If you own a ski shop, who are your customers? Like other ski shop owners, Mike Bartasuis and Ira Riklis—who own the Charter Sports chain of shops in Colorado—know that the people who walk in their door to rent gear and buy supplies and accessories are their end customers. But one secret to their success is that they realize they have other, equally important customers—the resorts where their shops are located.
When people plan ski trips, they’re not basing their decisions around what ski shops they want to visit. They’re looking for the places with the best resorts and the best skiing. And Ira Riklis knows that the main goal of resorts is to put “butts in beds.” Only once the skiers are there do they interact with the ski shop. That’s when Charter Sports has the chance to serve both the resorts and the skiers. The quality of the service they provide to the skiers reflects positively on the resorts. By providing the best service possible, they help keep the resort’s customers happy, and that encourages repeat visits both to the resorts and to Charter Sports.