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Emails
from lift operations manager to Mt. Bachelor former president, Dan Rutherford, to Powdr Corp. president John Cumming and to Mt. Bachelor’s insurer, Aon |
| See the reports for each chair lift to the left... |
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From:
Caroline
Sherrer Dan,
Wanted to give you an FYI on Summit lift yesterday. Thanks
Caroline
Sherrer |
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From:
Carrie
Sherrer Hello Mr. Cummings, I have been pondering whether to write you for a while now... I am an employee of Mt. Bachelor, and was able to hear you speak to our group of managers early season here in Oregon. It seemed to me that you cared about what you do in life and have a passion for the ski industry, so I did feel a connection to you in that way. I want to write out of my concern for one of your companies...obviously, Mt. Bachelor. Let me begin by stating that this is not a vindictive letter and my job is in no jeopardy here. I have been in the ski business for 15 years and I love it and all the people that work in this industry. When I worked for a resort in Colorado and was having some difficulty with an issue, I emailed Michael Berry of [National Ski Areas Association] and he advised me to go to the VP with my concerns because he said he was sure this problem had not come across his desk. I made that appointment, and Mr. Berry was correct. So here I am applying that same advice. I don't know if there is any one reason for the low employee morale here. I do know that every mid-level manager is exhausted and they are looking elsewhere for employment...and it is not wages or benefits. I know these people and they are very dedicated and hard working managers that love the mountain. I am in that group as well, so speaking for myself. This is the fifth resort I have worked at and I know every resort has its unique qualities. Here, no new ideas are encouraged, in fact every single change I have wanted to make in my dept. is fought with extreme resistance. Our new [lift maintenance] manger came to see me today expressing the exact same sentiment to me, and he is now thinking of a job search. When you have experience you want to apply that experience and be creative, I want to make contributions. The senior staff has been here so long, they just don't seem to see other ways of doing things. Our local public is so upset with us, it's heartbreaking really. This is my second season here and I hear the frustration, I read the letters imploring us to step up. All my colleges in the industry tell me to just show up, collect my paycheck and let the directors run the place, that I will never make a change here. I did try this. Do you know how hard it is to tell yourself to not care about your job? I never thought it would be so difficult. This is a great mountain in beautiful central Oregon...we should be thriving here. Why on a snow year, where the [Northwest} has some of the best skiing conditions in the US are our skier visits down? I fear word of mouth alone has damaged our reputation. People undervalue word of mouth, and all I hear when I go out in the community are negative remarks about the mountain, and it really hurts to hear this. The lifts are in very bad shape, our downtime is something I have never seen. It’s almost embarrassing. We have so many people that will do what it takes but we need support. Thanks for your time. Best regards, Caroline Sherrer
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From:
Cumming,
John Dear Carrie, Thank you for taking the time to write. I can tell that you have a great deal of passion for Mt. Batchelor [sic]. If I could, I would move to Bend. I think Mt. B. is our best skiing resort, I love the town and the people. The ski business is a strange creature. I have been in other passion based businesses, but none compares to the ski industry where "sense of ownership" is concerned. The constituencies that we serve are often offended by our actions when we attempt to be "too business like" (my words) I share those feelings at times, but also recognize that the best way for us to be around for the long term is to be as good at this business as we can. There are several measures for this. Profitability is one. Innovation is another. These two go together. I hope that we can rectify the situation that you describe. I am aware that the morale is unacceptable. I hope that you can bare with us. I believe that things will get better. Please stay in touch. –jdc |
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To: customer_service@aon.com Submitted Sat Jul 07 15:14:47 EDT 2007Name: Anonymous Please describe your inquiry: I want to contact someone that presides over my workplace that AON is the insurance carrier for. I have some important concerns that I want to make AON aware of about this company. This company refuses to follow the ANSI standards that we are required to regarding our lift maintenance that lifts are unsafe and need a thorough inspection and records of maintenance (that don t exist, because they don t keep any). Organization: Mt. Bachelor Role: Manager
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From:
carrie
07/09/2007 12:20
PM To: WWWCustomer Service < customer_service@aon.com > cc: Subject: RE: Client/Customer Support Our parent Co. is Powdr Corp. out of Park City or Salt Lake UT., they own Park City Resort. We are new to AON as of last fall. AON sent two representatives out mid winter, but I am unsure of what was inspected. Unlike other states with ski areas, Oregon does not have a state Tram[way] board that inspects us twice yearly. Our insurance company is the only agency we answer to and if we do not have someone that understands ANSI B-77 and lift Maintenance/Operations it would be easy to overlook a lot of things. Mt. Bachelor is not following ANSI as required by law. I am a manger there and know this for certain, and contacting AON is my last recourse in my attempt to get this company to start a maintenance program that follows the ANSI code of operations. We are at the point where the lifts are going to hurt someone and I feel they are becoming unsafe to load public and I am extremely concerned. |
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From:
customer_service@aon.com |
