At the beginning and end of the season, Purgatory plans to stay open only on weekends, a strategy Slaff and others say cuts down on ski days for weekday pass holders. In comments to the Herald, she also argued that this policy caters to tourists at the expense of locals.
Durango Mountain Resorts responded by pulling her pass and refunding the full $539 charge to her credit card. They informed her via long-winded letter:
"While we have never met, I understand from your calls to The Durango Herald and your conversation with our general manager that you are most unhappy with the approach that Durango Mountain Resort takes in trying to meet the skiing and riding needs of both our local and out-of-town customers," Derck wrote. "Our general manager tried very hard to explain our early/late additional weekend days, but it is evident that the offering and services we provide are not meeting your expectations.
"Accordingly, we held a meeting with our management team and determined that it would be best if we part ways and refund you the all-season pass you purchased so you can find another place to ski/ride that better meets your expectations," the letter reads. "We have refunded your credit card $539 and we have discontinued your pass privileges.
"On behalf of our 800-plus employees, we wish you well and want you to know that we will continue to do our very best to meet or exceed the expectations of all our customers, regardless of where they live."
Don't feel too bad for Slaff, though: One resort's PR blunder is another's boon, and Telluride already stepped in to offer her a season pass at a deep discount. Several other resorts have chimed in to respond that they would never revoke a season pass because someone disagrees with resort policy.
The biggest surprise of all? That any modern corporate entity could somehow bypass all PR filters to essentially issue a corporate-worded version of "Nyeah, nyeah, nyeah, nyeah-nyeah -- you can't play at my house anymore!"
via The Goat
