The Boutique Chalet Company

Staff Guide

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL MANAGERS & HOSTS FOR GUEST ARRIVALS - For most busy weeks

• Please read the information below and carefully check the Bookings Calendar (located below this paragraph)

  • Also click on the bookings to read the Notes/ Description from the Travel Experience Manager (TEM) and Gravier Ski Shop (GSS)

• Managers- please re-share this page with your staff- it is the easiest way for us to relay the same info to everyone

• What we will do this weekend/ next week

  • Pre-deliver all equipment

  • 2 Boot fitters at each chalet (Harley & Maxi)- this allows us to work significantly quicker (more than double speed) than working solo

  • Send the manager/ chalet phones Whatsapp reminders to check equipment with guests / remind them about online payments (if applicable)

• What we need from you this weekend/ next week - COMMUNICATION!

  • All staff- Check the calendar below & click on the appointment to read notes/ description- all staff have access to this page

  • Managers - Send us a Whatsapp message when all guests scheduled for the appointment have arrived - If your guests are late we will either schedule another group (whom we know has arrived) or if the guests arrive part way through their appointment, we will fit as many as we can in their appointment slot and return to either on Sunday night or Monday morning (we will confirm this with the guests)

  • All Staff - Assist us (Harley & Maxi) in getting the first couple of guests to the boot room ASAP on our arrival - Encouraging the guests to get their ski socks on prior to our arrival (but please DON’T let guest try on their boot or skis before we arrive).

  • Actively check with the guests after their first day if they are happy with their equipment or if they need it changed and send us a Whatsapp either way to let us know (we may have changes at 7 chalets so ask as soon as the guests are collected/ return to the chalet, please ask them)

  • Check your Whatsapp messages regularly thought out the week

  • Tell guests to leave their boots on the floor of the boot room/ garage etc. at the end of the week (not on dryers)- poles can just be put together (they don’t need to be hooked over individual skis)

Bookings Calendar

IMPORTANT: Click on the appointments to see add details for booking

• Bookings will generally be added to the calendar up to 3 days before guests arrival (Generally by Friday PM for Sunday arrivals)

  • Format of the bookings are as follows:

    • Chalet Name

    • Lead client Name

    • Number of Skis or Snowboards required / Number of boots required

    • Arrival time (& airport name / Driving)

    • Gravier Ski Shop staff at the appointment (If applicable)

    • Time of appointment

    N.B. If there is no appointment in the calendar it has not been confirmed & booked in by Gravier Ski Shop

• Appointment times have been calculated based upon their arrival time:

  • At Geneva (GVA) airport plus a minimum of approx. 3hrs

  • In resort time (if driving)

  • Other airports arrival timings will be calculated on a case-by-case basis

• Appointment durations have been calculated based upon how many guests need skis/snowboard & boots and how many have their own boots and just need skis or a snowboard

Deliveries Overview

Michel Gravier, the owner of Gravier Ski Shop has built the reputation of his shop on providing the highest levels of customer service and exceptional quality of equipment. 

To ensure that we continue to provide the best service for guests staying with The Boutique Chalet Company we have written a guide which you can refer to throughout the season.

The guide includes how to check guest’s appointment times, what will happen at a fitting and what to do if guests have any issues with equipment.

Contact Details

Key Contacts at Gravier Ski Shop

• Harley -Bookings & Deliveries Manager (your main contact from Gravier Ski Shop)

• Maxi - Ski & Snowboard Delivery Technician

• Other staff you may deal with if you have clients that are being fitted at the shop include:

  • Michel & Aloïs GRAVIER

  • Ben & Stu (Shop)

Contact information

Our main (& preferred) method of communication is via WhatsApp. If the internet in the area does go down (which does happen), we will also be contactable via SMS and regular calls on the same number.

• Whatsapp: +33 (0) 6 76 23 31 23 (Also for sms and calls)

• Email: gravierskishop@gmail.com (for non urgent enquiries only- we aim to reply within 24hrs)

• Gravier Ski Shop Landline: +33 (0) 4 50 79 04 27 (Open 08:30-19:00 every day)

Weekly Schedule

Guests can choose whether to have their equipment delivered and fitted at their Chalet (majority of guests) or to come directly to the shop. We will take payment from guests directly on delivery or at the shop.

You are our eyes and ears in the Chalet when we have guests who have rented equipment from us.

The bookings calendar will clearly state if the guests are due to be fitted in the shop and whether Gravier Ski Shop will be delivering the skis to their chalet after their in-shop fitting or whether the guests will be going out on the mountain straight away.

• The Travel Experience Manager will still send Gravier Ski Shop some basic details about the guests requirements if they want to be fitted in the shop to speed up their fitting process.

• Depending on the group, guests may pay at their fitting in Graver Ski Shop or we can arrange to take payment in their chalet later that evening. This will be communicated on a group by group basis

Please read through both scenarios (In Chalet Appointments & In-Shop Appointments ) below for more information on how you can help us in providing the very best experience for your Chalet’s guests.

In Chalet Appointments

• During the week prior to guest arrival

  • Check the Google calendar for your Chalet’s appointment

    • If something doesn’t make sense then WhatsApp Gravier Ski Shop

• Arrival day

  • Driveway space

    • If possible, please leave a space for our vans on your Chalet’s driveway near the bootroom door

    • This will help us speed up the pre-delivery of skis as well as accessing our vans for spare equipment if needed at the guest’s appointment

  • Check the pre-delivered equipment

    • We know changeover days are busy but if you have a spare few minutes, please double check the delivered equipment against your notes on Chalet Manager and let us know of any discrepancies

  • Message when clients have arrived or let us know if they’ve been delayed

    • This is really important because if your guests are not at their chalet for their appointment we may have to re-arrange the delivery schedule and we need to let other Chalets know 

  • Let us know about any additional equipment when guest arrive ASAP

    • If your guests arrive and tell you they would like additional equipment i.e. they have forgotten their ski boots on the plane (yes, this has happened more than once before!) or a guest who has not booked equipment has decided at the last minute they would like to ski the next day.......

    • Call or message us ASAP. Please don’t wait until we get to the chalet as we often pass the shop between deliveries and can pick up additional equipment en-route to the Chalet

• After the guests first day on the slopes….

  • Ask the guests how their equipment was that day

  • WhatsApp or call us ASAP (before 7pm) to arrange refitting/ replacing equipment

  • Please do not leave contacting us up until the last minute as we may have multiple other guests that need equipment refitted 

• During the week

  • Contact us before 7pm during the guests stay for:

    • Lost/ broken/ stolen equipment

      • See sections below for more information

    • Refits and adjustments

• Last day on the slopes

  • Let us know when all guests are back and finished on their last day 

    • We have about 7 hours of work on the night before changeover day, therefore the earlier we can start, the earlier we can finish

  • Please leave boots bucked up on the boot room floor you do not need to put them on the boot dryers (even if they are wet- as we clean, disinfect and dry them at the shop) 

  • Ski poles can be put on a pile together- they do not need to be hooked over each guest’s skis

In-Shop Appointments

Some guests wish to either be fitted in the shop so they can go skiing straight away or deal directly with the shop and select their equipment when they arrive

• During the week prior to guest arrival

  • Check the Google calendar for your Chalet’s appointment

    • Check the notes section of the appointment to confirm whether:

      • Guests will take their equipment away and head out onto the slopes right away 

      • A Boutique chalet Company driver will collect the skis and take them back to the guests’ Chalet

      • Gravier Ski Shop will deliver the equipment before their first day on the slopes

    • If something doesn’t make sense then WhatsApp Gravier Ski Shop

• Arrival Day

  • Guests can go directly to the shop (i.e. you/ or the guests do not need to call ahead)

    • We will be putting in place any relevant Covid restrictions i.e. maximum numbers inside the shop at one time, if required

• After the guests first day on the slopes

  • Ask guests how their equipment was

  • WhatsApp or call us ASAP (before 7pm) to arrange refitting/ replacing equipment

  • Please do not leave contacting us up until the last minute as we may have multiple other guests that need equipment refitted 

• During the week

  • Contact us before 7pm during the guests stay for:

    • Lost/ broken/ stolen equipment

      • See sections below for more information

    • Refits and adjustments

• Last day on the slopes

  • Let us know when all guests are back and finished on their last day 

    • We have about 7 hours of work on the night before changeover day, therefore the earlier we can start, the earlier we can finish

  • Please leave boots bucked up on the boot room floor you do not need to put them on the boot dryers (even if they are wet- as we clean, disinfect and dry them at the shop) 

  • Ski poles can be put on a pile together- they do not need to be hooked over each guest’s skis

In Chalet Guest Equipment Fitting Appointments

Whilst we are fitting the boots and ski/snowboard for the guests you do not need to be present in the boot room as we will liaise directly with the guests however we do ask you that in order for us to make the allocated appointment time as efficient as possible (and so that the guests to get back to enjoying the comfort of their chalet) you help gather the guests and initiate the start of the appointment.

• We require 2 guests per bootfitter to come to the boot room at a time as:

  • This enables us to to provide the highest level of service and give full attention to the guest having their equipment fitted

  • Once one guest has been fitted with equipment, they are then able to go and get another guest to send to the boot room without any gap between fittings

  • It reduces the amount of people in an enclosed space (Covid-19)

    • We will follow any local or national government Covid-19 guidelines in place at the time of the guests’ appointment

• Guests need to come to the boot room with:

  • Ski or snowboard sock

  • Trousers/ leggings that can be rolled up to their knee or shorts

• Guests will pay for their equipment at their appointment - we will take payment directly from them

• We do ask that guests do not try on their boots before we arrive for the following reasons:

  • We measure and assess every guests feet before we put them in a boot so that we know the boots we’ve selected for them will fit

  • Ski boots can be notoriously difficult to get on. As we work one-on-one with each guest, we help open up the boot for them and adjust all buckles according to their needs 

Lost, Stolen or Broken equipment

It is rare for rental equipment to get stolen however occasionally skiers do accidentally clip into the wrong pair of skis after lunch or apre leaving some very similar but not quite the right skis! 

All Gravier Ski Shop skis and snowboards have a permanent logo sticker as well as the guests name sticker attached to them.

We know accidents happen so if a guest loses, breaks their equipment or has it stolen we will replace the equipment so that they can enjoy the rest of their holiday. (We may charge a deposit when replacing equipment as per Gravier Ski Shop’s Terms & Conditions)

• If a guest loses their skis/snowboard/ poles during the day-

  • They should come to Gravier Ski Shop to get their equipment replaced.

  • We do not recommend that they continue to ski on a pair of skis that has been left in place of theirs, even if the ski bindings may seem to fit, they will not be adjusted specifically to the guest and could cause an injury. 

• If a guest loses their equipment at the end of the day (i.e. at apre)-

  • Please contact Gravier Ski Shop ASAP to arrange replacement for the equipment.

N.B. More often than not, lost skis will turn up at another rental shop who will return the skis back to Gravier Ski Shop. If the lost/ stolen equipment has not been returned to Gravier Ski Shop by the end of the guest’s stay we do reserve the right to charge the guest to replace the missing equipment. It is the guest’s responsibility to have the appropriate insurance to cover the loss of hired equipment. This is stated in the agreement on Chalet Manager which is linked to Gravier Ski Shop’s Terms & Conditions for The Boutique Chalet Company guests: https://www.gravierski.com/en/terms-conditions-bcc 

Frequently Asked Questions

Full Presentation from the Training Day