 Poster: A snowHead
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Back to the OP....... pandora hasn't posted since Monday. Is it likely he's come to an agreement with SB?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I stayed with ski beat between 2 - 9th Jan in La Plagne and then did a second week with Cyrstal/thomson in Val D'Isere from 9-16th Jan.
My experiences with ski Beat were all positive. 30'ish chalet host who was extremely competent and turned out high quality food while still eating with us (we are in to food and never expect too much on a chalet holiday but were reasonably impressed). Rep took care of numerous dining bookings, lift tickets etc without any problems. The chalet was the highest quality I have stayed in (a few other guests said the same). This was despite my partner breaking her leg and having to spend 4 days in hospital. There was a family in our chalet that had been with ski beat 4 times with no problems.
It always amazes me that people expect compensation from the TO for bad weather (that's why you take out insurance). There is no real execuse for being rude but if I had been awake for 72 hours with numerous customers yelling at me as it was snowing/foggy at the airport (I might eventually loose it). - not sure if this was the case for the ski beat rep (and sounds like too many were rude to be the case) but know the cyrstal resort rep had been awake for 72 hours on that weekend.
When we arrived in Val D Isere for our second week with Cyrstal, the thomson chambrey flight guests staying in our chalet didn't arrive until 3am monday morning and they also went to an airport in Italy (was either Turin or Milan) - so other operators as well expereienced similar delays.
In contrast to ny positive ski beat expereience during the first week, my second week in Val D'Isere with Crystal was like an episode out of faulty towers, 2 very incompetent 20yo chalet hosts who did not have a clue, did not know how to wash up (we ended up washing up every piece of crockery and cutlery one night beacuase they were so filthy) and had drunken ephisodes including one night where one of the chalet girls locked herself out of her apartment so came into our chalet and made a drunken racket then jumped on top of one of the guests in his bed.
Think any TO chalet experience is very much determined by the individual host you have along with the weather (which isn't the TO's fault).
Find it strange that given chambrey's very bad rep as an airport (which most people know about) being the first one to usually close in bad weather that a pilot on holidays would be willing fly into chambrey vs. Geneva or Grenoble.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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a) she's a 'she' and b) it's only cabin staff, the pilots aren't involved (or so I was told by a BA pilot I met last week.)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| perthpowchaser wrote: |
| chalet girls locked herself out of her apartment so came into our chalet and made a drunken racket then jumped on top of one of the guests in his bed |
This is a bad thing?!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Phil_D wrote: |
| Back to the OP....... pandora hasn't posted since Monday. Is it likely he's come to an agreement with SB? |
Which will have involved a non disclosure, I remain surprised that this thread remains in the public domain.
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Boredsurfing, Maybe they are suing him for defamation? 
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Phil_D, As Hurtle, said, Pandora is busy with HER job, HER pregnancy, HER child, HER horse ad nauseum.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| anotherproblem wrote: |
| perthpowchaser wrote: |
| chalet girls locked herself out of her apartment so came into our chalet and made a drunken racket then jumped on top of one of the guests in his bed |
This is a bad thing?! |
Anyone got Crystal's number..... 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Chasseur, exactly! I know people that would pay a premium for that kind of service! I sense a business opportunity coming on.....
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I've come up with a good idea from reading this thread. Next time a flight is delayed for whatever reason why doesn't the pilot come out and talk to the people waiting in the airport in horrendous conditions rather than leaving the vastly less paid ground staff or ski rep to take the flack?
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You know it makes sense.
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can no longer find this thread on mumsnet..maybe has been removed?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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maybe they don't know that snowheads exists 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well if you google ski beat and delay, this thread certainly comes up.radar,
but if you only google ski beat the mumsnet thread is on the first page.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 23-01-10 12:21; edited 1 time in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Websites shouldn't be edited by solicitors. Not sure what point is being made here.
If specific - specific - comment on this thread is actionable then the point of having moderators is to take it out.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ernst Goldsmith, Perhaps you should pose that question over on mumsnet, (who are also advertising for an advertisement sales executive.) Maybe advertisers are more powerful than solicitors letters.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Advertisers are only as powerful as publishers choose them to be
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Interesting to see the reviews come up on review centre too. The lawyers will be busy!
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Boredsurfing, perhaps no one at SkiBeat has googled, though you make a good point about advertising.
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thefatcontroller, when we were delayed by a day, 2 weeks ago, the pilot - we were already on the plane - was happy to talk to us about the situation over the tannoy and face to face - he was even at the bottom of the stairs when we dis-embarked the first time, he could easily have hidden in the cockpit!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Boredsurfing wrote: |
Well if you google ski beat and delay, this thread certainly comes up.radar,
but if you only google ski beat the mumsnet thread is on the first page. |
I'm lead to believe that a number of ski beat staff in Peisey are aware of this thread...
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pandora, At least you managed to get away. I had the worst trip ever. Having boarded my easyjet flight at 7.30am on 22nd December in Manchester, it started to snow.
After 9 and a half hours of sitting on board , being told we would be taking off "shortly" on several occassions, the flight was cancelled at 5pm. Got in a taxi and went home. End of trip.
Hope both our next trips run smoother.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| stevew wrote: |
| thefatcontroller, when we were delayed by a day, 2 weeks ago, the pilot - we were already on the plane - was happy to talk to us about the situation over the tannoy and face to face - he was even at the bottom of the stairs when we dis-embarked the first time, he could easily have hidden in the cockpit! |
Good for him but I bet that isn't the norm  and I wonder how many venture into the terminal to see those there or is the terminal just the place they get the taxi to their expenses covered hotel?
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Interesting isn't it, from what I have read SkiBeat in general seems well liked, what happened to Pandora and her fellow travellers seems unusuall but does go to show that when things go wrong they reall go wrong in a big way, I would imagine slightly better organisation and a little better customer relations could have changed the posts tone considerably.
Seems to me that SkiBeat messed up in at least 3 major ways, firstly poor organisation at the departure airport, a little more information would I'm sure have gone a long way, secondly rude reps at the arrival airport combined with a dodgy transfer coach driver, now I've seen the way that reps get delt with by many tour opperators and it's not good in general so I'm sure the reps were stressed but that's still no excuse for rudeness to customers, the coach driver I imagine came with the coach and SkiBeat probably had very little choice in the matter, however they should have known the length of the transfer journey and if necessary ensured that 2 drivers were used instead of one. Finally the rep in resort, again we come back to there being no excuse for rudeness to the customers, I'm sure it would have been much better for the rep to have said SkiBeat is really sorry for the dreadful start to your holiday, we're going to try and make the rest of your trip the best you've ever had. If he didn't know why things were done the way they were better to say so than to try and argue with the customers.
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You know it makes sense.
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| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| Quote: |
Boredsurfing wrote:
Well if you google ski beat and delay, this thread certainly comes up.radar,
but if you only google ski beat the mumsnet thread is on the first page.
I'm lead to believe that a number of ski beat staff in Peisey are aware of this thread... |
bertie bassett, Bet they ain't happy, I wouldn't be. Does Ski Beat deserve all this bad publicity? I don't think so, pushy know it all pilot mum has bad travel experience as it snowed in Winter and a company has to be killed? Time to move on and leave pandora to her horses.
Bet pandora's boss Mr Walsh would have issued a writ by now |
Personally, there is no level of provocation that would lead me to shout at a customer in my professional life. They can make personal threats, statements, try and get me fired, take legal action, but at no stage do I need to lose my temper. If I am the kind of person who loses my temper in that situation I have no business acting as a front line resort manager, whose job is often to resolve conflict and diffuse situations.
I've heard plenty about Ski Beat on this thread from all angles, and I have decided that there is way too much choice out there with other companies for me to have to run the risk of encountering the employees described by Pandora.
I have no doubt that she is a demanding customer. So am I. Her ideals seem similar to mine, and as a result I would have likely had a very similar discussion and got a very similar response from their reps. And I would have been equally horrified.
If what has happened can be supported by several people who witnessed it, then the report is simply a recounting of the facts. If Ski Beat decided to try and take legal action as a result of that I'd be very disappointed, and they would 100% become company I wouldn't do business with ever. Good companies take feedback, respond to customers in a way that exceeds their expectation, and don't need lawyers to get the out of the doodoo. If they resolved the matter with Pandora and other guests, those guests would be on here and mumsnet etc and would be shouting about the exceptional response they got from Ski Beat. People's faith would be restored that Ski Beat don't think this response was acceptable, and that they won't have the same experience. And bookings return. Unfortunately the easy (low customer service) option is to write a crappy letter from their solicitor and censor the internet. Which is bonkers. Censoring the internet is like trying to pin jelly to a wall with a fork.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Monium wrote: |
| If I am the kind of person who loses my temper in that situation I have no business acting as a front line resort manager, whose job is often to resolve conflict and diffuse situations. |
Never got angry, never shouted at anyone have you? Not justifying what happened and its for Ski Beat to deal with their staff but the desire of many on this thread to see a company go under because it snowed in Winter and 2 or 3 people who worked for a company were (allegedly) rude in how to spoke to some people I find amazing.
No need for Ski Beat to respond to this thread as in true snowheads fashion the judges on here have already decided they deserve the death penalty 
To err is human to forgive divine
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Poster: A snowHead
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They know, I forwarded this thread to senior Ski Beat management the day after it appeared. Then again maybe the messenger doesn't want to get shot and it's gone no further.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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thefatcontroller, I'm afraid I find your judgment as unconvincing, in fact rather more so, than pandora's own. At least she backed up what she wrote with some facts. It's perfectly possible that her attitude fuelled the flames: she does come over as rather daunting, though I can't imagine being in the best of tempers in her shoes myself, even assuming only half of what she posted was true. However, it's fairly clear that there were ate least some flames to fuel.
As for divine forgiveness - get real. In what world does a customer 'forgive' a service provider for not just one failing not apologised for, but a catalogue of them?
Also, I don't think that even pandora is suggesting that any human failing was responsible for the snow. The complaints are largely about lack of information and rudeness. A bit more information - even if it was something like 'I have absolutely no idea why this delay is happening, but I am doing my very best to find out' - would have helped. I experienced travel delays the other week too, but it was clear that I was regularly being supplied with as much information as was actually available, therefore there was no cause for complaint.
Finally, is anyone actually suggesting that this company should 'go under'? Even pandora herself acknowledges that some aspects of the company's service were exemplary.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| At least she backed up what she wrote with some facts. |
That would be the acid test: truth or untruth. They were ballistic postings, and quite damaging, but if true no one can sue (unless it went completely OTT, in which the law might determine that it was a deliberate act of sabotage towards a company)
At the root of it was an act of God, which would have thrown all but the most exceptional logistics of any tour operator. The logic of the customer communications was clearly where it all went wrong.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ernst Goldsmith, thanks for the law lesson, it's always useful to be updated. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Alexandra wrote: |
| Phil_D, As Hurtle, said, Pandora is busy with HER job, HER pregnancy, HER child, HER horse ad nauseum. |
Amazed she has the time what with being a full time pilot...oh, hold on, they only work of 40 hours a month...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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PJSki, would you rather airline plots were working 40 hours a week?
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I would think that was 40 hours flight time - not working time
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Whoa! Lot's of turd-slinging now. I'm not seeing people calling for the downfall of SB.
As I mentioned earlier, I've used SB twice, both trips being spot-on and will possibly be off to the 3v's with them again next week. However, IMV the serious 'crimes' in this case were the shouting, rag losing reps and the utter lack of communication from SB during Pandora's outward trip. If I were SB management and keeping tabs on this thread (there will be at least one), I'd be diving into these issues, making sure that neither EVER happened again.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| rainman wrote: |
| PJSki, would you rather airline plots were working 40 hours a week? |
Yeah. Their terms of employment are far to generous. Also, do you remember the BA one who sued because she wasn't getting enough time with her kid?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/4471851.stm
She wanted to cut her hours in half to a mere eight days a month. You fancy being flown by some bird who doesn't get much stick time?
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 23-01-10 17:09; edited 1 time in total
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| Shimmy Alcott wrote: |
| I would think that was 40 hours flight time - not working time |
No, to be far, which I wasn't being, they do 100 hours flying a month. That's seat time, not including the time they spend cleaning the terminal toilets etc. and they will be away from home a bit. But their term and conditions are still far too generous, imv.
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