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Coping with change – The Aspen experience

"We thank the Aspen Skiing Co for a fine overall job this season under trying circumstances." - Aspen Times, April 8, 2009 There are few towns in ski country where the every-day operations of the resort are more scrutinized than in Aspen, Colorado.
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"We thank the Aspen Skiing Co for a fine overall job this season under trying circumstances."

- Aspen Times, April 8, 2009

There are few towns in ski country where the every-day operations of the resort are more scrutinized than in Aspen, Colorado. "The folks at Intrawest think that The Pique is hard on them," laughs my friend David Perry. "Compared to how our media treat us, they've got it easy. I mean, one bad move and we get really hammered."

That's why the glowing kudos from the valley's most prominent paper last spring was so gratifying. "It was totally unexpected," confides Perry. "But when you get a third party acknowledgment like that - and with an editorial sporting a headline like "An Unexpected Gift" - you know you're doing something right..."

The senior vice president of the mountain division at Aspen Skiing Co (one of the most highly-visible jobs in the business), Perry is on the phone with me sharing some thoughts on the changing face of the industry. As usual, he isn't holding back.

"This year was tough for everyone," he says. "The recession hit all strata of society - from the very poor to the very rich." He stops speaking. Sighs. "Discretionary income all but dried up," he continues. But rather than panicking and retrenching, Aspen Skiing Co chose to step out and make a big statement. "We decided," adds Perry, "to let our customers know how much we appreciated their decision to spend their money skiing in Aspen."

Say what? While everyone else in the business was laying off staff and shutting down services and cutting corners wherever they could, the venerable Colorado company chose the opposite direction. They decided to stay the course instead. "We knew what was coming," he explains. "So (ASC president) Mike Kaplan and I put our heads together last fall and we came up with what we thought was the right strategy for such trying times."

Sure, there was cost-cutting. After all, even the deep-pocketed owners of the Aspen Skiing Co - the Crown family of Chicago - had been impacted by the recent financial meltdown.

But what was refreshing was the approach the two senior ski executives took in regards to their customers. "We had to find ways to save money where we could," says Perry. "But we applied a very different filter to that process: 'If it affects our customers negatively,' we decided, 'we don't do it!' And we stuck to that rule." Which meant? "No cut-backs in products or services," he continues. "And no cut-backs to our staff." His voice swells with pride. This is obviously an important point with him. "We even went to the community and told them publicly - 'we're not laying anyone off this year.' And that went a really long way in convincing locals that we really meant what we said."

Contrast that decision with the sea of layoffs at resorts like Whistler Blackcomb over the last year. While no one at Intrawest is prepared to comment publicly (who knows, their necks might be next on the cutting block), a senior executive was recently heard to say he was ready to quit rather than go through another round of staff-cuts...

"We're really lucky to have the owners we have," explains Perry. "And I appreciate them now even more than before. It's a business for them, for sure. But it's more than a business too. They're far enough ahead of the pack to realize that they're leaders. And leadership to the Crown family is demonstrated by not getting sucked in to the week-to-week machinations of angry people." Another pause. "With Aspen, they take a very long-term, multi-generational approach. They understand the iconic nature of their holdings here. And so they supported our no-cutback decision 100 per cent."

Perry has always walked his talk. The former marketing director at Whistler Blackcomb - and a man who still admits to having a very big place in his heart for this place - Perry believes in the power of retaining good staff. "They really matter," he insists. "And until the mountain resort business realizes just how important our people our to our bottom line, we'll continue to struggle." He stops speaking for a moment. Shakes his head in frustration. "The industry," he says, "has to get over its infatuation with 'stuff' and focus on human resources again. We're in the people business. And now more than ever, we've got to show our guests, and our employees how much we care..."

Forget discretionary spending, he says, the people who choose to go skiing and snowboarding now are making vital life decisions. "I can't speak for all the resorts across North America," he adds, "but in Aspen we recognized that our guests last season were the most loyal, most appreciative ones in the bunch." So Perry and his lieutenants decided to let them know how valuable they were to the company's bottom line.

"First of all," he says, " I went and spoke to all 3,500 of our employees in a variety of small-group settings. I wanted them to understand the kind of commitment our customers were making by coming to Aspen this year. I wanted them to appreciate how important each guest was to us." Because of the 'no-layoff' rule, the staff felt secure in their positions, continues Perry, so they were highly receptive to that message. "There was a lot of positive energy at those meetings," he adds.

But that was just a start. "We really wanted to find a fun way to express our thanks to our guests," explains Perry. The result? "Everyone who bought a ticket last year received a silk gift bag in return. Inside was a granola bar, a tube of sunscreen, discount coupons to a variety of valley businesses and other sundry goodies." He laughs. "It was just a gesture, you know. Total value of each bag wasn't much more than $50. But I couldn't believe the response! People really appreciated the gesture. It really worked."

Simple, isn't it? All you need to do is recognize the people rather than the dollars in their pockets and they're yours for life...

But seriously, Perry's 2008-09 season initiatives wasn't just about gestures. With four discrete ski hills to manage - Aspen Mountain, Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass - his main task was to find creative ways to manage with less without adversely affecting the overall experience. And that wasn't always easy. "You know, Snowmass Mountain is our bread and butter," he explains. "With the completion of our new Sheer Bliss chairlift there, we could have easily shut down the Big Burn Chair (which essentially serves the same terrain) and saved ourselves $250,000."

The Big Burn Chair, however, was hugely popular with skiers and riders. "People love that lift," says Perry. "You can plan your line down the run. You can watch your friends skiing down. It's a real throwback to an earlier skiing time." The new lift, alas, didn't provide the same visual entertainment as its predecessor. So what to do?

A lifelong skier who has always appreciated the subtler aspects of ski culture, Perry decided to defy the financial consequences and keep the Big Burn lift open. "I truly believe that it's an important part of the experience," he explains. "People love to watch others skiing down the mountain." A burst of laughter. "It's part of our heritage..."

It was also another message to the guests that their experiences mattered. "You wouldn't believe how many positive comments that one decision elicited," he says. "It was definitely worth the cost of keeping it open." There were myriad smaller decisions made like that one, adds Perry. But one of the most appreciated gestures, he says, was what he calls the "frontline staff on steroids" program.

Meaning? For two days a week all season, and for a full four-hour shift at that, each salaried employee in the company had to take a frontline staff position - no exceptions! "I found myself checking tickets one day a week and bussing tables another day," says Perry. And then he laughs again. "You know, doing the frontline thing is fun once or twice a season - like during Christmas or President's Week or something like that. But when you're doing it every week, it can be hugely trying..."

Still, the benefits of that program were enormous. "We got 2,000 shifts from our salaried people," explains Perry, "and that saved us a pile of money. But more importantly, it allowed us to lead by example. Our staff, the community, our guests: everyone saw what we were doing. It wasn't just a one-time occurrence; it happened every week!"

Adding the two frontline shifts to the already-mountainous work pile of a busy ski executive was exhausting, admits Perry. But it worked. "It was tough for everyone," he says. "We made sacrifices. We rallied together. We became tighter as a team." In short, he concludes, it was yet another initiative that really paid off.

And the April '09 editorial in the Aspen Times was quick to put these initiatives into perspective. "It's a rough time to be in the resort business," the story began. "(But) despite the grim statistics," it continued, "here's something else that's remarkable. The experience on The Aspen Skiing Co's mountains didn't diminish one bit this season... this is extraordinary and it shows that the company's commitment to its customers is more than mere lip service."

Here's hoping that other resorts are ready to raise their game beyond lip service too...