It is good to see a dialogue beginning on the future of our patrol....
It seems that much of the recent thought revolves around the benefits (or lack thereof) that we as patrollers receive from management. Already there is talk of asking for more (patrol room improvements, snowmobile, discounts...while doing less (night skiing, non-patrol hill duties)....I guess it is human nature to want to maximise gain while minimising effort, but before we approach management with out list of requests (demands?) we should look at things from their perspective.
Why would they want to spend extra money & resources on the Ski Patrol?
What do we bring to the table that increases revenue, decreases work load (especially as perceived by the decision makers), enhances the customer experience, and generally promotes business at Boyne Mountain???
In short, are we a "value added" department??
I believe that we are, and that it should be a relatively easy matter to put together a "features and benefits" list that we can take to management as a tool to use in our negotiations.....the stronger the case we make for being a "value added" organization, the easier it will be for management to justify additional expenditure to support us.
We should also be cognisant of what the "pay scale" is for other patrols...I think that we may surprised to find that we are already on the upper end.....many patrols are having bake sales and ski swaps just to pay for their first aid supplies.....
I also do not think that management can be blamed for some of the problems that we are concerned with now. There is no reason for our patrol room to not be top notch...no matter where they put us. Have we been turned down in any request for cleaning supplies?? how about paint?? When was the last time we had a mandatory work bee to spruce up the patrol room?? As a medical care facility why do WE still allow the pros to smoke inside?? Do we have a scheduled maintenance program or minimum checklist for our toboggans??(they are embarrassing). When was our last Saturday morning meeting?? Exc..Exc..
I am not judging here, and I'm as guilty as anyone else of letting things slide and accepting it....I just think that before we start blaming Boyne for everything, we should look through our own house first. Lets get things polished up, get some regiment, pride and efficiency back into the organization...if we don't want to work so many nights, then lets get going on some serious recruitment to build our numbers and lighten the load....that way when management asks us to cover extra nights, or help out in other ways, we can do it easily & with a smile...That's "value added" and it will further our cause much better than stomping our foot and refusing to work nights.....
Many of you are business owners or in management positions...which of your employees get more of what they want.....the go-getter's who handle every challenge with a smile and maximum effort, or the whiners who respond to each request with a scowl and a heavy sigh??
Lets not be whiners...we need to clean our own house, build our ranks, buff things up, AND THEN......we can go to management, show them VALUE we ADD to Boyne Mountain, and lay our requests on the table.
Not to say we should not be advocating our position in the meanwhile, let's keep pushing for our old patrol room back, and newer sno-mos...we need to keep these concerns in front of management, and at the same time work ourselves back into a stronger bargaining position by becoming a VALUE ADDED asset to Boyne.
Hmmmmm...seems I've rambled enough for now...more rants to follow.....
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A virtual chairlift for open discussion amoung Boyne Patrollers
4 comments:
I agree with everything Todd just said here. We need to build our patrol back up. We need to look at what has happened in the last few years to make our numbers decline. I don't think it is Boyne Mt. managements fault. I know for a fact that Ed and Dave are very concerned with the declining patrol and are will to work with us to recruit new patrollers. They do not want to have to pay for Pro Patrollers to work weekends.
I think you need to have a good solid plan as to how you are going to turn this patrol around before you go and talk with them. I think you will be very surprised as to what they are willing to do for us.
The bottom line is, if you can retain the patrollers we have and recruit new ones the night skiing shouldn't be as much of a issue.
I also believe a more flexible patrol schedule might help. (if we can increase our numbers) What works best for me might not work as well for others. For me personally, patrolling noon to 9 works best. I know other patrols have had success with a set number of days and nights you must patrol and let their patrollers sign up and fill the calender.
Now to the snowmobiles...they are a joke. I have heard many guys talking about what to do to get new ones. I personally like the idea of having Boyne Management give us 2 gold passes every year so we can each sell a certain number of tickets and then have a drawing on Crazy Days. Yes we would have to turn them over to Boyne so they could insure them. By getting 2 tickets every year we could purchase new ones and pay a professional to maintain them. I also believe that if we all had a stake in earning the money that we would take better care of them. Another wild thought I had is to find a sponsor that is willing to pay to have their name/logo on the snowmobiles. Heck, if they were willing to give us enough money I would be willing to display their name/logo on sleeve of my parka. As long as it wasn't Viagra. lol
John
Todd, great idea with the work bee in cleaning up our own pad. it's next to impossible to get a weekend where we all can get together during our summers. So how bout during the weekend of the refresher. Instead of looking for a common water hole, lets grab a couple cases and head for the patrol room, clean, paint, BS and even have a little cook out.
Great comments from all here-especially the work bee on the patrol refresher weekend. By its very nature, our patrol consists of very independent self-motivated dedicated people-lets maintenance our patrol room and toboggans on our own-we don't need to rely on anyone else :) Maybe we can make a new wooden patrol room sign to place up the hill on the trail above the patrol room-that would score some points w/management.
I'm with Todd...providing good value is an easy sell. Sign me up.
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