Luftseilbahn Grindelwald Pfingstegg — Attraction in Grindelwald

My husband and I are here visiting on our first trip post-honeymoon. Everyone we’ve encountered thus far has been so sweet, with the exception of today, and it’s the day before we leave to return home. We were in a bit of a rush to walk to the cable car, as we had just had a long car drive, checked into our hotel, and wanted to explore grindelwald in its entirety today, but knew that wouldn’t be possible due to the time. We arrived about 4pm for the cable car. Therefore, we walked fast to get there. We were so excited to go on this cable car. Upon purchasing tickets, I asked the man at the desk where the Rodelbahn is once we get to the top of the mountain. His response was “it’s a one minute walk”. And we were informed that the last cable car is at 6pm. So we thought perfect.

The cable car ride itself is very adorable. It is decorated cute, culturally, and even plays Swiss music during the ride. It was also not over crammed with people. I would change nothing about the ride at all.

When we got to the top, we explored the area to the right a little bit. There is a hiking trail and beautiful scenery. We sat for a little bit, watched the cows, and then thought we’d go to the rides, as there was no line. I was very looking forward to the Rodelbahn, as I’ve never heard or seen anything like it. We get to the ticket window, which was open by the way, and the girl says nothing. So I told her we need 2 tickets for the ride. She made a disgusting face at me and said “we’re closed. We close at 5”. It was like 5:10pm. I couldn’t believe it. We were so excited previously. So then we looked down at the fly line too, as we were going to do that as well, and that was also closed. That got us so stressed and sad in that moment because that’s why we went up there and spent 51 chf.

The way down, I was disappointed, and the girl at the Rodelbahn ride was also on the cable car talking with someone in English and said “yeah, I had people come late to my ride”, looking directly at us, and referring to us. And when we got to the bottom, we spoke with the man who sold us the tickets. We nicely explained the situation and kindly asked if there’s any way we could get a ticket for the following morning so that we could complete those activities. To which he replied “no, you paid for the cable car and you rode it so there’s nothing I can do.” We explained that we are from out of country and we really wanted to do those activities, but he said “you had plenty of time while you were up there to do it and you didn’t. That’s not my fault.” To which I said “we explored the area and were under the assumption the rides closed at 6pm, like the cable car. If it closed earlier, why didn’t you tell us what time it closed when you knew we planned on going on it? And he said “it says on our website and there is information posted. It’s not my job to tell you”. Basically this conversation went on for 5+ minutes and got nowhere. I asked for the manager, and he said that’s me.

I understand the information is posted online, but clearly we didn’t get to review prior to attending, and this guy had no customer service, professionalism or empathy whatsoever. We walked away from that feeling terrible that we didn’t get to complete those activities, and that we were not respected well, since there was no understanding on his part.

The ride itself is lovely, as I mentioned above. The rides seem cute and fun, and the cows up on the mountain are adorable as well, with their little bells jingling. But I was appalled by the lack of customer service. That seriously needs to...

Wonderful view on Grindelwald from up there in Pfingstegg! The view is worth it, you'll not regret the cablecar trip.

Once up there, you can either do the fly-line, the toboggan (kind of bobsleigh) or hike back to Grindelwald (around 1h).

The flyline costs 12.- per adult, takes about 5-10 minutes in total if no waiting. It's super chill, it's great to do it once, no more. It brings you back up after the "flight"

The toboggan is super fun and costs only 6.- per adult. It also takes around 5-10 minutes if no waiting. It's more energetic and gives some great adrenalin, I recommend it! It also brings you back to the starting point after the ride.

All in all, no need to stay more than a couple hours, maybe 3 if its crowded. But it's definitely worth coming here.

Oh, and there are cute and...

Bought tickets at the vending machines outside. No half-fare price was available so we thought there is no discount for halbtax/GA. When we realized that we only needed to pay half price at the counter inside, they refused to teimburse our tickets. This lack of flexibility is not what I expect from a touristic Swiss location.

We have not seen any indication at the machine that discounted tickets should be purchased at the counter. The nearby sign indicates discount tickets at the very bottom in a smaller font.

Update: The answer below is not helpful:

1. It contradicts the response we got by email, which says that a halftax discount is availlable on the vending machine. What is the truth?
2. There was absolutely no sign indicating that discounted tickets should be...