MEC Kitchener - Kitchener, Ontario

Tony S.

If you like the outdoors, this is the store for you! They have a wide selection of equipment for outdoor activities, although I was a bit surprised about the amount of clothing on sale. Seemed like a good proportion of the floor space was devoted to garments.

However it's a massive store, so there's plenty of room for equipment and whatnot. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Plenty of free parking out front.

Aishan H.

Charlie was amazing! Super nice, patient, and knowledgeable. We’re total beginners to backcountry camping and had no idea what to look for in backpacks or sleeping bags. Charlie walked us through all the details, explained the differences between products, and helped us check the right fit for backpacks. He made the whole shopping experience so much easier for us as beginners. Truly one of the best staff we’ve ever met!

Alex W.

Went in with the simple objective of purchasing backpacking MRE Mel's but left with a wealth of knowledge. Spencer went above and beyond to provide phenomenal customer service by sharing inside tips on backcountry meal prep and which meals are worth the price. 10/10 experience and left the store excited to try the meals he recommended to us!

Nicholas C.

He were looking for a new tent. Ended up getting a great tent and a good light weight camping chair which gave us a free sleeping bag.
Jack was super knowledgeable about the different levels of camping and gear and made sure we got good bang for our buck on everything.

Jason W.

Ordered 2 bike tires for next day pickup that I needed on short notice. Was asked to pick up only 1 next day and wait for the second one to ship even though it was supposedly in stock at that location.

The store said they are unable to cancel my order. Their online chat refused to cancel the order as well. The online chat rep was also extremely rude and stated I would be committing fraud if I contacted my credit card company to try and cancel the order.

Never ordering anything from this store again.

Cody B.

I needed to return a tent because of a manufacturer defect, and Mel, Rick, and Devin were incredibly helpful and understanding. I will continue recommending MEC to anyone seeking high-quality gear. I especially appreciate Rick's excellent assistance. This was the best return experience I could have imagined!

Charles T.

Please read this if you care about your experience as a customer of MEC.

On Feb 10th, I got a pair of new boots and went to MEC to do binding adjustment. I was told that the fee was 10 but charged 30 after the technician finished her work. It was ok for me because technician did the work immediately for me.

In the evening I found one screw that connect the bindings to the skis was not properly fixed. I found my boots was off the centre by 10mm.

On Feb 11th, I brought my skis to another ski shop in Waterloo, S* Sports, for a second opinion. Two technicians in S* Sports had the similar opinions with me about the improperly fixed screw. They offered to help but I rejected because I needed to keep the skis as they were to visit MEC. In the afternoon, I went back to MEC. At first, I gave the technician a chance to redo the work but she rejected. However, she insisted that it should been done like this and never directly answered my question. Then I told her that “at least the screw was not fixed properly”. She accused that I or technicians in S* Sports intended to lift the screw (I was surprised by her). At that moment, one binding dropped on the floor from her hand. She did not say sorry and I picked it up by myself. Then she put the part back with an electronic screw driver. She pushed so hard that I could see metal powder flying around. She asked me to do it in S* Sports and returned me the skis without checking the torque after she assembled the bindings.
Then I talked with the manager of MEC and the manger turned to believe his technician. Then I told them that as a customer, I was not satisfied by the work and asked for refund. They accused me and technicians in S* Sports faked the issue… The manger said he could not approve my request. I personally felt threatened and at least an innocent person should not be accused like this. I called 911 but the policeman said they could help in this case.

On Feb 13th, I brought the skis to S* Chek near the MEC and asked the ski technican there where the 10mm displacement between the centre of the boots and the e manufacture recommended position was ok. He said that 10mm was not trivial and he was also confused why the work was done like this.

Now, for here and my letter to MEC’s customer service, I clearly claim that I give on all kinds of refund from MEC. I simply think an innocent person should not be accused like this without evidence and also the technician and the manger are not the persons who are able to accuse others.

Still one star for my appreciation that the technician did the work for me soon, instead of letting me wait until the next day, and the manger told me that I could still contact MEC’s customer service.

For people working in MEC who care about your customers’ experience, what I said can be confirmed by your securing video recording in your store. Things mostly happened in the early afternoon Feb 11th 2025 near the technician table.

btw, I have been a MEC member for many years. Usually in Waterloo, people in local ski circle do not do ski work in MEC. I was not biased and I liked MEC. This was why I brought my skis there on Feb 10th. Now I am still unbiased. I believe people will find their right and just values in life and make everything better and better. Good luck on snow after reading my comments:)

Edited:
The manger sent me an apology letter in time and offered me refund. Also, he said that they will cover the fee of checking my bindings. I rejected all of these as I claimed but I sent them wishes for being good. Accordingly, one more star was added.

Joanna W.

Have only had great experiences here so far! Loved chatting with Dan D, who helped me pick out a pair of trail runners on opening day. Mentioned that if there's anything wrong with them, not comfortable, wrong size, etc to just come back and they'd take care of it.