Ok so this weekend was a great weekend on the hill and after I announced my intention to go up on sunday my brother his wife decided it would be a good time to get there 5 year old daughter on skis, so we travelled up on saturday and they decided to get there passes and ski hire from the Glenmore shop as it was very close to where we were staying.

we were served in a very helpful manner even to the point of the guy pulling out all of his kids skis because my niece wanted pink ones to match her outfit haha, anyway 3 sets of ski rental and lift passes paid for done and done

however when we got the the hill the ranger base told us that because she is only 5 my niece does not pay for her lift pass (we had been charged for a junior at glenmore), the ranger suggested that at the point of return we should be given a refund for that pass.

after a cracking day we returned to the shop and a very rude women told my brother that 5 year olds pay for passes so you cant have a refund i think her exact words were "Thats the information Ive got so...."

checked the webpage this morning and low and behold 5 year olds DO NOT PAY for a lift pass.

Glenmore have just ripped my brother off and I think that in a sesson that could make or break Scottish skiing its shocking behavior.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 22.22hrs Mon 25 Jan 10 by alan.

write a letter to the manager/owner of the glenmore shop and also to cml see where that gets you. very surprised to hear that they were rude have used them before and were always happy and polite we even got away of a free day of rental as they forgot to charge us!
hope you get it sorted.

I'll stick up for them too, it can be hard to judge a child's age, maybe your daughter looks older than 5?

Also, if you buy rental there and the mountain is storm bound, they usually give you your money back.

Didn't have this problem with the ski-hire place in the centre of Aviemore a couple of years ago. They were "on the ball" with regards to pricing.

Was about to buy a family pass when the staff enquired about my daughter's age as I was informed that "I didn't have to pay for 5 year olds". As she had just turned 6 a few days earlier and is a "wee lassie" I coughed up being an honest soul - the price of 2 adults and 1 child wasn't all that much different in price anyway from a family pass.

You should give Glenmore Ski Hire a call and explain the situation again explaining that you have spoken to someone at CGM and also the info on the website. Maybe someone on the forum can give you the name of a reasonable person to speak to at the shop?



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 16.22hrs Tue 26 Jan 10 by WebCT_Guru.

I'm not arguing that my niece looks 5 or not, im just P***d that the women in the shop refused point blank to even consider it, or even offer to check her pricelists / information to see if she was right or wrong.

when they hired on saturday the service was great (as i have stated above) it was a guy maybe mid twenties and he sounded like he was from Norway or Iceland really helpful, I Suppose thats why we were so taken aback by the attitude of the women.

WebCT_Guru.......The guys that work in the shop use and read this page when i was in (upstairs) i asked did he know the forecast and he had WH up on the computer behind the till

Webct, the problem i found with the one in the centre of aviemore is that if you dont book it, you are always at the back of the queue. we were next to be served yet 2-3 parties came in after us and got served before us because they had booked.

Sorry to report a similar experience on my last abortive attempt to ski at CGM. Hired at said shop- the techie is from Latvia & tired hard to find good boots & appropriate skis. They had clearly been bombed with punters & although good natured, did not have a particularly efficient service routine.

Getting to the head of queue, being told no passes for sale & then finally back to the shop took an hour. So naturally when we returned the gear, I asked for a refund.

Sounds like the same woman who initially refused point-blank. Her next offer was free hire the next day- (we'd driven from Dunkeld, left at 7 & were fairly pissed off at CGM by this stage-see the traffic jam post) which I politely said wasn't on. Eventually she did refund the £30 with the words "no other shop would give you your money back"

I suppose what rankles here is that I've worked as a tech in Braemar on & off since 1995, so am very familiar with Scottish Ski hiring setups. There is no excuse for a) not being well informed of conditions/access/ticketing for the hills you're offering gear to hire on and b) being courteous.

On the other hand, the breakfast up th' stairs is still amazing. They have stunning potential at that shop to really do well, but with these kind of experiences, combined with word-of mouth online, it clearly demonstrates why there are so many other small places that manage to thrive each year.

I think the techie might actually be Estonian, not that it changes much.

Had a quick look on the CGM website under "refunds". It looks like off-site agents can't give refunds under "closed" conditions. Therefore, I'd assume for ALL refunds you'll need to contact CGM directly?

I hired from them earlier in the season and they couldn't have been more helpful. Was going to do another day but slightly twisted my knee and decided not to bother. Refunded me the lift pass and days board hire without a quibble. The techie (wherever he is from) was brand new and I had a good chat with him.

I think the thread title is misleading and should be changed or removed. This potentially threatens that business's livelyhood. This was clearly a mistake from busy and stressed staff, not a deliberate "rip off". I agree the attitude from the woman was a bit extreme but for you to claim your brother was "ripped off" is out of order. How much we talking here? 20 quid? Did it ruin his day? As for the "this could make or break Scottish skiing comment" jesus wept. I would suggest your tabloid sensationalist thread title will do far more damage than a £20 mistake.

I'm off to Google Xenophobia.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. Like many others WH users I've used this shop many times (mostly for the apple strudel......those who know me will vouch for that!). I'm sure that what you experienced is not the norm here and that Bill Wilson (the owner) will be most distressed to hear about this. May I suggest that you get in touch with him about a refund.
I do not doubt that you had every reason to be annoyed but I also do not think that this business deserves to be pilloried on an internet forum without at least being given the opportunity to make amends first.

Regards
Olderalan

And if you can, negotiate your refund in Strudel...

It's very good.

Nelbert....would you be happier if I changed the title to "beware of the bad attitude of a certain staff member of the glenmore ski hire shop"?

and as for the make or break comment if you had read the OP properly you would get that the statement is poor customer service could harm the Scottish Ski industry.

anyone got the email for the owner as on the web it just has a contact form


it didnt really ruin his day but he did comment that next time he would rent from another shop and it had taken the shine off an otherwise great day