January 11

In reviewing this situation, it seems to me the Viking Yurt is at
fault and should certainly offer compensation to Michael B.
Notwithstanding the transportation delay, it was the Viking Yurt staff
who instigated this problem by behaving in a rude and insulting way to
Michael B. and his fiance. Giving everyone EXCEPT them a $50 credit?
Give me a break here! Michael B has every right to be upset and
angry.

I find it very sad that the Viking Yurt owner fails to recognize this,
and continues to make a bad situation worse with her belligerent
response. Quite obviously, she and her staff believed that the people
who were inconvenienced by the snowcat delay deserved a $50 credit on
the spot. As part of that group, Michael B. clearly deserved the
credit too! If it was truly an innocent oversight on the part of her
staff, she should have immediately agreed to credit him the $50 AND
she should have humbly apologized to him for the staff's rude and
insulting behavior of crediting everyone else but him (Even if it was
an oversight, it should have never happened!).

I think she should credit him even more than $50 as an apology for him
having to use his personal time and energy on this issue when everyone
else received a credit "on the spot". Instead, it appears the Viking
Yurt owner (Joy Vik) has got her horns twisted and has dug in her
heels, making a bad situation worse -- indignantly telling him that he
needs to "try again" just because she does not like the tone of his
letter. Michael B has every right to be angry after the way your
staff treated him and his fiance. It's apalling that he even had to
take his time and effort to compose one letter.

Grow up Joy, drop the haughty attitude, and get over it! Accept
accountability for your staff's rude oversight! Credit the man more
than $50 and apologize for your haughty and belligerent behavior and
letter! After all, YOU are in the hospitality business. HE PAID YOU
for a hospitable experience. However unintentional, you and your
staff failed to live up to it by your mistreatment of him at billing
time!

By the way, I've been coming to Park City for 22 years. Just two days
ago, my sister pulled out the review of the Viking Yurt in Rachael
Ray's magazine and suggested we go there when we spend a week there
next month. Thanks to you Michael, we now know to stay away from the
Viking Yurt. There will be 10 of us at the Marriott and another
group staying at another resort. Rest assured none of us will
patronize the Viking Yurt. Regardless of good food, no one wants to
be treated in an insulting and rude manner when you are paying for a
nice evening out!

Lastly, about the 20 degree slope. Even though the slope is only 20
degrees, remember the people in the sleigh are sitting ELEVATED ABOVE
that 20 degree slope, which will make their sitting position quite a
bit more than 20 degrees from level! So before anyone claims that
Michael B. is exaggerating, take a real look at the facts of the
situation -- dust off your basic geometry and trigonmetry skills. He
was definitely seated at more than 20 degrees from level.

I would like to see the original letter you sent them so we can see if
their response was justified.

I have so much more respect for a company that doesn't give in to
people like Michael B.

Who wants a customer like him anyway?

I would like to congratulate Joy Vik for having your number. What
happened was unfortunate but it's called--now listen carefully-- LIFE!

A $250 dollar dinner and you didn't yell "What the hell is this crap
sitting on my plate?" Congratulations keeping your cool, lady!

"Congratulations on keeping your cool, lady" Just out of curiousity,
do you even READ the letters in their entirety or do you get
distracted by something shiny about halfway through?

How do I get ahold of Joy. I want to give her a standing ovation!!!!

What a marvelous letter she sent you! I can only imagine what a nasty
letter you sent her. Finally! Someone with the guts to stand up for
themselves and their company.

This letter should be plastered all over this website so that those
letter writers who feel the need to write in anger and attack the
people on the other end will understand just how far their emotions
get them.



To you Michael...you dont deserver an entire meal for free. Seems to
me that you got EXACTLY what you deserve.

Typos or no, you handled this wonderfully. KUDOS TO YOU!

Michael, is your glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty?

I read your post and the proprietor's response. I formulated an
opinion then read some of the posts below. My initial response
stands.

Doo doo happens. They had equipment on hand they sent to rescue you.
OK, you found reasons to find parts of the meal unremarkable. I think
that is immaterial to this letter. Their equipment got stuck for the
first time ever. After you got totally rude, you found that out.
They made an attempt to offer some compensation, which was
appropriate. It didn't pertain to you, so instead of pointing out
nicely (I didn't see evidence of that) that it didn't benefit you, you
went seventh order on them in your letter. It sounds like your letter
simultaneously ripped them a new body opening and asked for
compensation.

If you had approached this differently, I am confident that they would
have offered you something beyond the beverage credit. I would have
approached someone on the spot and either asked to speak with
management or have them contact me. It doesn't sound like you
approached it correctly.

Michael,

My wife and I had a wonderful experience at the Viking Yurt last
season. It is unfortunate you did not have the same positive
experience. Given the outstanding reviews the Viking Yurt received
from NBC's Today Show, Outside Magazine, and The Food Channel, I
suspect your experience was an anomaly.

Sleigh Ride Steepness - I doubt if the incline was greater than 20
degrees, definitely not the 45 degrees you mention (the sleigh only
goes up beginner and maybe lower intermediate ski runs - the 45
degrees you mentioned would be double black diamond expert terrain).
My wife and I viewed the ride up the mountain as an integral part of
the experience and we laughed openly with the other guests when we
headed up a bit steeper sections (part of the fun). Given snowcat
machines groom slopes more than twice as steep as the route we were
on, we knew there was absolutely no danger.

Regarding the cold, the Yurt staff provided us with extremely warm
blankets for the ride up the mountain. Temperatures were pretty cold
the evening of our tour, but we were exceptionally comfortable and
snuggling with my wife on the sleigh ride was fun. We wished the ride
lasted longer.

Our dinner was wonderful and the interaction with other guests during
the dining experience was refreshing. We would definitely do it
again.

While it is unfortunate you had a negative expereince, I would
recommend the Viking Yurt to anyone looking for a bit of adventure and
romance in their dining experience. As Michael discovered, dress
warmly for the ride up the mountain.

And Michael, I don't know what your original email to the owners
stated, but given the tone of your above post, you might want to
rethink your approach when you are looking for a credit from someone.
It sounds like the owner was more than willing to give you a $50
refund until you talked her out of it.

Martin

Their menu sounds fabulous.

With her permission, here is the email that Ms. Vik sent in reply to
my email through the Viking Yurt website, congratulating her for her
handling of this complaint:

"I'm embarrassed that my typos are now showing on the internet. I was
seeing (or typing) red when I wrote it and sent it off without a spell
check. Well, that will teach me. Michael B. wrote "Billing themselves
as the most romantic dinner in Utah"
Different magazines, newspapers and TV programs have described us as
being romantic, not us. The Today Show did a piece on us for
Valentines called "Most Romantic Places to Propose in America" I do
not promise our customers "romance" so his issues with his fianc can
not be blamed on The Viking Yurt. His is the only complaint we
received that night. It was, in fact, the only night in 8 years I've
ever issued a credit for something not going smoothly. I took the high
road on such an unusual night and asked my servers to give the credit.
A civil truthful request is all I asked for and I would issued him a
credit immediatly. Our ability to sell out nightly speaks for itself
as far as our food quality and satisfaction level of customers. He
threatened to smear me on the internet and to his Miami Ski Club. Nice
to know reasonable people read this site. I didn't even know such
sites existed but your readers are correct - his type is not the type
of customer I want anyway. I've been threatened before by nasty and
unreasonable people and we are still going strong. Joy Vik"

...to the email I sent congratulating her on her handling of this
complaint. In a return email I asked her permission to post her reply
here, and will do so if she's not uncomfortable with it. For now,
suffice it to say, she is a lovely person and her version of this
situation is quite different! I also let her know she is most welcome
to come here and post her own comments.

To give refund only for the alcoholic drinks is a RACISM toward the
non-drinkers.

would never want to be pulled up a mountain in a sled 1000ft, sounds
scary

Have any of the people who emailed The Viking Yurt heard back from
them?

It sounds as if you started out rude from the start in trying to get a
refund of some sort. You should give a company a chance to make it
right and then take it from there if they do not respond
appropriately. You skipped that step and now you are getting what's
appropriately yours. Enjoy and good for them to send this to you!

Mr. B, and you were well on your way to that honey, but you messed up.
The snow cat problems were rare, but your letter was too rude. Now,
you get what you deserve, NOTHING.

Utah has never been on my list of "must-see" places until today. Where
is this place? I really want to go there. Maybe I can buy Joy a drink
- she's my hero.

All I have to say is BRAVO TO MS. VIG!

You obviously had to have been somewhat of a snot to get that kind of
a response in return.

If they only gave the credit to people who had ordered drinks, you
should have mentioned it to somebody, because you were entitled to it
as well. Instead you kept quiet and decided to exaggerate and make
threats.

I just want to say

DONT PISS OFF A VIKING WOMAN!!!

Ms. Vik is truly knows what customer service is! Reward those whom you
wish to return, and tell the spoiled brats to go to hell.

It sounds to me like the establishment would have been more than
willing to give you the same $50 credit that everyone else received
had you been civil about the whole situation. Instead you decide to
make outlandish demands. This might work occasionally, this time it
didn't. Normally you "catch more flies with honey".

Has anyone received a response to theirs?

I just sent one, too.

Michael, I'm sure this isn't the reaction you expected, but I must
agree with everyone's comments. That email is the best response to a
complaint I have ever seen. I really think this backfired, which
perhaps should cause you to stop and rethink your methods.

Aplogy from the staff? NO

Refund the entire cost of the meal? NO

Apologize for the belligerent tone of her e-mail? Maybe - - let's see
what you wrote first to determine what could have caused her e-mail to
be written as such.

Complaining is ok. Sour Grapes, threatening, and Demanding the cost of
the meal is way out of order.

Using the Internet as a tool to spread lies about a company as
leverage in a complaint letter is not fair. I love the last line. How
is it their fault you're from florida and didn't get your body
acclimated to cold weather? You alone were responsible for doing that.
"And the whole ordeal ruined my romantic plans with my fiance".(they
have a pill for that), Whats more romantic, being stranded on a lift
with your fiancee, or Irmagaard the Nordic Opera singer?

I must side 100 percent on the side of the manager on this one. She's
right about over exaggerating being in your control. Where's the proof
you didn't drink? Why should they take your word on it after writing
this fiction??

wow! A company that uses common sense, and requires common decency
out of its customers!
I just fired off an e-mail to The Viking Yurt to let them know I
appreciate their attitude toward people who attempt to threaten them!
They are now on my list of places to see!
Thanks for the recommendation, Micheal!

Good for Yurt . . .I would have loved to seen your original email .
..you get a lot more out of people when you're nice and don't
exaggerate . . .This was a company that was willing to help until you
got nasty . ..sometimes losing some business is worth it (like if I
owned a business, I would hope Dora wouldn't show up)

She's telling you that the first 1/2 of your letter would have made
her gladly give you a credit. Evidently on the second 1/2 you made
threats and were generally rude. I guess she's like the USA, she
doesn't give in to terrorists either. Good for her.

I would looooooooove to see the email you sent Joy Vik to prompt that
response. The fact that you didn't include it here speaks volumes.
Fortunately, the restaurant can undoubtedly obtain it from Ms. Vik.
Kudos to her for not giving in to your bullying!

Funny thing is, I was in complete agreement that you were entitled to
the credit (as was this poor woman you threatened) until I saw her
email to you and read between the lines. Now I fervently hope you
don't get it.

this was almost funny. why didn't mr. b post his letter as well. from
what i read in the email, you were rude, so i am happy that someone in
the business had the ability to stand up to cusotmers that think that
by threatening they will get what they want. too bad, maybe if you
would have been nicer you would have gotten the credit you wanted.

Wow. Just wow. I can't even tell you what I would give to be Joy
Vik. What an amazing email, and what an amazing person she must be to
send it. Hooray for her!

And Boo for Michael B. Did you think we would accept your statement
that you were unprovokedly attacked by the obviously insane Ms. Vik?
Really? I would pay to see the no doubt pleasant and professional
business letter (sarcasm) you fired off to her when things didn't go
your way.

Still, I'm glad this letter was posted. It's nice to see justice
done.

I want to see the original e-mail before having a comment

Yes, she sure did elect to behave cantankerously. Unfortunately for
you she was eloquently cantankerous and it sounds like you elected to
behave like a jerk first.

While this sounds like a pretty interesting thing to do -- and if I
were in Utah and had a few extra hundred dollar bills I was looking to
get rid of I might try it -- I would have been very upset if I had
been in the group that got stuck. Being in the cold for very long has
some nasty consequences for me, as I'm sure it does for many people.
But if I'd decided to get into a snow-cat-pulled sleigh in Utah in the
winter after dark, I would have been the one responsible for my own
condition.

My discomfort doesn't mean that I would have blamed the restaurant or
that I'd have demanded a $50 credit -- but if I had asked for a credit
I would have asked for it politely at the restaurant rather than going
home and writing a half-nice, half-nasty email to the restaurant. In
life there are bad things that someone inflicts on you and bad things
that just happen, and voluntarily being on a sleigh being pulled by a
a snow cat that gets stuck in the snow is of the latter variety.

Their no-show policy is irrelevant to this complaint: the point is
that they're not going to hold up 30 diners for the people who don't
get there on time and quite possibly also that the meal is being
prepared so that it's ready right when the diners arrive at the yurt
(which would explain why they served y'all quickly). And your
romantic problems, though I suppose they are connected to being in the
cold for that long, aren't really something I want to think about.
Maybe Joy Vik doesn't want to either.

(And Joy Vik, if you should ever stumble on this discussion:
congratulations! That was one heck of an email you sent!)

There's something satisfying about seeing someone told "hey, you were
rude to me and I don't appreciate it." And have it be a MANAGER!

Politeness and respect is 2-way street.

Mike, unless you're willing to share your initial email and prove
otherwise, I'm tempted to believe Joy when she says that you
threatened her. Businesses usually don't go out of their way to
alienate customers unless they legitimately feel that they aren't
interested in keeping you as a customer. In this case, they told you
outright that your future business is not wanted. I have a feeling you
earned that in some way.

I also noticed that you were especially careful to not post your full
name on this site, but you did not extend the same courtesy to Joy.
Mike, you give people no reason to believe in your sense of honor when
you display no honor in your actions. I sincerely hope you learn
something from this experience.

And Ms. Vik, if you happen to read this, I would very much like to
shake your hand someday.

From their website:

"During the Olympics we had the great pleasure of hosting three
private royal parties; King Harald of Norway came with Stein Eriksen
and was featured on TV, The Royal Prince & Princess came with the
Norwegian Olympic Sports Federation. Later Princess Marta joined us
during The Paralympics Games."

They hosted the Norweigan Royal Family... that tells me something
about the quality of the cuisine there.

Wow. That's all I can say.

While I don't specialize in leisure travel, I fully intend to call
this place and ask them for some brochures.

I will then send them to my vacation travel office. with a note to
throw some business their way.

Joy Vik - you are my NEW hero!!

So you wanted $50, got nasty, threatened to go public and post your
experience all over the internet when all it would have taken was a
calm and civil request. And you got... nothing. Was it worth it?

Flies. Honey. Remember that for next time.

She pretty much says if you want your refund you will have to change
your approach. Be decent and you may get somewhere. You may have to
swallow your pride, but you'd get the $50 credit.

As for the $250 refund, be serious. You had your meal and the
atmosphere. You got what you paid for. You're just unhappy right now
and are trying to stick it to them.

I LOVE THAT E-MAIL!

You completely overexaggerated (and I highly doubt you were the only
one who didn't get a credit) and this letter here demonstrates it. I
am so happy a company actually fought back rather than giving in to
petty, petulant, exaggerated complaints.

This makes my morning!

Glad your attempt to screw someone over didn't work.

"Ordeal"? Suck it up.

I think the email from the company COMPLETELY summed it all up. Had
you approached the company POLITELY, you would have gotten what you
wanted and deserved. Instead, you obviously chose to get nasty and
begin threatening to smear their name "all over the internet." Good
for her! I'd have refused based on that as well! I bet almost everyone
reading this believed that you should have gotten that credit UNTIL it
became obvious that you were nasty and rude to the company in your
email. Take it as a lesson learned: the response you get will 99 times
out of 100 reflect the attitude you gave. Act like an adult and you'll
be treated as one.

LOL... He flat told you exactly where to get off. See? If you had
been polite, you'd have gotten what you wanted. You made threats, and
they called your bluff.

I don't buy your "she was mean to me and I was so nice" act one bit.
I admit I'm surprised you didn't modify that woman's email to omit the
parts about your making threats and being verbally abusive.

Have the intestinal fortitude to post your entire email to this woman
for all to see. But don't worry about resubmitting your letter to the
company. I have a feeling Ms. Vik saved your original email to her.

Have more integrity.

Why didn't you post the first message you sent to her?