The Bottom Rail by Verbal Shredwright

I'm a local… I tip locals… I shop local and support local businesses. Everybody knows where this is going. I mean… It sounds good, especially in light of the high cost of living and low wages many locals face in the most resort economies. But, if we're being honest most only support the locals they know. If you're friends, or you hang out then you maybe you're more likely to show some "local love" to an individual, a business or just sit at friends bar when you can. From tipping local wait staff during the off seasons to sticking with small businesses over the big boxes…everybody has ideas about keeping it local.

So what do you call the "local" shops, bars and restaurants where you spend money and tip the staff, but the owners, managers and employees can't seem acknowledge their local customers with a tap the of the like, follow and share buttons on social media? They do know your name. And I'm sure they find a second to follow wealthy gapers they only see once a year hoping for a good tip. Maybe they would care more about their local customers, you know the ones who spend money and tip more than once a year, if the owners and employees were really locals? Remember actions speak louder than words. Most business owners and many employees don't even live in the resort communities they work in… let alone spend their time or money there.

Nobody is demanding they spend any money they don't have…just asking folks you spend money with to show they appreciate you… the "local" customers and their businesses that afford them to be patrons. Every local needs to make a living, while the resort and hospitality industries simply expect to be tipped on gaper prices by visitors and locals…even knowing locals are often grossly underpaid to meet the standard of living in posh second home owner resorts. Local love is a two way street… don't expect "locals" to keep spending their money at your shop, bar, or restaurant if you take them for granted.

Hooking up your friends is not being part of the community.  And not being part of the community is the first step to a lack of social responsibility that local business owners in resort communities are often guilty of. Just like they argue if you can't afford their prices then go somewhere else…well, some would counter with if you can't afford to be open year-round and pay employees fairly for the local cost of living you should sell your business to someone who can. So, the idea local businesses have loyalty to locals and the community only goes so far.

The biggest indicator of this growing trend is the diminishing number of local customers who are supporting local businesses. Over priced and not open year-round is the recipe for losing support from the locals… You remember them…the people who all the tourists ask where to shop and eat. And before anyone goes off half cocked ask yourself how many times prices of rooms, rents, food, beers and more have increased in resort towns. Businesses including the ones you like and work at have probably raised prices more often than they given raises to their employees to keep pace with the resort cost of living.

The reality is many business owners are addicted to the price gauging during ski season to the extent when the $2000 per night hotel room and $60 entrees turn into $200 per night and $20 entrees during the off-season… they'd rather not serve such peasants. So that means they are over charging their visitors how grotesquely in the winter so they can afford not to be open for the community, employ locals year-round and help build the off-season economy in the town they claim they care so much about.

That being said not sure how any business charging the highest prices while posting the highest employee turn over season to season can even be worth a fraction of what they are charging. Ultimately, customer satisfaction drops because no room, meal or merchandise can live up to expectations at the insane gaper prices super greed is charging. In today's social media age bad experiences spread faster then word of mouth ever did. Especially, when they have been to other world-class destinations and had experiences with higher quality at much more reasonable prices.

Most retail and hospitality outlets get their product from the same handful of suppliers, they accept the same credit cards and pay the same resort taxes. To tell the truth there is not much of difference from one place to the next other than the address and owners in many instances. But, if one place makes you feel you are getting your moneys worth and appreciates your business, it's not too complicated to figure out where locals are going to spend their time and money during the off-season…and what places they will recommend to visitors during the holidays and ski season.