Facing Staffing Shortages, Duluth’s Spirt Mountain Asks Public For Patience
Like so many other businesses, Spirit Mountain in Duluth is struggling with staffing shortages and they are causing longer lines and longer wait times for things at the popular ski hill.
Wanting to provide the best customer service while continuing to operate the facility safely, they were faced with either reducing hours of operation or asking the public to be understanding and accept longer wait times under the difficult circumstances.
On Friday, the used their official Facebook page to explain the difficult position they're in what they have ultimately decided to do about it. The post read in part:
Like every organization on this pandemic planet, Spirit struggled to hire enough people to reach traditional staffing levels, starting this season with the bare minimum needed to operate safely, provide you a great outdoor experience and serve our guests. The Omicron variant, testing delays and run-of-the-mill winter ailments further reduced that number, often at the last minute, making it impossible to maintain business as usual.
We considered two options to address this challenge – reducing hours or asking guests to accept longer lines and/or service delays.
Spirit Mountain chose to maintain our current operating hours: We want guests to enjoy the great base we laid down and groom nightly. We want guests to take advantage of every opportunity to get outside, get some fresh air and get some exercise during the Northland’s long winter months. We want to honor the implicit promise made to passholders that we would be open six days per week.
Choosing to maintain operating hours with the staff available comes at a cost, however: It might lead to longer lift lines if we simply don’t have the staff to operate all of our lifts on a given day. Guest might encounter long ticketing lines if we don’t have the people to staff all ticketing stations. It might take longer to grab lunch or our kitchen hours may be reduced.
They added that they realize longer wait times may lead to frustration and they ask everyone to understand the situation they're in and to be patient. They also ask that people treat their "hard-working team" with kindness as they are doing the best they can under challenging circumstances.
The also offered a solution that could help, especially during the busiest of times such as during the weekends. They suggest ordering tickets online in advance and making sure that every member of your party has an electronic waiver for tickets and rental. All of that can be done online prior to your arrival.
It's a sad sign of the times when companies and people in general have to remind others to show a little empathy and be kind to one another, but that's the world we currently live in. Hopefully those enjoying Spirit Mountain for the remainder of the winter get the message and everyone has fun.