By Nate Peterson, Vail Daily
Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz, in an email to pass holders Friday, apologized for what he called “unacceptable” wait times for customers seeking help.
Katz took personal blame for underestimating the volume of calls that would result from the company issuing pass credits for a shortened season last winter as well as its new reservation system and its rollout of Epic Coverage. The new pass insurance option provides refunds in the event of certain resort closures for COVID-19, giving pass holders a refund for any portion of the season that is lost.
Katz wrote that calls to customer service agents had increased fourfold in the run up to the current North American season.
“Despite doubling our staffing and introducing new online chat functionality and other features, our infrastructure was ultimately not designed to handle the volume,” he wrote. “It is a huge miss on our part, especially for a company that tries to be an out-front leader within our industry. This is certainly not the fault of our call center agents, who have tried their best to provide great service under difficult circumstances. It is my fault for not ensuring we were better prepared.”
Read more on our partner site Vail Daily.