Mountain Equipment Company Reviews 193

Amy in customer service did an outstanding job resolving an online order issue for me.
It was done quickly with no fuss.
Great service

Stay the hell away from this joke of a place!!!! I ordered vessi boots recently, and when I received them I was beyond grossed out! The bottom of the one boot was dirty, there was a piece of a dirty cotton ball in the box, and there was two long black hairs stuck to the boot! (YUK). It took several attempts to contact them, and each time I called I was listening to loud music as I waited for someone to answer my call. Three times I waited for 20 minutes before someone answered my call. I was forced to order something else from this place because they gave me a gift card. I ordered runners, and when they sent me my order receipt and confirmation they had not taken off the $30.00 gift card. So, I tried calling them and waited 25 minutes for someone to pick up the phone, and nobody ever did answer my call. I hung up! So, I had to resort to chatting with someone and it got straightened out. straightened out. NENER AGAIN WILL I ORDER FROM THIS JOKE OF A COMPANY!!!

A company that calls itself a “co-operative,” yet increasingly feels disconnected from the outdoor community it claims to represent. I have been a customer for many years, but lately I have started to notice a decline in product quality.

Last month I purchased a pair of shoes. The size turned out to be too narrow, so I requested a return without ever using the product. After a long back-and-forth with customer service, a representative finally agreed to a free return and sent me a return link.

However, after the package was received, I got another email asking why I had returned the item. I had to explain the same reason again. To receive the refund, I then had to contact customer service once more, and in the end the refund was issued with the return shipping cost deducted.

Considering the size of Canada and the limited stock often available for online purchases, making returns this difficult reflects very poor customer service. It also makes it easier to understand why so many people choose to shop from companies like Amazon—even if I personally do not support that model.

MEC should be ashamed of this customer experience.

Does not Honor warranty
Renege on Leases
Online entity only
No warranty fulfillment

I had ordered and paid for a pair of thermal underclothes from them at half price discount only to have they cancel my order a few days later saying they can’t complete the order. When I looked on their site they were still selling the same garments but for full price now. I will never purchase from this company again.

I found a great pair of hiking boots and I really liked them
when I signed in they disappeared - my assumption was maybe but they weren’t available - so I thought well they must not be in stock
I ordered another pair
Then I’m looking for a headlamp. I do a Google search and it directs me to MEC so I’m like why not
I go click on the link and I add it to my cart and I see tje original cheaper boots in my cart!! Yes!! that’s fabulous. Now I can afford the headlamp and the boots
I’ll go cancel my original order
I’ve now got the headlamp and the cheaper boots in my cart.
I use the MEC platform to find out how to cancel my order.
I call the number and I go back and double check my cart to make sure I can Place the order for those other two items once this higher item has been canceled
But now my cart has been emptied both the headlamp that was a regular price and the discounted boots both gone,
completely gone
and yes, I was signed in and added them to my cart but once I tried to delete the higher priced order for the lower priced order, they just disappeared. I know that AI is helpful, but I do feel this is a bit predatorial
MEC it’s just another corporation looking for your money. Be really careful while shopping. It’s your money spend it the way you want, but recognize that they only see you not as a customer, but as an obstacle to get your money out of your pocket.

I ordered a bondi 9 running shoe...used PayPal to pay..for some "strange reason" I was sent a link to trace item thru Paypal. WHAT?? The shoe was to be sent to the store. As of this moment..the link NO LONGER WORKS..I don't have the Canada Post tracking number so my only hope is that if it shows up at the store and..they notify me.. Who knows? Ot might even show up at my home. Absolutely the STUPIDEST way to track something.. Hope they did not lose it!

I have been a MEC customer for 30+ years. Their products & service have always been very good. I recently purchased a Suunto Peak 9 pro watch. I unfortunately took possession a few days before a month long trip and left it at home so I could focus on operating it correctly when I returned. My 1st impression was that it was very complicated and difficult to operate. I was able to figure out some basic operations such as mapping a hike which included a heart rate evaluation. Within a few weeks it became obvious that the heart rate results were incorrect. So was my blood / oxygen level as were the results tabulated from my walks / hikes. I called customer service and was told to go to the nearest MEC store (Kelowna) and they would help me. The “Store Manager” said, without any inquiries that I was 2 days over their return policy; so-> no return. It took a while for the watch to show its real capabilities but it took 2 minutes for the store manager to demonstrate what MEC has become; a for profit store that has “0” interest in customer service. Utterly shocking. Thanks to the proliferation of quality outdoor merchants i now have better prospects for my outdoor purchases. Very sad to see what MEC has become.

When I went into the store to do a return I was created by Lauran. She was pleasant and happy. She helped me return a pair of shoes I had purchased on Sunday that were too small. I spoke to her about the shoes and indicated I wanted to purchase another pair. She messaged the gentlemen in shoes to tell him I was coming over. He treated me in the isle. He introduced himself as Spencer. I explained to him the issues I dad with the previous shoes. He explained to me that if I need the wide fit then I would be better to go with the me s shoes. They are all pretty unisex now so that doesn’t bother me. He measured my foot and then proceeded to go to the back and find my size.
He came back I tried them on and they were the perfect fit. We discussed different options of different shoes I had questions about the gore-Tex shoes. He explained that they are water proof but do not breath the same as the Moab shoes I had on. We decided the Moab shoes were the best option for me.
Spencer was knowledgeable and went out of his way to assist me. I walk with a cane and needed assistance doing up the shoes he helped me without any judgement. I went back to the cashier Lauran who was very pleased to cash me out with my new purchase. Overall the staff were outstanding.
This was my first experience with this store but will definitely not be my last . I have already in a few hours told others how great the staff was at the Whitby Victoria st store.

Outstanding work on my daily CX commuter bike done by Ryder to keep me riding in the winter weather. The guy not only helped on the spot but made an offset incorrect free hub swap that was quick for not so easy of a job. 👍

I called their support for price match and they explained me a insanely complicated process that too with no guarantee of price match. I guess at all other stores, they see the price and give you the product at the competitor's price but here it's a extremely complicated process. I guess the price match is for namesake and they are there to do everything possible in their capacity to stop you from matching the price. No wonder they are being eaten up by competitors like Decathlon and I am happy to see it happening.

MEC is a great go-to for quality outdoor gear. I’ve been really happy with their backpacks and hiking equipment, everything feels well designed, durable, and suited for real outdoor use. The selection is solid and the staff usually know their stuff, which makes it easier to choose the right gear. Prices can be on the higher side, but the quality generally justifies it. Overall, a very good experience and a brand I trust for hiking gear.

Good support from them, they literally call you when there is a problem with your order and coordinate with you to make sure you receive it. Been a member since it was a coop and while it isn't a coop anymore, happy to see they still have their own brand that surpass or equal the high end ones. Just one nitpick, please copy REI designs more!!!

Placed my order 28 November after more than two weeks still not delivered.
Have call customer care twice to follow up . Now received email stating order is cancelled and must wait for refund.
Going forward MEC definitely not my retailer of choice .

Longtime member disappointed by declining service

I’ve been going to MEC for over 20 years, and it’s sad to see how far the customer service has fallen.

I recently ordered two merino toques for my teenage boys. When they arrived, they were so small they could barely fit a baby — despite the website describing them as “one size fits all.”

I went to the online chat to get a simple return label, since MEC doesn’t offer free mail-in returns. The interaction was unexpectedly rude, arrogant, and completely unhelpful. Not what MEC used to be known for.

I eventually called customer service and thankfully spoke to a very helpful associate, but the contrast made the experience even more disappointing.

I’ve been loyal to MEC for two decades, and it’s a shame to see the standards decline this much. Holding onto the great service MEC used to be known for would go a long way in keeping longtime members like me.

Bought a dubiously designed hiking pole for my mother - it was taken apart to pack due to aircraft regs and a component fell off meaning the pole could not be put back together.
Ended up at returns in Calgary and Ophelia put in a good 20 minutes of time working to find a solution.
Having good staff interested in customer service is the redeeming feature here. The fact that MEC is designing shoddy ‘throw-away’ items is a sad change in what was once a good company philosophy.
Shout out to good service, raspberry to cheap components!

Do not buy from this company if you live in the U.S. I recently bought a $200 backpack for my son. He got a $90 bill in the mail from FedEx after it was delivered. He didn’t even purchase the backpack. I did and he got billed for duty fees. The company will not tell you about that if you purchase anything. You will get charged a lot of money. Don’t buy from them!

Terrible service. Ordered an expensive coat and they sent the wrong size. Charged me to return it and offered the correct item. No response for a week to acknowledge received. Ignored all emails for a week. Eventually said they’ve refunded but no sign in my bank. Poor customer service. Kindly told me I could rebuy. Not sure how much money they think I have lying around. Don’t trust them to send right item even if I do d reorder.

Awful company to deal with. Claims of easy returns is utterly a lie. What a debacle just to get a pair of shoes.

They also lied about using alternate carriers during Canada Post's impending strike.

Customer service is rude and had a bad attitude. Steer clear of this company.

We had been thinking about buying bikes for a while and by chance found the perfect bikes for us on a visit to MEC for another single, unrelated item. We met staff member Connor in the bike dept. and couldn't have asked for anything more in regard to service. He ensured the bikes were correctly set up for us, fitted all of the extras we purchased and made sure we had the correctly fitting helmets. His knowledge in the bike industry really reflected in his advice and tips, which contributed to the perfect bike buying experience.