I love my job, and I love the people that are in charge! But working in Outer Limits during the weekdays can be very boring, and hard to be excited for. Recently we've been getting to do some projects to have something to work on, which has actually been pretty nice. Basically, I just wish there was a little bit more we could do? Or have some type of incentives to help us want to interact with customers and sell more items. On weekends this isnt as much of a problem, but weekdays are just miserably slow.
Had more than one guest comment , "where are the greeters and hosts that help us get off the bus". referring to the parking lot shuttles on Sunday 12-9. evidently the guest host team has made a positive impact in the past.
Please remind employees where the smoking areas are. Smoking 10 feet away from the snout and close to the employee busses fills the bus up with smoke. I am not certain new employees are aware of this.
Also a big shout out to our East Side bus drivers. They are friendly, and safe at all times. I truly appreciate them. Where else can you work and get free transportation? Good Job Drivers
I took a ride break today, 12/13, and the groom was fantastic!! A huge shout-out to the people who make that happen.
The way the adult line up works needs to be changed. I have heard the same comments when I share this idea with other instructors. I have avoided the adult line up and instead head for the CLC because the adult side makes me anxious. There are 20 instructors loitering around in the adult line up, which I also don't think is very welcoming to the clients. There is no way of knowing which instructors are full time and get first dibs on lessons, there are a few instructors saying they hope they don't get a lesson so they can just go ski, and there are a few part time instructors wandering around wondering if they will get work. There has to be a better way to do this using the MHM computer system. As soon as someone buys a lesson or rents skis for a lesson, the managers should get a notification letting them know there is a lesson. They could easily have a list of available instructors on a list on the computer screen in the instructor lounge showing the full time people, the part time people and maybe even the people that really don't care or don't really want a lesson that day. It really makes me anxious to go to adult line up and have this limbo feeling of am I going to work or not and other instructors have said the same thing to me. Another example of the adult system not working is I came up on a day that I wasn't scheduled to ski.
Near line up time, I went to the adult line up to put my skis outside. There was a manager out there alone. He needed an instructors help and asked me. I had just left the instructor lounge where there were at least 15 green coats. I told the manager that I wasn't scheduled to work but I would be happy to help. He, obviously frustrated, told me he would find someone else. He then had to get on the radio, at a very busy time, and get someone else out to help him when it would have been very simple to have had someone working that day on the schedule instead of winging it at the last minute. I think using the existing computer system would lend to a better, more professional experience for the client, the managers and the instructors.
We are taking steps to improve the Adult Lesson Meeting area lineup process and I appreciate you sharing this with us. It has been on the my mind for quite some time too. The instructor corral and a check in roster are examples of these steps. There have been plenty of instructors who avoid kids and come to adults (the opposite of what you shared) - I guess it depends on who you are and what you prefer. I agree that instructors should not be loitering - this is paid time and instructors should be "on task" - arrive on time or early, greet guests, be fully present for the guests, etc. The situation you mentioned about being at the lineup area out of uniform is very common - some instructors have a cover coat and come to lineup in their civilian attire, then change into their uniform just before the lineup time, so the fact that you were asked to help as a known team member is not unusual. If it's your day off and you don't want to teach, I'd simply avoid the adult lineup area especially at or before lineup times, otherwise you'll be easily confused as ready to work. While we have a roster of scheduled team members, it's difficult for the supervisor or manager to know in an instance of seeing your smiling face whether you are scheduled that day or not, as many instructors love to teach and offer to do so on their days off. As for "the computer" system - yes we have been utilizing a ratio of instructor to guests taking lessons for on-line reservations when assigning instructors to various teaching locations for their daily assignment. This helps us know where to schedule staff (i.e. kids vs adults) based on reservations. As you know, on peak days though, guests get parked out, arrive late, don't come at all, so we need to be a bit fluid to meet the guests's needs that actually make it on time. This situation also applies to instructors where we have to 10% to 15% of staff "call out" either sick, missed the bus, late, parked out, etc. so even "on paper / computer" if they are scheduled vs they are here and ready to work can vary greatly - that is why having everyone "check in" on the computer helps us plan for the day, as well as providing as much advance notice of team members being absent using the proper call in procedure. Hope this sheds some light on some of the operational aspects - please keep the ideas coming - they are helpful. -Tyler Barnes, Learning Center Operations Manager
Access control inside is not fixing pass issues remotely.
They only seem to respond when they see a hotlist and by the time they get ahold of us on the radio, our access leads have already dealt with the situation appropriately..
It’s hindering to our smooth operation to have control constantly telling us to send people inside that have already been sent inside.
So far this change seems to be useless if inside access control cannot respond in a quick and efficient manner.
No offense, but you’re not the ones standing out there while 150 guests are running through the gates, we just cannot operate well with such a huge delay.
We get a hunded “no product “ messages a day, yet access attempts so assist with maybe one or two in a day and they response is only “send this person inside”
What person, what are they wearing, what lane did they come through.
Give us information so that we can pull this person to the side before they get into the lift.
Access control needs to perform better, or just leave it to lift ops.
I am addressing all of the Access Control comments at once with this response. Many people with good intentions pitched into developing this program. Most any attempt at improvement goes through a learning phase and with that comes the need to adapt to daily problems. We are all one team and associating blame to anyone for these pass issues is unfair; ask "is what I'm doing helping" to borrow a phrase from orientation. Once the office has a puck they will be able to keep people from having to go inside for the NO PRODUCT issues which should greatly improve our guest service abilities. This program has my full support and I will continue to work in tandem with the Access Control department to make sure that we are enriching the lives of both our team and our guests. I ask that you continue to be patient and solution minded while we find out what works best for everyone, thank you. - Cody Howe, Lift Operatiosn Manager
The upcoming holiday period with extra nights is very difficult to manage.
I hope the financial analysis has been done that shows substantial justification for these extra shifts that negatively impact wellness and to our relationship with staff.