 Poster: A snowHead
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@googiew, In defence of my style here we have an Op who came across as whiney and entitled on P1. If you do that on the Internet someone is going to call it out even if it's in a relatively jokey manner. My first post was partially a set up to tease another thread participant. If someone isn't prepared for a bit of robust challenge of their preconceived ideas and can't flex their comms style while continuing to insist they are a brilliant people person maybe they need to stick to Club Penguin.
I genuinely think there has been good advice here and some valuable life lessons here for the Op. Up to him whether he wants to reflect on that. And my olive branch was genuine.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| googiew wrote: |
| The irony of this situation could be that @njathind did so well at interview that they felt they were the best candidate to be self sufficient in a smaller team etc |
That's my impression too, which can be a double edged sword. On the one hand, the OP gets to have a lot of freedom to do things without too much interference from higher rank. On the other hand, he miss the opportunity to network with other reps and see a more diverse environment & clientele. But in the long run, it would even out in one's career.
Personally, I'm of the opinion it's ok to express a desire to be transfer to a bigger resort. It's unlikely the offer would be retracted from his merely asking for a different resort. It's all in HOW it's worded of course. If they turn him down on the transfer request, as long as he apply himself to work to the best of his effort in that small resort, he would be view favorably in the end.
The danger being, the OP felt the opportunity he got offered is truly inferior when it really isn't so. Add his refusal to consider the many opinion to the contrary being offered here. That will definitely impact his enthusiasm in applying himself during his time in the resort.
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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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Give it a go....smaller may have benefits ....you'll know all the bar staff 
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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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@njathind, Putting aside your decisions. Rauris is a great little resort. I'm returning for the 6th time in 8 years in January with Crystal. I've done bigger, louder resorts but Rauris is what you make it. 25Km of piste is not much if you want to ski groomed slopes from top to bottom all day. You can get from the top to the bottom of the mountain in 12 minutes (if you can ski/board well). You will find lots of powder on the top part of the mountain that is untracked (Any large resort will be tracked out everywhere). At the top of the rickety T-bar behind the middle station there is a huge powder valley to the right (just over the fence).
One thing Crystal don’t offer is the Tobogganing which is a must on a Monday or Thursday and maybe you could get that re-instated. You get to eat all the cake in the hotels on your afternoon rounds!! What could be better
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi Nathan
I've read the first 2 pages....just thought I'd offer my tuppence-worth.
I decided to apply for a season as a rep in 2001/2 (at the grand old age of 26!) after having had a couple of wicked trips to the Alps, Tignes to be exact, and having learned to ski as a kid in Scotland. My career to that point had been in customer service and project management. I probably wasn't even as good a skier as you - could get down most reds and a black if in pristine condition with no bumps! Nightlife, from a personal point of view, wasn't important. I loved the idea of going to live/work in the mountains, particularly France since I'd done French to A-level and put myself through winter night school to refresh it, and the idea of going somewhere with heaps of terrain to explore. My interview (TUI at the time) went great and I was offered the job on the way home.
Like you I'd expressed a preference for one of the larger French resorts and, a week into our 10 day rep training course in Courchevel, was utterly disappointed therefore when told I'd be single-repping Valmorel and expecting only up to 40 guests per week (I think it has 150k of piste which IS different to 25k admittedly). I seriously considered walking away and coming back to the job I'd left, particularly after they'd dropped myself (Thomson branch of TUI) and the 2 Crystal reps off in a resort which was still completely boarded up! We were joined by 3 Crystal chalet hosts and 2 kids club staff, and two single reps from other companies. That was it from British TOs.
Now the season wasn't without its problems (what job is?) but wow, what a 4.5 months I had. None of the locals spoke anywhere near fluent English but were absolutely delighted at having an English bod who tried hard and wanted to learn. The reps (for the most part) clubbed together and worked as a team where possible. We offered a piste-picnic every Friday that the weather allowed - would go to the top of the main lift early doors and dig out a snow café with snow seating and table, and some little jumps (for the various sized "kids"!) and then cart a buffet lunch up to be laid out for the guests. This was in addition to the approved company activities and used to make us a little extra money on the side - it was also one of our most popular activities.
I had a manager only (sometimes) at the end of a phone so any issues were pretty much mine to resolve. I think I needed intervention once all season and that was an extreme situation. There were issues but being single-repped gave me a chance to show what I could actually do in terms of customer service, problem solving and maintaining good business relationships. In a bigger resort I would just have been "another rep". My French improved hugely as did my self-confidence.
I managed plenty of skiing despite it being a really poor snow season (it was rare that all runs were open) and improved loads in the less-than-optimal conditions. As other guys have suggested you got to know little off piste routes and hidden gems, although some of the other staff were braver (or more foolhardy in certain situations) and ventured further off piste.
Certainly I got everything, and more, than I wanted to achieve from that time despite thinking it was absolutely not what I wanted or asked for. If I'd had the money to do a second season I'd probably have asked for a similar sized resort but just somewhere different, and I'd certainly (from the feedback received at the end of season report) proved my skills and abilities and would have been offered a 2nd season. If you think you'd like to do a few winters I'd crack on and work with it precisely for those reasons - you sound competent and level-headed and this will be a grand opportunity to show your skills without having to stand out from a huge crowd of reps!
My only other bit of advice is to ask what is open up there before they drop you off. We had no minibus in resort, ran out of food on the day the chalet staff arrived and so were very relieved to see them.....until they told us they'd only been budgeted for food for them and the kids club staff and therefore bought supplies accordingly! Thankfully they were most inventive and managed to feed 3 extra mouths for 7 days but we really struggled for supplies until the weekend before Christmas which was when this wee resort finally got going!!
Good luck with it - have a blast!
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@skismurf75, that's a great report on your experience, you put in the effort and it paid dividends for you, which is what happens in life in general.
I wonder if Nathan will do the same?
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FAQ
