Compagnie du Mont Blanc: committed to improving quality

Since April 2007, the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc has held a « Quality » certificate, in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard (version 2000), covering all its locations and activities.

The Company received its certificate after an examination of the quality control systems in place and on-site working practices was carried out at the end of March 2007 by SGS*, the organisation responsible for the issue of certificates. (* Chosen by several leading French ski lift companies. SGS is the world leader in scrutinisation, inspections, analysis and certification.)

The size and relative complexity of the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc, called for a substantial, in-depth preparation for the certification to enable the company to take what it considers to be just the first step and, what's more, to take it with style.

The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc's initial certification is firstly in recognition of:

• An organisation which is now well-established (the company in its current form is quite young as it resulted from a series of amalgamations in May 2002) and the relevance of several decisions and directions taken by management in recent years;


• An ability to fulfil customers' expectations whilst complying with the relevant professional regulations. In this respect, the management can rely on all the business's associates for the quality of their work and for everyone's commitment to the job;


• Our genuine desire to be customer-oriented and our quest for increased customer satisfaction - the only means of ensuring that our business lasts and continues to grow – through constantly improving our management.

Alongside the Quality mark for customer care, the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc is currently demonstrating its commitment, on the one hand, to conserving the very special environment of the Mont Blanc range and, on the other, to its employees' safety at work, by encapsulating its concerns, already long-held and largely dealt with, in a structured and demanding initiative towards obtaining certification under the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards, which should be concluded during 2008.

“The work carried out so far, must be continued in order to provide our customers with a quality service on all occasions. Far from being an end in itself, certification is first and foremost what encourages us to pursue our drive towards excellence. The work carried out so far, must be continued so that we can always provide our customers with a quality of service to match their expectations and to match the stature of Mont Blanc itself. We are committed to it and we are already seeing good results.”

“Of course there's always room for improvement and the company has a clear-sighted approach to this in conjunction with the many others involved. For our company, certification brings no guarantees. At the very most, it provides us with a few footholds from which to build the future and to face the major changes and challenges facing our economy, our industry and our valley. By developing a vigilant mentality and a commitment to responsibility throughout the business, we will succeed.” (Jean-Marc FARINI – Manager, Quality and Customer Relations Department)

Prior to this press release, in a meeting at the end of last winter with many of the independent tour operators that operate in the valley, the CdeMB expressed their intention to work towards improving standards in a number of areas that are currently causing dissatisfaction with Chamonix visitors. The hot topics for the independents were:

• Improving frequency and reliability of the local transportation system (of which the CdeMB funds two-thirds)


• Mountain restaurants – specifically focussing on food quality and wait time (this aspect is to be tendered out where it is hoped that independent investment will improve quality)


• CdeMB staff attitude – more thorough customer service training in the concept of “service with a smile”!


• Consistency in marketing and communications, particularly with regard to lift pass prices and new investment into the area.

In addition to bi-annual meetings with the independent tour operators, the CdeMB has created its own list of improvements based on the 10 000+ customer surveys handed out on the mountain each year. These surveys have been issued for more than 10 years now and are the same as those used in around 20 other resorts in the Alps, so it is possible for them to compare directly the satisfaction of Chamonix visitors to that of other resorts.

Further press release – stats on the CdeMB :
“The Compagnie du Mont-Blanc SA, based in Chamonix, is one of France's foremost ski lift companies, with a turnover of about 50 M€, an average workforce of 390, 1,250, 000 « skier-days” in winter and 1,100,000 visits in summer, 40 ski lifts and 2 mountain trains. As concessionaire, it provides a mountain transport service by means of cable and rack railway. It operates in the areas administered by the municipalities of Chamonix, Vallorcine and Saint-Gervais and in 3 high altitude ski areas in the Chamonix Valley (les Grands-Montets, Balme, Brévent-Flègère) and 3 world-renowned tourist attractions (Aiguille du Midi, Montenvers-Mer de glace and the Mont Blanc Tramway). Successor to some now defunct companies, it was set up in 2000 to provide its customers with a better service whilst respecting its social, economic and geographic environment.”