Re: Aramark has closed Badger Pass for the season already

I should not be surprised, but in a year when evrery other ski resort in California is celebrating the snow and extended seasons, Aramark has decided to close Badger Pass already.
There was no announcement, they simply changed the Badger Pass web page to read "Closed for the 2023 Season."
I think they were closed from around 2/25 because of the snow. We were there 2/18 and it was amazing.

I had Lodge reservations for 3/24 to 4/1 but cancelled in hope of Badger re-opening, but not now.

I have High sierra camp reservations in August but fully expect an announcement soon that they won't open this year either.
Any bets on whether White Wolf orTuolumne Lodge open? I doubt it.
Tuolumne Meadows Grill? not likely.

Wawona Golf Course?

Rafts? maybe
Bikes? maybe

NPS please find a way to get out of the contract!

Thanks, Coolburn. Your opening line says it best. Any normal ski operator would be thrilled with all the snow. I hear that some of the resorts in Utah (where they've also had record snowfall this year) are taking reservations through June! But not "We don't give a s--t" Aramark.

It's tempting to write off each year of Aramark failures as being beyond Aramark's control. Aramark took over in March 2016. In 2017 there was record snow, and in 2020 and 2021 there was the Wuhan virus panic, providing excuses (real or imagined) not to do things like open the HSCs. In 2022 NPS closed Badger Pass Road and Tuolumne Meadows Campground for major infrastructure projects, removing two revenue-generating operations (the stores at TM and GP).

Nevertheless, as far as I can tell, Aramark hasn't done jack squat to even try to provide services, because it doesn't give a s--t, and NPS doesn't demand that it does. In 2020 Aramark kicked staff out of housing in the park because it was too cheap to pay NPS for the housing while the park was closed to visitors. Before that, it started charging for the TM shuttle, then stopped running that altogether; and it hasn't maintained the fleet of valley shuttle buses like it should.

The complaint page for the Dept. of Interior Inspector General is here. That might be a good place to start.

Both the DOIIG and NPS pages have information about freedom of information act requests; it would seem it's time to get a copy of the contract with Aramark and see to what extent Aramark's cavalier attitude is the result of poor lawyering by the NPS in drawing up that contract.

If what Aramark is doing is permissible within the scope of its contract, then that contract needs to be cancelled - the NPS exists to serve the public, not to hand out concession contracts to companies that are incompetent and indifferent. And if what Aramark is doing constitutes a breach of contract, then the contract needs to be cancelled, and Aramark needs to pay.

The NPS should put the concessionaire RFP and contracts out for public comment so interested parties can help them structure the vendor services in a way that incentivizes good service. It’s a big ask to have someone with a ranger background to figure that out.

You can tell whoever is running SEKI is a lot more organized than the Yosemite leadership. I’m surprised there haven’t been more complaints about the lack of communication lately.

To the best of my knowledge, Delaware North, the previous operators for Yosemite, currently operate SEKI. Agreed about Aramark. I too have Tuolumne Lodge reservations for this summer, and haven't heard a word as to whether Aramark is planning to keep it closed this summer. I wonder what the rationale for closing Bager Pass is, given the record snowfall.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2023 09:18PM by LRK.

Aramark is the absoloute worst. They don't appear to me, but what do I know, qualified to run Yosemite, yet we are stuck with them. They make Deleware North look like Apple

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lonelugger
Aramark is the absoloute worst. They don't appear to me, but what do I know, qualified to run Yosemite, yet we are stuck with them. They make Deleware North look like Apple

I used to think that Delaware North was bad and then Aramark got the contract. I can't think of one positive thing to say about Aramark. I miss the menu choices at the Mountain Room and the Ahwahnee - too much fusion and what I call fufu choices. Could they just have kept more of the traditional choices? They ruined The Loft and Degnan's. Even the pizza at Curry Pizza Deck doesn't taste the same. The decor of the rooms at some of the lodgings look like every other hotel you can stay at in a big city - we are in a park not downtown Manhattan. Don't even start me on Badger this year and last year. I doubt if I will ever buy my son a season pass anymore since I could not get a refund or even an extension of the pass, he never got to use last season. I just posted a thread about how you now have to pay to park at the Ahwahnee. Will this ever end? Aramark used to do the food service where my husband worked, and they were fired for poor performance. The same at some schools my friend's grandkids go to in Arizonia. I had really hoped that Xanterra would have tried to get the contract, but I was told many years ago by one of the CEO's that they would not bid for the Yosemite concessionaire because they feel the park is too political and difficult to work with. Gosh, I wish they would change their mind.

Xantara would be soo much better than Aramark,
I miss Delaware North.....still tastes bitter, but they did do a better job than Aramark.

We have stayed at Xanterra properties many many times over the years and never had one issue with them. They have even gone out of their way when we stay at Zion Lodge to make sure that we have one of the cabins that we like to stay in and they even have a preferred cabin list attached to my contact information. One time the toilet blocked at 5:30 am and they sent someone to fix it within 15 minutes. In 2010, at the last minute we found out that there was going to be a huge opening ceremony for the new Old Faithful Visitor Center that we could go to. We actually were set to leave the park the day before but at the last minute we called reservations and said that we really wanted to extend our stay but could not find a room in the park. The person was really nice and booked us into one of the rooms that they keep for an emergency when employees need to stay in the park. You would not see Aramark doing something like that.

Delaware North started to go downhill several years before their contract ended but it still was way better than Aramark.

These are all compelling stories (both against Aramark and for Xanterra) but they really should be shared with somebody (or somebodies) who can do something about the situation. I don't know if that's the superintendent, somebody at the NPS or some more senior administrative role. Given that a case could be made that Aramark may well be in violation of the contract (although they strike me as the sort of "money-first" organization that they probably have a whole cast of Saul Goodman's to ensure that they technically fulfill the bare minimum demands of the contract), I wonder if it's worth reaching out to congressmen and/or senators in California (and, given that it's a National Park, possibly congressmen and senators in any states where those men & women have ears that reach beyond the voices of their biggest donors).

Any thoughts on a co-ordinated (or even un-coordinated) effort to let people in power know just how dissatisfied people are with Aramark's so-called "service?" At the very least, I'm sure there are folks on this board who have a better sense than I of who would be best to contact about this.

I would love to know exactly who to contact. I really hate that changes that Aramark has made in the park starting from their redecorating of the facilities (the decor looks like a big city hotel and not a national park) to the food and so on. While they have had bad luck the past few years starting with the Covid outbreak, the fires and bad weather, even before that their service was horrible. I really feel for the long-time employees who are so unhappy with how Aramark is running things. I feel that just writing Cicely Muldoon is not the way to go since I also have issues with some of the decisions she has made.

Please post if you find out anyone that we can contact. I will do so if I find someone.

From the Contract with aramark: signed in 2015, through 2/28/31:



Pacific West Region
Stan Austin, Regional Director
National Park Service
333 Bush Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-2828
415-623-2100

I've not been in several years. How did they ruin The Loft?

Quote
parklover

Quote
lonelugger
Aramark is the absoloute worst. They don't appear to me, but what do I know, qualified to run Yosemite, yet we are stuck with them. They make Deleware North look like Apple

I used to think that Delaware North was bad and then Aramark got the contract. I can't think of one positive thing to say about Aramark. I miss the menu choices at the Mountain Room and the Ahwahnee - too much fusion and what I call fufu choices. Could they just have kept more of the traditional choices? They ruined The Loft and Degnan's. Even the pizza at Curry Pizza Deck doesn't taste the same. The decor of the rooms at some of the lodgings look like every other hotel you can stay at in a big city - we are in a park not downtown Manhattan. Don't even start me on Badger this year and last year. I doubt if I will ever buy my son a season pass anymore since I could not get a refund or even an extension of the pass, he never got to use last season. I just posted a thread about how you now have to pay to park at the Ahwahnee. Will this ever end? Aramark used to do the food service where my husband worked, and they were fired for poor performance. The same at some schools my friend's grandkids go to in Arizonia. I had really hoped that Xanterra would have tried to get the contract, but I was told many years ago by one of the CEO's that they would not bid for the Yosemite concessionaire because they feel the park is too political and difficult to work with. Gosh, I wish they would change their mind.