 Poster: A snowHead
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Ski Power has taken the unusual step of promising clients that it will reimburse any commission earned from selling clients skipasses or equipment rental.
[Edit: link as below]
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 26-08-10 9:12; edited 1 time in total
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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, 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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Thanks, achilles. It's messed the page width, so I'll delete the URL in the original post.
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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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| Quote: |
| Customers can still arrange equipment hire or ski passes from another supplier, but they will be asked to pay back £15 of the Fair Deal discount. |
Ho ho ho.
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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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| achilles wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Customers can still arrange equipment hire or ski passes from another supplier, but they will be asked to pay back £15 of the Fair Deal discount. |
Ho ho ho. |
Exactly - create shockwaves in the industry by extracting commission from the customers themselves for not providing a service.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Doesn't strike me as a fair (or attractive) deal.
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| Quote: |
| ...and promising that ski passes will be available at the main lift pass tariff, which is offered through the local tourist office and lift companies. |
I thought that most TOs 'said' they did this anyway. And I don't believe for one moment that the TOs don't get the tickets at a discount anyway.
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altis, can't think of anyone who sells lift passes at more than window price. How long do you think they'd get away with that one? 
And obviously they get (some) passes at a discount. I believe it's fairly common practice for companies to buy stuff at a lower price than that which their customers subsequently pay. Shocking!
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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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| Lizzard wrote: |
altis, can't think of anyone who sells lift passes at more than window price. How long do you think they'd get away with that one?
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Last time I used a TO to buy a lift pass I paid in Sterling cash on the transfer bus. We were assured the price was the same as the window rate but when I worked out what I had paid they had used a very poor (for me) exchange rate to convert the prices. And the lift pass didn't arrive by 9am on the first day of skiing.
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rob@rar, they may well rip you off on the exchange rate, indeed, particularly if you buy o the coach. On the other hand, following the near-disintegration of the banking system a couple of years ago, lots of people ended up saving about £40 a head on the price of passes by buying in advance and paying in sterling. Swings and roundabouts etc.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| rob@rar, they may well rip you off on the exchange rate, indeed, particularly if you buy o the coach. On the other hand, following the near-disintegration of the banking system a couple of years ago, lots of people ended up saving about £40 a head on the price of passes by buying in advance and paying in sterling. Swings and roundabouts etc. |
I have no problem accepting market fluctuations which sometimes work in my favour and sometimes against, but the TO's exchange rate (deliberately I assume) had an unacceptable large margin in it. I've not used a TO to buy lift passes since then, and with more resorts selling passes online I guess that TO's are selling fewer lift passes direct to their clients?
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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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rob@rar, I think that's quite likely, certainly where regular skiers are concerned. I know several TO managers who have been concerned about the possibility.
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| some idiot wrote: |
| Ski Power claims its "Fair Deal Price Policy" will “cause shockwaves” in its sector, |
No it won't, but maybe it's a slow news day and at least this gives them something (slight better then nothing) to say.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
altis, can't think of anyone who sells lift passes at more than window price. How long do you think they'd get away with that one?
And obviously they get (some) passes at a discount. I believe it's fairly common practice for companies to buy stuff at a lower price than that which their customers subsequently pay. Shocking! |
We were sold lift passes by Crystal at more than window price once, a long while ago when we didn't know any better. We paid up front brochure price as part of the package but didn't realise they were charging us peak season prices for an off season pass. Never, ever again! I think they get away with it for newbies but never more than once.
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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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homphomp, I think we probably did too in the early days, but even if it was ticket office prices I buy my own direct, both becuase the ticket office doesn;t charge a credit card premium (unlike some TOs) and partly so I know I've got my pass when I want it, not hanging around waiting for them.
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Poster: A snowHead
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holidayloverxx, Yes indeed, we always buy ourselves. The other issue is that if you buy from the TO upfront or on the way to resort and the lifts are closed on arrival you have paid for something you can't use....we have personal experience of this where friends were stuck having paid for a weeks pass when the rest of us just toddled up to the window later in the week and bought shorter passes for less money.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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After tearing round Belle Plagne, up and down hundreds of stairs (lifts out of order), looking for the rep who had given us someone else's ski passes, we started to buy our own too.
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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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| Hells Bells wrote: |
| After tearing round Belle Plagne, up and down hundreds of stairs (lifts out of order), looking for the rep who had given us someone else's ski passes, we started to buy our own too. |
After waiting in the chalet until 10:30 am on the Sunday (having arrived @ lunchtime sat) for the worst choice rep to turn up with the lift passes, I said never again. It wasn't even a peak week.
Back on topic I think that's quite an odd call by ski power - I'm not sure it help them sell more holidays as most average punters won't know the game. I'd love the look on the reps face going "that's an extra £15 you owe us mr. customer cos you bought your pass at the kiosk rather than through us"
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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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| bertie bassett wrote: |
| Hells Bells wrote: |
| After tearing round Belle Plagne, up and down hundreds of stairs (lifts out of order), looking for the rep who had given us someone else's ski passes, we started to buy our own too. |
After waiting in the chalet until 10:30 am on the Sunday (having arrived @ lunchtime sat) for the worst choice rep to turn up with the lift passes, I said never again. It wasn't even a peak week.
Back on topic I think that's quite an odd call by ski power - I'm not sure it help them sell more holidays as most average punters won't know the game. I'd love the look on the reps face going "that's an extra £15 you owe us mr. customer cos you bought your pass at the kiosk rather than through us" |
I was convinced I hadn't read that right - who in their right mind woudl pay the TO for not providing a service
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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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Hang on here. If you don't get the passes etc through Ski Power, you pay an extra £15. But if they're selling everything at cost price, where's the advantage to them of people buying from them anyway? Why penalise the customer for something which doesn't cost them anything? Unless they're on contrat lit, but as far qs I know they don't do that in the three valleys.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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From SkiPower's website
NOTE: The price paid for your holiday includes a conditional discount for prebooking your Ski Pass with Ski Power. Clients not booking their lift pass through Ski Power will have to repay the £15 per person discount that has been applied to your holiday price. The cost to you is defined by Societe des Trois Vallees and cannot be obtained cheaper elsewhere.
Pricing
As the Lift Pass company (Societe des Trois Vallees) price their product in Euros we have quoted prices in Euros above. When you book through us we will convert this price into £ sterling. The exchange rate used is published on our web site and is approximately held in line with the HSBC bank tourist exchange rate. When you proceed through our online booking service the amount you are paying will be described in both Euros and the converted £ sterling equivalent. You will be asked to agree to these costs before you complete your purchase.
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fatbob got it right. It will cause a shockwave when other TO realise that they can do the same thing and charge you more for not pre-booking your lift pass/hire etc.
Given that the lift companies do not pass on the credit card charges to the purchaser (but TO do) then clearly the lift pass in resort IS cheaper than stated by SkiPower.
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Neilsons were selling tickets on th ebus for kids that should have been free (kids fun week in Dolomites). I declined to purchase.
Esprit provided us with passes this year that were 7 day passes (6 for 7 week) but had bought them on our arrival day (we arrived at 5 pm) so we had to but additional pass on departure day to ski. I was not chuffed!
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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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Ghost Dog, That sounds like incompetence rather than outright fleecing (at least the second example does)
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Ghost Dog, so why did you buy an extra one? The rep (or possibly the lift company cashier) blatantly got the date wrong and a brief explanation of this at the lift office would have got you a day pass, once they had checked that you hadn't used it on the first day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The TO get a special price for lift passes below the published rate, at least for big events like X Games to get them to bring guests. I would think this applies throughout the season where they bring large numbers to a resort. Sorry if I have let the cat out the bag. I would think most people would guess/know this anyway. So if the TO sells them at the regular price they still make a profit. I do not see anything wrong with them making something for the service if it is good as long as they are up front about it. What annoys me is when they try to say they make nothing out of it which is not true. but very hard to prove I am sure. I wonder if they will really pass this discount back to punters as most Tour reps make a little extra money through arranging these kind of things and it will upset them a lot as there salary is very low anyway.
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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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snowcrazy, most reps see nothing for the passes/ski packs they sell - their commission is generally on apres ski. And TOs either buy passes at wholesale rate and sell at window price; get a remise at the end of the season depending on how many they've sold; or sign up to a contrat lit which involves buying as many passes each week as they have beds in resort, then taking the loss if they don't sell them all (this last a bit less common these days). I don't think anyone has ever made a secret of it, have they?
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| I don't think anyone has ever made a secret of it, have they? |
Well, on the last two outward coach transfers I distinctly remember the rep saying that "we don't make any money on these you know". And the first one got very abusive when we declined the offer to purchase them from her.
We've had enough of them now and just sort ourselves out. It's not that difficult!
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You know it makes sense.
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altis, reps get their heids constantly nipped if they don't sell lift passes to everyone who hasn't pre-booked, so they go to great lengths to pry open your wallet. Let's face it, would you want to spend your valuable ski time in 'coaching interviews' and other such corporate w@nkfest events whe you're being paid £300 a month and your targets are clearly b0llocks anyway?
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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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I don't understand why so many people are suspicious of TOs when people I know clearly love 2 for 1 lift pass deals. How do you think the TOs pay for those???
As far as I can see, most TOs will look for the win-win where, yes, they get a discount from the supplier basically for buying in bulk. Then they try to pass some of that value on to the customer as it's a competitive (and very price sensitive) market.
The additional benefit for us should be the reduction in hassle, no queues etc.
I don't see any problem in that when it works. It seems silly that there's no people on here talking about GOOD experience with reps delivering lift passes, just the negatives. I've certainly been pretty impressed with things on recent trips!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
It seems silly that there's no people on here talking about GOOD experience with reps delivering lift passes, just the negatives.
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That surprises you?
With electronic passes there's no reason for anyone not to have their pass as soon as they arrive in resort because the reps can collect them all from the ticket office the day before and distribute them on the transfer/on arrival. You can print them off to start on any date you like.
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FAQ
