November 2019 by Brian Cohn
Learned my lesson!For every previous ski vacation, I had always booked my rental packages through Black Tie in both Steamboat and Big Sky. Each and every time we received fine equipment and excellent service.This was our first time in Telluride and I found myself so busy at work that I used an agency to book the trip. The agent set us up with a different rental delivery company and I finally learned just how good Black Tie really is... The “other guys” our agent set us up with had overbooked their only two person delivery team to the point that fitting us was apparently nothing but an inconvenience. At least that was the attitude we were shown. They had the wrong heights and weights for all of us, brought equipment that didn’t fit (even had my bindings set for a person 50 lbs lighter - glad I caught that) and then were put off when we asked them to bring new stuff. They ended up leaving it outside our door sometime during the night - and in the end it never was a comfortable fit. It didn’t help that they only offered one brand of equipment - too bad if it doesn’t fit your body or skiing style. Mind you, we did communicate our dissatisfaction more than once.We tried skiing with the other guy’s stuff for a couple hours, were all feeling the pain and not skiing well. Finally we went over to the local Black Tie shop in the Mountain Village and it was like entering ski rental heaven.The kind people at Black Tie were true professionals. They worked with us until they found boots that truly fit and skis that complemented our individual proficiencies and styles. They simply couldn’t have been more pleasant and skilled.We left the other guy’s equipment there and asked them to pick it up. They did say they would refund our payment so at least they did the right thing.I’ve learned my lesson! It is ONLY Black Tie for us at Telluride or any ski resort.Thanks Black Tie team!!
