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A Marketing Case Study in Customer Relationship Management

I recently went skiing in Killington, VT and stayed at the Killington Grand which I have considered to be the best ski resort in the east. This time the Grand had the opportunity to demonstrate what makes them truly the best. A core tenant of the Killington Grand’s marketing strategy is great customer service. While I typically enjoy being treated very well when I stay there, something not so good happened this time – they lost my skis on the last day of my stay there.

The character of a person, and likewise a business, is revealed in times of negative circumstances and stress. In this instance a guest with similar skis checked out, taking my skis thinking they were his. Here is what The Grand did.

First they recognized that I needed to be on the mountain and not at their front desk. So they hooked me up with demo skis from the on-site ski shop. We agreed that I’d come back at the end of the day to give them some time to figure out what happened. From the kid at the ski check, to the front desk staff, to the manager Claire, there was an immediate sense of empathy and recognition that it was their fault and they were committed to make it right.

So I skiied the day on a nice pair of Nordica Nitrous Hot Rod skis and had a great time. These handled the mountain superbly doing both goofy stuff and screaming down the black diamonds at full speed.

At the end of the day The Grand had not located my skis but thought they were on their way to Boston. I was quite disappointed since I was planning to ski Camelback in the Poconos the following week, which I of course told them. Even though they hadn’t found my skis, they had a plan: they would continue trying to track down my skis, make sure I had good skis at Camelback, and if they couldn’t find my skis, they’d buy me a new pair.

The following Tuesday I showed up at Camelback Mountain in Tannersville, PA in the Pocono Mountains. At guest services I told them my name and they knew who I was and that I was coming. I was immediately given a voucher for high-perfomance rentals. Hmmm…these were not demos. I was then directed to the rental manager, who knew who I was, and she called down Charlie the VP of Base Operations, the guy who essentially runs the place. Charlie also was familar with my situation and had made the arrangments for me with The Grand. When I told him I wanted demos he walked me over to the on-site ski shop, called the owner of the shop, and wouldn’t leave until I had been set up. I was treated like a VIP although I was just an ordinary guy wanting to have some fun in the snow. All Charlie cared about was to get me on the mountain with great equipment as quickly as possible (it was snowing that day, it doesn’t get any better). So I demoed the Volkl AC 30 skis for a few hours then swapped them out for Salomon Tornadoes later in the day. Both were excellent, I liked the Salomon’s better, and the demo rentals were fully paid for by the Killington Grand.

It’s a week later and The Grand could not find my skis so they sent me a pair of Nodica Nitrous Hot Rod skis, saweet! Among the Nordica, Volkl and Salomon skis I liked the Nordica the best so I’m feeling pretty good about this. The skis they sent me weren’t new though, they were 2009 demos, still a very good ski but a bit beat up from rental/demo use.

So did The Grand stand behind their brand and marketing strategy of great guest services? I believe so. They treated me very well in light of the problem, and they did make good on their commitment to replace my skis if they could not find them. And the skis they sent me are excellent performance skis. The only downside is that they are demos near the end of their rental life, so the cost to The Grand was likely negligible and the condition of the skis isn’t the best.

So, while I do feel good about how the situation was handled, I could feel better. I will definitely stay at The Grand in the future, but I have requested some free nights and lifts tickets to give them the opportunity to truly take guest services to the highest level.

So, for the empathy, communications and the replacement skis I give The Grand top marks and would easily give them a testimonial. However, by giving me demo skis that were near the end of their life they do not get the highest marks I could have given them. If they recognize this and come back with some complimentary rooms or lift tickets for my next stay there (and yes, I will be going back), that would convince me that The Grand is hands down the best ski resort east of the Mississippi and I’d be a faithful brand advocate. I’ll keep you posted.