Creating the Skatetown Environment

We are pleased that you are considering joining our team.

We have a number of policies, standards and procedures that enable us to create and maintain the environment we believe is critical to our success. This document is designed to give you a better understanding of how we operate and what we expect from our teammates so you can decide if joining our team makes sense to you.

Our History:

Scott Slavensky was a successful contractor for nearly 20 years. His sons began playing ice hockey at the old ice rink on Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento. Scott was elected to the youth ice hockey board and asked to participate in their efforts to bring a modern, full-size ice skating facility to our region. He completed some intensive research into the ice-skating industry and developed a dream of building the finest ice-skating facility around.

Most ice rinks in the nation are built and operated by Cities, Counties or Park and Recreation Districts, due to their high cost to build and operate. Scott's financial resources were limited so he worked very hard to try to get a local government entity to build, or participate in building, the ice-skating facility. Despite a sound business plan that detailed the dream and how it would work, none of the municipalities he approached believed in the project enough to support it.

Because Scott believed so strongly in his dream, he sold his business, put all his and his family’s personal assets on the line, and plunged headfirst into the Skatetown dream. Working seven days a week, and sometimes 24 hours a day, Scott built Skatetown in less than 6 months and opened for business on December 24, 1997.

There were some very specific elements of Scott’s dream that he felt were essential to making the dream come true and keeping the business viable. They included making Skatetown a place:

• That is Clean, Friendly and Fun
• Where we would become world famous by making a positive difference in the lives we touch;
• Where teammates understand that while we are in the ice skating industry, we are in business to provide memorable guest experiences;
• Where teammates have a strong work ethic that includes positive attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity and gratitude.
• Where teammates are so nice to our guests that they won’t believe it and enjoy themselves so much that they will tell their friends and want to come back again and again;
• Where vendors are treated as partners;
• Where teammates understand that we are putting on a show, that they are members of the cast and that our facility is our stage;
• Where we schedule enough staff to provide quality and timely service, without overstaffing;
• Where parents could bring their children, drop them off and feel comfortable that they would be safe and have a good time;
• Where families would come to play together and create positive lifelong memories;
• Where it was always clean, bright, and in “like new” condition;
• Where teammates work hard, stay on task and have fun;
• Where the telephones would be answered in a timely, pleasant and consistent manner and questions would be quickly and efficiently responded to and calls are returned immediately if we cannot answer the phone;
• Where music was always playing;
• Where the guest's expectations were consistently exceeded;
• Where the teammates worked together towards a common goal of helping realize the Skatetown dream;
• Where teammates proudly wear their clean, like-new, bright uniform, complete with logo and name tag, and understand that they are wearing a costume that is part of the show;
• Where teammates are eager and willing to maintain the Skatetown look that is family-friendly, through conservative hairstyles and colors, piercings limited to the ear lobe or very small nose studs, and (with approval from management) can have tattoos, while on duty.
• Where teammates practice teamwork and treat each other with the same respect we afford our family and friends, “if we take care of each other, we will be able to take better care of our guests;”
• Where teammates smile and greet every guest that comes within 5 feet (Good morning, good afternoon, good evening). Speak to the guest in a warm, friendly and courteous manner. Use their name as often as possible. Use appropriate vocabulary. Be helpful, cheerful and act in such a manner that our guests feel that we are genuinely happy that they are here and that we want to do everything that we can to make sure that they have a good time while they are here so that they will want to come back again and again;
• Where teammates thank the guest for their business and bid them a fond farewell, making their last impression of Skatetown warm and positive;
• Where teammates who receives a guest complaint “owns” the complaint and does everything possible to resolve the guest complaint;
• Where teammates report defects in the facility, including shortages and supplies;
• Where music will always be playing in the lobby and in the arenas during public skating sessions;
• Where teammates help our facility sparkle by constantly picking up trash and cleaning and no one walks by a piece of trash without picking it up;
• Where teammates will park in areas designated for teammates, leaving the closest parking spaces for guests;
• Where we will always have at least one skateguard per 100 skaters, who is easily identified via their Skatetown jacket, on the ice during public skating sessions. The Skateguard will:
• Respond to a fallen skater within 3 seconds
• Ensure that all skaters are skating in a safe and courteous manner
• Enforce the rules without being rude or mean
• Identify & help skaters with skates that are too large or not tied properly
• Ensure that no one is on the ice during resurfacing
• We will strive to fit skates for every guest with skates so we can make sure that they are the right size, laced properly and so that we can use the opportunity to interact with our guests and make a positive difference in their experience. This interaction will always include a discussion about safety;
• Our rental skates will be in great condition at all times. The laces will not have frayed ends, the insoles will be in good condition, the blades will be sharp and the skates will be dry. Skates that are worn out are to be replaced with new skates;
• The building will smell clean and fresh;
• Our ice will be of the highest quality at all times;
• Our dasherboards will be clean and free of unsightly puck marks;
• The restrooms will be immaculate at all times;
• Sessions will start and end on time;
• Teammates will always be busy - either helping keep the facility clean or helping guests;
• Teammates will be trained so that they are effective and efficient in their respective roles and knowledgeable about information on our programs so they can answer guest inquiries;
• Teammates will escort guests rather than pointing out directions. When this is not possible, take the guest the first three steps;
• Every effort will be made to minimize the time any guest has to wait in line;
• All exit doors will have exit alarms so that the only way in or out of the building is through the front, patio or rear doors;
• Teammates will be trained in safety, practice safe work habits and abide by all Safety Policies and immediately report incidents, accidents and hazards to their supervisor;
• Where all operational procedures are documented, kept current, and all teammates are trained in these procedures so that we provide a consistent and high quality guest experience;
• Where teammates will protect and care for the assets of Skatetown and use our resources wisely and eliminate waste;
• Where teammates will know the goals of their department and share their ideas, suggestions and energies to continuously improve sales, profit, guest satisfaction, and teammate morale;
• Where teammates will be empowered and trusted to handle guest needs and problems to the best of their ability and seek assistance, if needed, while thinking of creative ways to say “yes”;
• Where teammates understand what our dream is all about, buy into that dream and share our goals and standards as if they were their own;

We are proud to say that the dream has been realized. During our years in business, our guests and teammates have let us know that we're on track.

We would like to take some time to explain why we do things the way we do.

We want to create a "Disneyland" type environment at Skatetown. If you've ever been to Disneyland, you know what we're talking about. The moment you drive into the Disneyland parking lot, you begin to realize that you are some place special. For the time that you are there, you are escaping from the real world and into a make believe world, where everything is OK. It's no accident that you feel this way when you go to Disneyland, as everything you experience has been carefully and painstakingly thought through. The way you are greeted, the color and design of the uniforms that the cast members wear, the smells you experience when you walk through the turnstiles and enter Main Street, the music that you hear are all carefully choreographed. As you most likely know, Disneyland is the most successful business in the entertainment world.

Many other businesses try to follow the example that Disneyland has set, but few make the grade.

We feel that creating the "right" environment is critical to the success of our business. If we don't carefully establish and enforce our standards, we will fail. It's that simple. In our market, there are an incredibly large number of entertainment options and sports for people to choose between. If we are not very careful, they won't choose us.

It will take doing a lot of things right to create this environment, but doing only one small "wrong" thing can undo all the things we do "right".

As an example, an airline did a survey and found that people who saw crumbs on the seat trays felt that if the airline didn't care enough to clean their seat trays, that they must feel the same way about doing the proper maintenance on the aircraft. People equated dirty seat trays with poor maintenance practices and avoided the airline. That airline company failed.

A lady suing her employer for hurting her back on the job lost her case. After the trial was over, the jury foreman said that the evidence strongly supported the employee's case, but a small, seemingly insignificant item affected the outcome of the case. The jurors noticed that the lady changed the color of her toe nail polish several times during the trial. Because of this, they felt that she couldn't be hurt as bad as she claimed since she was able to change her nail polish.

The point is that people notice a lot more than we realize. Many times things are noticed subconsciously, but they create strong impressions.

Hopefully you've heard the saying that "you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression."

The point of all this is that we have to constantly and very carefully evaluate each and every contact that we have with our guests and create standards, which insure that a positive impression is made.

Thanks for reading our story and considering joining our team.