Conversation with Killington rep at Albany Ski Expo

[salesmanny]

1. Did you catch the name of the person you were speaking with?
2. Based on my knowledge, the site is not blocked, at least for reading
3. Aside from the personal attacks and name calling, they got what they earned last year in the way of criticism
4. Even if senior management doesn't read the board, or claims not to read the board, loads of people in the organization read it along with lots of people in the community. They can ignore the board if they like, but I'd call that their problem, not ours.
5. If they want to be loved, they should all get dogs

Bubba, the woman I spoke to at the Albany ski expo was Nancy. She definitely told me that they do not have the ability to see Kzone at work on the computers in her office. My whole point is not that we should forget Powdr's mistakes or arrogance of last year, but rather, that this might be a good opportunity to move forward so that more positive communication can take place, and put the past behind us. If that happens, we all benefit. There is no question in my mind that our clout and the myriad of negative opinions about the way Powdr handled things last year led to declines in skier numbers and lots of bad PR for them. I believe that they've begun to see the light, but there's still a long way to go. When I brought up the issue of extending the ski season, Nancy said it wasn't economically a good move for them because most of the people skiing at that time of the year had season's passes, so no new money was coming in to offset the additional expenses. I countered that with three points: 1) a longer season would lead to the sale of more seasons passes and therefore more incoming revenue; 2) they should also consider offering a spring pass starting in March, like ASC used to do. If the season lasts longer, they'll sell more passes that way; and 3) the great PR that they'll get by staying open longer than any other ski area in the east will help them throughout the year as people plan their skiing vacations with the knowledge that Killington is going to make enough snow to have skiing well into late spring.

[Eski]

I thought that they wanted to intentionally reduce their numbers in order to offer that 'better experience' ... it would seem that they got what they were seeking

[BobR]

I was a spring into March Pass holder. That is how I met a bunch of folks at Bay the Bay 1 BBQ's Alot of us went here after our home mtns closed.

[Stormin_Aussie]

[/quote]

Bubba, the woman I spoke to at the Albany ski expo was Nancy. .[/quote]

News Flash: NANCY GOT FIRED AND ALL K PERSONNEL ARE AT THE RUTLAND ANIMAL SHELTER ADOPTING DOGS!!!

Only kidding...... No offense Nancy... whoever you are.... But I think the part about the dogs is a great idea!

Have a great day everyone.

[Bubba]

1. Did you catch the name of the person you were speaking with?
2. Based on my knowledge, the site is not blocked, at least for reading
3. Aside from the personal attacks and name calling, they got what they earned last year in the way of criticism
4. Even if senior management doesn't read the board, or claims not to read the board, loads of people in the organization read it along with lots of people in the community. They can ignore the board if they like, but I'd call that their problem, not ours.
5. If they want to be loved, they should all get dogs

Bubba, the woman I spoke to at the Albany ski expo was Nancy. She definitely told me that they do not have the ability to see Kzone at work on the computers in her office. My whole point is not that we should forget Powdr's mistakes or arrogance of last year, but rather, that this might be a good opportunity to move forward so that more positive communication can take place, and put the past behind us. If that happens, we all benefit. There is no question in my mind that our clout and the myriad of negative opinions about the way Powdr handled things last year led to declines in skier numbers and lots of bad PR for them. I believe that they've begun to see the light, but there's still a long way to go. When I brought up the issue of extending the ski season, Nancy said it wasn't economically a good move for them because most of the people skiing at that time of the year had season's passes, so no new money was coming in to offset the additional expenses. I countered that with three points: 1) a longer season would lead to the sale of more seasons passes and therefore more incoming revenue; 2) they should also consider offering a spring pass starting in March, like ASC used to do. If the season lasts longer, they'll sell more passes that way; and 3) the great PR that they'll get by staying open longer than any other ski area in the east will help them throughout the year as people plan their skiing vacations with the knowledge that Killington is going to make enough snow to have skiing well into late spring.

I think she worked for Rathbun in marketing and also works (or worked) at the Basin part time.

[mogulmouse]

killingtonzone is a direct descendant of the killington chat, which was run by killington. ASC decided to get rid of it so we picked up the ball and ran with it.

WORD!!!!

[rogman]

Seems rather childish to ban Kzone at Killington. And being more childish than Kzone takes some doing. For God's sake Nyberg, grow a set (just making sure Highway Star doesn't confuse me with one of the Killington shills ). Obviously they believe they can get their message across at AZ, where all ski resorts are wonderful (but the chosen are more wonderful). It's not like Tom doesn't get beat up over there, either. Killington needs to up their game, this isn't that hard. Sheesh. And what is it with holidays? Did everybody start drinking at 9AM? Some really strange posts today.

[johnny the jibber]

why is everyone so upset?

[Ski-N-Sail]

Seems rather childish to ban Kzone at Killington. And being more childish than Kzone takes some doing. For God's sake Nyberg, grow a set (just making sure Highway Star doesn't confuse me with one of the Killington shills ). Obviously they believe they can get their message across at AZ, where all ski resorts are wonderful (but the chosen are more wonderful). It's not like Tom doesn't get beat up over there, either. Killington needs to up their game, this isn't that hard. Sheesh. And what is it with holidays? Did everybody start drinking at 9AM? Some really strange posts today.

Maybe they want their employees working instead of reading message boards during the day???

[Mister Moose]

What attracted me to Kzone was the ability to hear unvarnished opinions and observations on conditions and goings on around the mountain. That still exists fine without any input from POWDR. Very little if anything they posted here wasn't available elsewhere. Reading the "Packed powder" description on the mountain's website tells me nothing. K zone frequently has much more info available.

I'd welcome their participation, but it is unusual for any company to enter into a constant public dialog with their customers. Historically newsletters, and now websites and email is a way to get a controlled message out. K-zone is out of their control. There are hecklers, armchair managers and intelligent counter propaganda overanalyzers here they'd rather not deal with. K Zone often has discussions and opinions that do not reflect well upon them.

They need the good political skills of a campaign seasoned politician to answer the legitimate questions from the crowd, ignore the hecklers, skip the questions they don't want to answer, and answer the ones they do with candor. They can't ever lose their temper or take their toys and go home. They have a campaign to win. That they would ignore the soap box offered to them to dispense information, take the temperature of the crowd, and set the record straight when rumors are flying seems less than forward thinking. But they clearly have bigger fish to fry for now, and don't seem to have the necessary political skills.

K-Zone continues to grow. I recently looked up how to change a light in the dash on a Ford Ranger. Found it by searching "Ranger Forum". Know what comes up #1 under Killington Forum? This will be a growing resource.

The "new and improved" board that ran in ASC's last year was hopelessly lame. The Mountain Times recent attempt flopped. So far, K-Zone has been the survivor.

While I'd prefer they'd participate, I can live without up to the minute reports from Tom on when the haul cable gets installed on the SPQ, why the ticket price went up 2 bucks or whether it was a windhold or a mechanical on Superstar. We have Skippy, Gangsta, Mrs G, Geoff, Bubba, JTJ, several mountain employees and many others who critique and inform. And none of them use the phrase "packed powder". (Except for Skippy)

[Highway Star]

What attracted me to Kzone was the ability to hear unvarnished opinions and observations on conditions and goings on around the mountain. That still exists fine without any input from POWDR. Very little if anything they posted here wasn't available elsewhere. Reading the "Packed powder" description on the mountain's website tells me nothing. K zone frequently has much more info available.

I'd welcome their participation, but it is unusual for any company to enter into a constant public dialog with their customers. Historically newsletters, and now websites and email is a way to get a controlled message out. K-zone is out of their control. There are hecklers, armchair managers and intelligent counter propaganda overanalyzers here they'd rather not deal with. K Zone often has discussions and opinions that do not reflect well upon them.

They need the good political skills of a campaign seasoned politician to answer the legitimate questions from the crowd, ignore the hecklers, skip the questions they don't want to answer, and answer the ones they do with candor. They can't ever lose their temper or take their toys and go home. They have a campaign to win. That they would ignore the soap box offered to them to dispense information, take the temperature of the crowd, and set the record straight when rumors are flying seems less than forward thinking. But they clearly have bigger fish to fry for now, and don't seem to have the necessary political skills.

K-Zone continues to grow. I recently looked up how to change a light in the dash on a Ford Ranger. Found it by searching "Ranger Forum". Know what comes up #1 under Killington Forum? This will be a growing resource.

The "new and improved" board that ran in ASC's last year was hopelessly lame. The Mountain Times recent attempt flopped. So far, K-Zone has been the survivor.

While I'd prefer they'd participate, I can live without up to the minute reports from Tom on when the haul cable gets installed on the SPQ, why the ticket price went up 2 bucks or whether it was a windhold or a mechanical on Superstar. We have Skippy, Gangsta, Mrs G, Geoff, Bubba, JTJ, several mountain employees and many others who critique and inform. And none of them use the phrase "packed powder". (Except for Skippy)

I've been amazed how much K-zone has blown up on the hill in the last year. I think it was spring of 2007 when I first heard someone mention it or ask if I read it, outside the diehard zoners. Now it comes up rather often, by all sorts of random people. I'm sure most Killington regulars and locals are aware of it, and a decent precentage read it.

[Bubba]

I've been amazed how much K-zone has blown up on the hill in the last year. I think it was spring of 2007 when I first heard someone mention it or ask if I read it, outside the diehard zoners. Now it comes up rather often, by all sorts of random people. I'm sure most Killington regulars and locals are aware of it, and a decent precentage read it.

Two of the three Selectboard members have registered here. One of them has posted, the other hasn't. The third reads the board but hasn't registered.

Planning Commissioners read the board as do others who work in Town Hall.

We now post public town documents regarding the village development plan, doing so at the request of one of the Selectboard members and with at least one of the documents having been sent directly to us by the Town Manager.

Many condo board members read the board and some are registered here and post.

Many second homeowners read the board and some are registered and post.

Many town and/or area residents read the board and some are registered and post.

Many regular weekenders read the board and some are registered and post.

A number of people looking for information read the board; some register and post.

Several people from Powdr's PR firm in Park City have registered.

We have IP addresses showing up from time to time from the west coast, the mountain west, the midwest and Europe, excluding folks like Mtn Man and KMartman who post regularly from far away places.

Ride the lifts and mention KillingtonZone and see how many people recognize the name and have read the board. The statistics on IP addresses and page views are huge in comparison to the number of registered users. Killington management can ignore the board if they like but this board is one of the opnion drivers in town and among the customers regardless of the resort's participation. They have been encouraged to participate by people NOT on this board regularly but they choose now not to do so. So be it.

[2knees]

lol, dont sprain your arm............

[Bubba]

lol, dont sprain your arm............

LOL....

[ski the trees]

I wouldn't come back to the board if I was powdr, there's very little to be gained - still way too much latent negativity here, though in defense of the board much of it well-deserved.

If people have a question, they should just use the website, write an email, or pick up the phone.