Opinion: Tahoe’s abysmal service is inexcusable
What piece of this economic pie could be Tahoe’s if people were treated better? Photo/LTN
By Kathryn Reed
“Do unto others as you would want done to you.”
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
“You can never have too many friends.”
Those are just some of the words of wisdom from my mom that still resonate with me today. Sometimes I hear her screaming the phrases when I’m doing the opposite of what I was taught.
Who cares? – you ask.
Mom, like others of her generation who embraced the above quotes, knows how to get along with people. That is the first step to being good in the hospitality industry.
Mom was not a marketing person, though she could have been. She didn’t work in the tourism industry, but could have. But she did study hotel and restaurant management, so she knows something about the hospitality industry.
What if the frontline staff of every business in Tahoe took to heart those first three sentences?
Do you really want to be treated like crap? With disrespect? Like you don’t matter?
Those are the experiences Denise Pirrotti Hummel had in the past couple days. She is CEO and founder of Universal Consensus. She was one of the speakers of the 2013 Trends in Tourism forum at Harveys on April 18. She relayed a story of how she asked the concierge at her hotel where to go running. She was given a map that wasn’t accurate and told the concierge when she got back. The concierge’s response was she wasn’t responsible for the map. Hummel told the employee she might want to tell the mapmaker. “She looked at me like ‘whatever’,” Hummel said to the crowd full of Tahoe tourism gurus.
The lack of quality guest services is astounding here – especially on the South Shore. It starts with managers and owners, and quickly goes down the ranks.
I don’t know if these people all just go to other bad Tahoe businesses so they think lousy service is the norm or maybe they really don’t care.
I go to a handful of places in town because I know I will be treated well. Everyone at Blue Angel Café is outstanding. Rosie knows how to train her people. Bri at Pearl Izumi is so helpful. The staff at Les Schwab always seems to be running and smiling.
“It’s Tahoe, so they will come” doesn’t work anymore. Customers actually want to be treated with respect.
Locals often point to our dismal infrastructure for why people don’t come back. But I’ve had fun in funky towns with little or no infrastructure. Occidental in Sonoma County comes to mind. I love this little hotel, which is a true old-school motel. But it’s clean and the people are friendly. I would never go into the equivalent looking place here.
Across the street is a great breakfast spot and yummy Italian place.
People recommend places to go. I’m treated like they care if I have a good experience. (See quote No. 1 above.) They tell me to have a good time. (See quote No. 2.) They ask me how my day was when I return – as if we are friends. (See quote No. 3.)
It really isn’t hard to be nice. To be nice or mean – both a choice. To keep lousy employees – that’s a choice, too. To not train them – another choice.
We can build pretty buildings – hotels, restaurants, retail – but if the experience once inside is horrible, well, all the window coverings in the world can’t erase a bad experience.
Just look at Heavenly and Squaw. What were the first things the new owners did at the respective ski resorts? Work on guest relations. Look at their skier visits – yes, it’s the mountains they both have, but it’s the entire experience that makes you want to go back.
Tahoe – wake up. People want to be treated with respect and you are doing the opposite.
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Tips for those involved in Tahoe tourism:
*looks at Sports LTD*
I’ve had more good experiences at the DMV.
I absolutely agree. Owners need to mystery shop their own business. I ALWAYS give a local merchant a shot at my business and half the time, I buy off the hill. I even tell local merchants I am willing to pay a bit more to keep our dollars here and only a few times have I received a “thank you”. If our prices are higher and the more important level of customer service is worse, I have no issue letting that merchant go out of business and letting, ugh, a chain store come in. Invest the effort into your business and they will come!
Well, then she didn’t go to the right businesses. Always great service and smiles at MacDuff’s, Freshies, DIY, all 4 grocery stores walk you to the item you need, Grass Roots, the bowling alley, Top Drawer, Lakeside Landing, all the hardware stores, Lake Tahoe Pizza, Mandarin Garden, Carrows, Raley’s and CVS pharmacies cause when you are there you are often not feeling well and it’s important to have a nice person helping. Five Star has worked on our cars for 30 years, always great. K-mart was so great a few days ago when I was buying coats for Kiwanis project, the 7-11 at Carson, Red Hut, Ernies, Berts, Subway at the Y. At Christmas I shopped Sports LTD and the ACE store, super helpful, the ornament store, Jamba Juice, had a great waitress a while back at Applebee’s, SOOOO…get my drift. This survey didn’t dig too deep if her only complaint is about a concierge.
Kathryn Reed. I’d like to add one more to your mom’s list. “A first impression is a lasting one”.
When our family was in the motel business we treated our guests as a friend as soon as they walked thru that office door.
My folks always told me”Bobby, you’re to treat the people who stay here as our “guests”. They’re not customers, visitors or tourists. They are our guests”.
My mom used to send out Christmas cards to the folks that stayed at our motel along with a short note and our phone number(she got their address from their registration cards). By January we were already getting reservations for the upcoming summer. We would be booked all summer long because we went that little extra bit. We were courteous, polite,respectful, helpful and all of that done with a smile.
First impressions.
When you go to any place in town be it a resturaunt, clothing store, auto shop, sporting goods store. It’s nice to be greeted with a smile and a good attitude from the people who work there, manage the crew or even the owner of the place comes over to ask how your meal is or can they help you you find anything or perhaps they found something else wrong with your car. Thats where I’ll go back as a repeat customer and will recommend that place to friends and family.
Tourism is something I’ve been involved with my whole life.I’m retired now but it still affects me and everyone else in this town to a great extent.
Take care, OLS
It is true that this may have been a small sample, and I’ve certainly had a lot of really good customer service experiences along with some not so good in trips to South Lake.
But the concierge is the main face to the visitor – and all it takes is one bad experience to sour the water. So in that sense she is right – this should never happen in this situation unless the customer is completely rude and endlessly in their face.
I’ve almost always found employees and owners of local businesses to be polite and respectful. Perhaps it is because I am recognized as a local, but the people around me in a business seem to be treated well also.
From conversations I’ve had with visitors, I suspect one factor may be the frustrations experienced by everyone when the South Shore is crowded in high season and the local infrastructure is strained.
One way or another, it doesn’t hurt any of us us to be reminded of your mother’s maxims re treatment of other people.
Thank you for the story Kae. Its so important to understand that great customer service is more that a smile, hello, goodbye. It’s an employee/owner going over and beyond and truly being committed to giving that customer an experience, even if only for their 60 seconds of contact. If front line staff is engaging the customer will remember it and return.
How do you engage? Someone is buying a souvenir, ask how they are enjoying their visit and where are they from? Someone is asking how to get to Camp Richardson, tell them about a great experience you had at Tallac or the Beacon. You get the customer’s credit card and ID on a purchase…say their name back. So many easy opportunities to engage. My jobs always trained me how to give good service, but there is that step above good service that gives the customer an experience.
Maybe this concierge needs to be changed out!
True, very true, the tourists first experience will set the tone. The wonderful people that struggle to exist here, know they are blessed just to be here and it shows. Smiles, relaxed and helpful.
All the above comments are the heart of this community and should be respected. I think a tourists awareness should be included here that reminds them, that this is our home and is not just a spot to vent, behave badly, then ‘split’. Maybe a welcome campaign through the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau that promotes visitors respect and appreciation for the area.
I experience the reflective interactions. If I am polite, smileing and friendly it usually (99%) returned. If someone is having a bad day . . . . well . . .
I hope Denise Hummel acted as such!
I lived in Tahoe for most of the last 8 years (recently relocated). I was appalled at the service in most restaurants – certainly not all – and many businesses. For the life of me I cannot figure out how a lot of people even keep their jobs there considering the way they treat or ignore customers.
In the middle of that eight years I moved to a more urban area for a while. Clearly I had become accustomed to the dismal service at most Tahoe restaurants because I was shocked at the wonderful service at most restaurants in the city in which I moved. It was a reminder that customer service and pride in a job well done still exists.
There’s a lot of talk about tourists (and locals) being a captive audience and that being an excuse about why local restaurants don’t give a crud about improving food quality or service. (I focus on restaurants because that’s where I have experienced the most glaring lack of service.) That’s sad and bad business, considering that so many local businesses bemoan lack of patrons in the shoulder seasons. Hello? If you treat your locals well, they will continue to spend money with you in the shoulder season. I mean, who knows better what your place is like than locals?
The other excuse people give for terrible service is that employees are seasonal “slackers” (again, not all, of course). Well, then pay locals a decent wage and you just might get a more consistent and mindful staff. So many businesses in Tahoe pay ridiculously low wages and so many locals have to commute off the hill to work and make anything close to a living wage. I have recently relocated yet again because I could not find a job that would compensate me for my professional skills at a rate even remotely appropriate or that would allow me to have a decent quality of life. (I hope to be back again but, sadly, it won’t happen anytime soon.)
I’ve said it before: Take a look at many other tourist towns around the state. Many of them flourish even in the off-season. Why? Because the locals are happy, which extends to having a community that makes tourists happy. The City, Stateline and other areas around the Basin need to get with it and start operating to support the permanent population. So much more to say on this topic.
I thinkit’s time for a “Care, Be Kind” campaign! I was a concierge for a time and enjoyed helping guests! Perhaps the Chamber and LTVA can spearhead a program to improve service. One problem I found was obtaining accurate, up to date information from businesses.
Thank you, Gail for pointing this out!
All relevant comments. I too experience a wide range of service quality in South Lake – usually friendly, but not really interested. If it gets rude as it sometimes does, I’m with JohnnyGP – I take my business elsewhere and NEVER go back. Visit other resort towns and you may find a “culture” of service – where excellent service is standard throughout the town – NOT something that you find only in certain places. While “fixing” a pervasive problem may seem hard, it is pretty straightforward – it starts at the top – a good subject for the Chamber to take up. I think the goal should be to build a broader culture of service – a high level of service expected everywhere, all the time. Come on, we live at Lake Tahoe! how hard can it be to be proud of this magnificent place and happy to share it with others?
I have had wonderful service at most SLT businesses also. That said, I had 2 poor experiences – both with hotel concierges. During a winter storm, I asked directions from the concierge on duty one of the “H” hotels, who sent me outside & around the lot to get into the other side — I learned I could have gone thru the casino to get to the destination without freezing. The second experience involved the concierge giving me incorrect information about the Gondola accepting strollers.
I have worked for a 5-diamond hotel and all employees have a “line-up” daily to review what is going on at the hotel/area, and to review concerns, issues, questions. Every day, employees recite their commitment to the guest experience, and are “empowered” to ensure each guest who may have a problem, issue, question – is able to resolve the issue within 10 minutes. Guest “engagement” is a must! And if information (like the map) is incorrect, steps to correct information must be made & recorded.
I am sorry Denise did not experience the rest of SLT great customer service, however I am glad she pointed out that deficiencies do exist. I think big business needs to “engage” their employees as well – make them proud to perform!
Piffle! Rubbish!
I’ve just spent (again) a month’s holiday in Tahoe with friends and colleagues from England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
We all had a wonderful time in LA and Tahoe and were really looked after by very helpful staff/locals. One couple decided to have their honeymoon in Tahoe next year. We love the place and we love the amazing people who turned a holiday into something amazing. We’ll be back.
I think Heavenly’s staff are for the most part always very friendly.
Maybe someone could develop a proper mini customer service program in town, that all could send their employees for a nominal fee, no matter how big an employer they are, it does affect us all.
There is always anecdotal evidence to trash even the most dedicated service oriented places in town, everybody has a bad day, every owner hires some bad people occasionally. I think one reason some foreign guests and ayn rand fan snooty locals get bad service is because the average local server, bartender, concierge etc. in the food and beverage business spots them in a second as hyper-critical cheapos and knows that there is no amount of service that will elicit any appreciation whatsoever. Nice people are treated nicely in the vast majority of circumstances
I like to shop at local retail, grocery, service stations etc. where people have worked there for awhile. It shows that the owners really care about their employees and want return business.
Hi all. Since I’m the one being quoted, I just want to say a few teeny, tiny things. First, of all the trips I’ve taken, I have never met so many wonderful people — kind, caring, and ready to lend a helping hand to others. It’s important to me that you know that. It’s not really important whether one person made a mistake, or had a bad day, or even perhaps was not trained well. What’s important is that we all work together to help each other understand that every one of our actions has a ripple effect. I would hate to think that my “ripple” was that I shared one singular bad experience (please remember that I shared many good ones too!) In the U.S., we are famous, world-wide, for our “the customer is always right” mentality, and when we fall short, it is always a notable event. The take-away that I wanted to share is that each one of us has to keep our eye on the long term objective of the viability of the community (Tahoe, the U.S., and global-community) and never lose sight of that by engaging in short term thinking. The issue here is not whether one person had a bad day — it’s whether everyone can band together (in the style I witnessed) to make each other a little bit “better” every day.
customer service is definately important but the Customer is NOT always right. When I owned a business and the customer would come to pick up their item being serviced and refused to pay because they thought the service was FREE, even though they signed a check in sheet and were told what the charges were, well that led to some very interesting issues and interactions. The customer is Not always right
Many years ago my wife worked for a very brief time at a front counter for the City of South Lake Tahoe. She was astounded at the rude and demeaning treatment she received on a regular basis by the majority of local small business owners when they came into that office and after a particularly bad week of being yelled at by several local business owners for matters in which she had no involvement she decided she’d had enough of being mistreated and gave her two-week’s notice. To this day she remembers the name of every one of those businesses owned by those people who verbally abused her and we still won’t patronize a single one of them and we refuse to refer anyone to a single one of those operations.
We’ve always wondered how business owners think their businesses can survive let alone prosper when those owners have no clue how to treat a person, which likely has contributed to the number of empty storefronts in town.
Great article and spot on. Sorry, those of us who have lived elsewhere can see a vast difference. . I know some wonderful people who own establishments, but sadly, they staff very inept, poorly trained people. This isn’t about if the customer is right or wrong, this is about providing a world class service in a world class destination. Some business ownes got it right while others haven’t a clue. And many patrons are just as inexperienced. Also, if Gail thinks Carrows is great service then it is strickly due to the fact that she knows someone who is treating her well. There is a reason why that place is empty. I myself had the absolute worst experience eating there a few months ago. Sorry, but this town is bias to specific people and establishments. Typical.