasons less tolerable. I know I am one small voice of many but I'm not alone in my views. Please be the company we can all be proud to work for. Thank you for the open forum for us to voice our opinions.
Communicating with the management is incredibly frustrating. Everything I ask takes about a month to get resolved. Anything seems to require an in person visit to someone (moving target who, fingers pointed to who that is) but that makes the assumption your schedules will cross.
Thank you to all the staff working to keep this resort running. Special thanks to the MLC trainers who take time out of their full time roles to lead clinics - one of the key reasons I teach is for the learning/ ski improvement opportunities. I really appreciate learning from the senior clinician/ examiners who can simplify concepts into one sentence the "what and how" without getting technical. That's the teaching role model we need for our own students!
Glad to hear the season is going well and you are getting some good training in!
-Jeremy Riss
Nordic needs a KEY for the toilet paper holders, and tp rolls that fit for the holders, for the PortaPotties in the HRM lot, so that additional rolls of TP can be added on busy weekends. It's REALLY embarrassing to have clients come for early morning lessons on a Sunday, and there is NO/ZERO TP in the port a potties!
The big rolls of TP don't work in the port a potties as they get wet when it is snowing and raining and windy and all the rain and snow blows inside. OR, whoever is in charge of the port apottie program needs to do a more frequent inspection of the TP supply in the units in the HRM lot. Thanks.
Shades in the Bullwheel bar.
It seems if the area is getting paid more for privates, that it would make sense to pay the instructors a bit more than their normal wage- to instill more stoke for that instructor, since most guests assume with a private that the instructor is being compensated accordingly.
I am not sure I agree. Privates are easier to teach than group lessons generally and though the individual guest is paying more that doesn't necessarily mean the resort is making more money. IE in a group lesson there are multiple guests participating and paying so the revenue for the lesson often his higher than the private.
The pay scale is setup to pay quite a bit more for request privates which I think is appropriate because that means the instructor is generating the business in that instance. We made this change a few years ago to not pay more for assigned privates and significantly increase the pay for request privates which I still feel is the right move.
If you want to discuss further please reach out to Tyler or I.
-Jeremy Riss
I simply want to express deep and utter gratitude for meadow's response both internally and externally after losing three team members. I felt above and beyond supported on so many fronts and after speaking with the families, I know they did as well. Thank you for putting people above the bottom line in such tangible ways.
Thank you for recognizing that, I think Lara Yeats in particular made a big effort to help our team through this tragedy and I really appreciate her efforts and kindness.
-Jeremy Riss