Back in April, Whistler Blackcomb began to close the Blackcomb Gondola on weekdays due to needed maintenance projects. The communication notifying the public of the planned closure wasn’t great, and powder on the first day it was closed led to ginormous lift lines. The blowback was swift and resulted in Whistler issuing a public apology.
Last week, Whistler Blackcomb released an update on the project. For the electrical work, the current work includes checking the strength of every switch, wire, and connection on each of the 42 lift towers. For the mechanical projects, they are “greasing axles, inspecting tower gears for wear, and changing out worn components.” This requires a person on a specialized work carrier moving between the lift towers to do the work. In spite of the gondola opening back in 2018, maintenance is needed frequently in order for it to keep operating for its year-round operations.
A majority of the comments on the post were positive, but some people were still unhappy with the controversial events in April. We start with the angriest, with someone who uses the CAPS LOCK TO SHOW HOW PISSED OFF THEY ARE AT VAIL RESORTS:
“So this is supposed to make the closing of this [ok]. Lift the day after Whistler closed while the season was still full on and thousands paying guests had to wait for hours to get on the original Blackcombe gondola? POOR TIMING POOR COMMUNICATION POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.”
One commentator was a lot more reasonable and didn’t use LOUD NOISES, saying that many don’t understand the difficult job that lift maintenance workers face:
“Most people that ski daily do not know what LM [Lift Maintinence] does to keep lifts safe and running. Great post, mad respect to EVERY LM crew out there across all Vail’s resorts! Especially the ones in WB 👏👏👏”
To conclude, I like this comment the most because the commenter says they made a mistake, owned up to it, and have increased their transparency along the way:
“Appreciate how you’ve handled criticisms and started giving us way more info. Behind the scenes looks like this are fantastic too. It’s great to see a company actually listening to feedback.”
In terms of the current conditions at Whistler Blackcomb, a heat wave is forcing terrain and lifts to close. Their projected closing date is May 22nd.
Image/Video Credits: Whistler Blackcomb
