Meini Sport & Mode — Local services in Laax

I recently purchased a helmet, it was rather last minute and at the time I was grateful I even had a chance to follow through with the purchase. As COVID also makes in-store shopping extra difficult nowadays. Anyhow, I was already expecting to pay a surcharge due to the fact that this shop is located in the mountains. And I totally agree to have slightly higher margins in a shop like this, thats why I walked in in the first place.

However, for me, the whole experience was not very pleasent for the following reasons: Firstly, the staff wasn't friendly. They seemed a bit stressed, but thats ok.. I don't expect any over the top friendliness and I don't mind that much as long as I can communicate what I need, and they can listen and follow up with my request. My request was the following: "I would like to purchase a ski helmet, my budget is 80 - 150ish maximum."

The first helmet he brought was nice and it fit me well, in my mind I was already going to purchase it. But when I asked for the price, he said its 299 CHF. Why would you bring me a helmet with a price tag of 299 CHF? If I specifically ask for something between 80 and 150 CHF?

I communicated again, what my budget is, this time he came with a Helmet that cost 169 CHF. Slightly over, but okay, apparently there werent any cheaper ones. So I purchased this.

I was happy with the helmet, but I already knew, its slighty more expensive than a regular shop. However, I couldnt help it and I checked the online stores, such as Galaxus.ch, fruugo.ch etc. It turns out the same Helmet costs ~89 CHF there.

My review is 1 star, becaue the service was lackluster, and the prices are horrendous. 169 vs 89 CHF is not acceptable, even if it's Laax. I will not shop in this...

Never again! I had a very disappointing experience at this ski rental shop, specifically regarding how I was treated when I needed to change my ski boots.

As a first-time skier, I trusted the staff’s recommendation when they assured me my boots fit correctly. However, after my three-hour lesson, I could barely walk due to how tight they were in the front. Since the shop was right next to the gondola, I went there immediately to exchange them for the next day.

At that point, the rental area was not busy, and an employee (who had originally helped me) was kindly assisting with the exchange. However, another staff member, Mr. Casaulta, rudely interrupted, questioning why I was changing my boots in the afternoon instead of the next morning. When I politely asked if there was a reason for this, he aggressively responded by blaming me for bringing in dirt and water. This was shocking, considering the entire floor was already wet from other customers returning their equipment—completely normal in a ski shop!

His tone was unprofessional and downright hostile. When I pointed out how unnecessary his comment was, he dismissively waved me off and walked away. I was left stunned—what should have been a simple boot exchange turned into an uncalled-for personal attack.

I had been so excited after my first ski lesson, but this encounter ruined my mood. Thanks to this experience, I’ve decided to invest in my own gear rather than ever rent from this shop again.

Absolutely unacceptable...

I rented the World Cup-level Stöckli skis through the Stöckli website and chose a specific model. Since they are partnered with Meini Sport, I had to go to Meini Sport to pick up my skis for the weekend. After trying on ski boots and sorting that out, the employee processing my reservation noticed that I wanted to rent higher-level skis and refused to rent them to me. He started questioning my experience and whether I was capable of skiing on those skis.

Additionally, I had to explain why I didn’t have my own ski boots because the employee believed it was mandatory for the skis I was trying to rent. It felt like I had to prove that I had the necessary experience to use them, which made the whole situation unnecessarily frustrating. No customer should have to go through that kind of experience.

Moreover, he made some arguments about skiing that were completely unfounded, such as claiming that skiing performance solely depends on the skis themselves.

On a positive note, I would like to take a moment to thank a female employee who kindly helped me break a 20 CHF bill into coins—she was really nice...