I came 1st with my brother back in January for 2 days to scope Albany Lodge out for the 1st time prior to bringing 10 others for a March trip. The previous 5yrs we'd been going to the U P but decided to try something different. We did some research and found this place. We'd read some of the negative reviews but we took the chance...whoops!
The 1st morning at Albany Lodge, Brad got us on our machines and personality wise he seemed a little cocky but was okay. Riding that day I put a little penny size rip in the seat and brought it to his attention the next morning, and as soon as I showed it to him he grinned and said I'd have to buy a new seat cover and it'd be about $300, I said 'really!?', and that's when a whole new Brad showed up as though the gloves were off and he was ready to fight. He said 'You broke it, you fix it, I'm not paying for it!' I asked if I could get something discounted off a full priced seat cover since I was renting for 2 days and was bringing more business potentially in March? 'Nope!' I forgave Brad's switch in demeanor because I empathize with the fact he probably was guarded because he probably often dealt with jerk customers. Yeah, it sucked to have to pay close to $300 for a seat cover, but it sucked more when Brad was neither friendly or empathetic.(Gotta pay to play!)
Then there's Austin... When I met Austin for the 1st time he acted angry at me because I showed up to have oil put in the sled 1st thing in the morning and I putted slowly over from our cabin to the rental building while the red temp light was still on, 'You could blow up the motor.' I thought, okay, you probably could mention that without the attitude (I know to let a machine idle for a bit to let the oil cycle through and definitely don't rev a cold machine)
My brother and I rode all that day, had a blast, and strategized for our group trip in March and ignored the questionable customer service from Austin and Brad.
Then comes this past weekend, with 11 of my close friends and relatives. We show up for breakfast right at 7am when the restaurant opens and are greeted by a young red haired waitress who seems unhappy we all showed up so early. She lacked customer service qualities and came across very rude. Christin took over and she was very pleasant and knew the true meaning of customer service and understood that without customers, she wouldn't have a job. She was great!
But then, unfortunately, we all got to meet unpleasant Austin at the rental place. He gave the impression the 8 of our group renting were just a pain in his ass. My brother-in-law asked about helmets and was debating whether to use the lodges or his own and at one point Austin basically said 'Use your own, use ours, do what you want, doesn't matter to me', it wasn't what he said, but how he said it. Good customer service seemed completely foreign to him. Austin didn't smile, he acted arrogant and rude the whole time he checked us out. He was rude to my father, when he asked a simple question his response was 'Don't touch that', but it wasn't said in a friendly manner. Again, it wasn't what he said but how he said it. Everyone in our group witnessed his poor attitude. We all rode off and enjoyed our day!
We stayed the night and woke up and ate at the restaurant at 7am again and we were greeted by Christin who was once again great! We brought the sleds to be filled up again with oil and I didn't interact with Austin nor Brad at all, thankfully, but I still watched how Austin interacted with other customers and I never saw him crack a smile.
Another gentleman at the rental department put oil in my machine. He had a dark beard, tall, wore a bandana around his neck and seemed genuinely friendly. He was a pleasure to speak with.
That morning, an 11th friend joined us to rent a machine and he also noted that Austin seemed unfriendly.
2 of the 9 renting were charged for damage, $250 for a set of 'bent' handlebars (1/8" off from new) and $1100 for some light structural damage underneath from going over an exposed rock.
Here are my suggestions: Brad and Austin are not doing the reputation of the owner nor the business any good. They should either be back in the kitchen or back working on the machines. They should neither be seen nor heard of by customers. They should not be anywhere around friendly, happy customers ready to spend their hard earned money for some fun.
We were ready as a group to do this trip every winter and spend close to a total of $6000 for 2 days once every year. So long as Austin and Brad are employed and the owner supports their behavior at Albany Lodge I will never be back, nor will I ever recommend anyone go to Albany Lodge! They may not care that they don't see me, but someone who runs a successful business would realize the danger of bad customer service.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130604134550-284615-15-statistics-that-should-change-the-business-world-but-haven-t read more