In the beginning, the Resort Municipality of Whistler operated in the real world. Whistler served the public. Whistler’s employees were public servants. Since service was the only product Whistler offered, staff were committed to making Whistler the best. Since many of Whistler’s clients were weekenders, the building department was open on weekends. During the peak of construction, some staff were in lockstep with the builders and made themselves available 24/7. Staff strived to improve the service to the public. Efforts were made to reduce permit processing time. At one point, a counter service initiative was developed, which equated with customer-to-door service. Had the initiative gone forward, it could have been called Permit Dash. But it never happened, because the foundations of Whistler’s public service was crumbling.
In the mid ’90s, Whistler began to transition away from the real world of public service into the fantasy corporate world. Staff went from servers of the public to corporate executives who see their role as not listening to the public who pays their salaries, but executives who decide what is good for the public whether the public likes it or not.
