Gina Light Tanner

Review of Willamette Pass Ski area

It is unfortunate that I had to write such a poor ...

It is unfortunate that I had to write such a poor review but I think Google clients should be aware. The owner/management of the Willamette Ski Resort is incredibly rude and their guest customer service is unsatisfactory, to say the least. Several people were in line in front of me. Those who had any "problem" were forced to wait until the entire line diminished before they could receive an audience with the grandmaster (owner - Tim). We were one of those affected. The owner refused to look up my online order. He forced me to go find internet service (which there was none available at the ski resort at the time) to get my online order number. When I returned, he continued to be rude to me telling me he could not honor the terms of our passes without paperwork. They would not tell me where in the mountains I could go to where there was a printer available. They would not print the papers for me. I found internet again and tried to download the "paperwork" to fill out - so I could drive to a place with a printer to print it out. The download had expired. I went to guest services again. There was a woman named Rachel there. I waited until NOONE was in the room to ask questions. She was irritable and easily agitated when I asked for her help. She started raising her voice at me simply because I wanted to know WHEN she could email me the forms. I had already explained to her that I was going to drive to find a printer somewhere so I could fill out the "paperwork" and return today before they closed. This way, we didn't have to wait in line again tomorrow. Tim (later identified as the owner) came in and said that there was no way they would be able to make me happy or satisfy me. I tried rationally to explain that all I wanted was to have someone email me the forms I needed to download and print out. Again- there were no other customers in guest services. He told me I needed to leave. Out of fear that he would make my entire family leave, I walked out. But I felt very angry that neither one of them would tell me when they would have time to email me the documents that they wanted me to fill out for our season passes. I still don't understand why he couldn't print them for me and hand them to me when there was nothing else going on later in the day. The restaurant and lounge were very nice. Food was not bad. Erin and Greg at the lounge gave excellent service. Sarah (ski instructor) did a terrific job with my girls who took a day lesson. And Gene and others in the ski rental area were nice as well. So- bottom line- if I could possibly avoid the absolutely miserable experience when first walking in the door to get our tickets- I would have given the place 5 stars. I can only imagine how nice of a reputation Willamette Pass would have if they had a better owner/management hierarchy. Honestly, if we hadn't traveled 15 hours from the south to come here to meet 16 other family and friends (for a vacation I set up), I would have taken our family elsewhere to a ski resort that cares about their clients.

I updated my review to include an extra star for customer service because of the excellent service we received in rentals from Will and Roger. Will was fantastic and really seemed to care about the clientele. He went over and above to make sure our experience was pleasant and the kids were attended to quickly and proficiently. I don t want to forget to mention Paul, who generally worked down at Sleepy Hollow or the Magic Carpet. (Fantastic places for new skiers). He was patient, friendly, helpful and always had a new piece of advice that really helped make us better skiers. It seemed everyone in the line knew who Paul was. He is just that special! It s people like him - and many other employees there- that make me think it s only the owner that makes the sauce spoil. Otherwise it would be a really neat little gem of a ski lodge.