REI

Taylor the sales girl made my experience quick and easy. Stewart also made the check out process simple. Both of these individuals were kind, knowledgeable & deserve a raise. Because of their customer service I purchased a lifetime membership with REI for just $30. I am a tourist here in Tennessee from Chicago. I will be shopping at Illinois locations in the future. But those two employees deserve a raise. Thank you!

I placed an online order for in-store pickup and received an email confirmation that stated if I wished to change the pickup person, I should forward the email to them and they could use the barcode in the email to pickup the order. So, I forwarded the email to my husband and he went to the store for pickup. Despite having followed the instructions per the email and being able to provide ID showing the same last name and address as mine, they denied him the ability to pick up the order on my behalf. I called to cancel the order and it was not cancelled per my request. Several days later, I’ve still not received a refund.

I hate to do this. Truly. I loooooove REI, so this review is specific to the bike department and its management. Purchased an e-bike. Got on the bike when I got home and the seat collapsed thus snapping off the taillight. Whatever. Won't even call an improperly secured seat after its "thorough inspection," strike 1. Bike stopped working after the first day, and I managed to lose the keys in the melee of trying to fix it. Head low, I sulked back into REI w/a broken/damaged bike and no keys. "We can't do anything without the keys" says the arms-folded employee without getting off of his stool. After several minutes of being educated on the importance of locks and how apparently they work best paired with keys, I offered a new idea. "Hey guys. Crazy thought. What if we replaced the keys?" Blank stares. Enter Joyce, the bicycle matriarch. Joyce tells me that YES I will need to get keys soooomehow(?) and best of luck. With this rousing pep talk in tow, I set about determining that the only way you can get new keys is through the store that you purchased the bike from. Strangely when I looked at my REI receipt it said REI. Same address and everything as the REI that told me locksmiths should be open Monday. I phone Joyce. I give Joyce the briefest of backstories on how I learned from Cannondale that while you shooould get it from REI, things "don't always go so well" and maybe contact another dealer and ruin their day with a problem caused by the store who shilled money away from a small, local business. Back to Joyce. "Doesn't always go so well?!?" Absurd she tells me. Then she tells me why- "Pssshh. We totally get replacement keys for people that have lost them all the time from other companies." My emission was a sputtering, cough-laugh mashup. Oh, Joyce. After I inceptioned the idea, she got right on calling Cannondale and the keys showed up in a short few days. Great. Bring the bike back in, and I'm told that instead of replacing the bike they would "prefer" to fix it, because obviously the bike that never worked has been "ridden." I can wait until they're "not so backed up" or I can pay $150 and get the newer, way more awesome model. Sold. Works great in the parking lot, get it home, and the motor defecates the linen. Back the next morning. "Hi. I'd like to return this bike that I bought last night." "Well we'll take a look at it when we're not so backed up." New plan. Let's wrap this up and leave as friends. Employee guy- "Ok, whatever. So your return is going back to two cards." Me- "Apologies sir, but I only have one card in my life." "Well this says two, do you have another card?" "I'm sorry for not having another card, but I still don't. Can you tell me what the $555.55 is for that's likely going to some other shlub's pocket?" "No." "Is there someone that can?" "Yes." Ok now we're getting somewhere! New manager steps in to take charge. He's got this. I can see it in his eyes. "Ok sir! So do you have both cards?" Me - "..." {tear ducts are in the bullpen warming up} After watching some YouTube videos on how to REI the dynamic duo determined that sometimes if you use your phone to pay (which is attached to the only card I possess), it can show up as a different set of last four digits. This process of determining how money works was apparently very exasperating for the less senior employee to a degree that I felt compelled to apologize. "I guess I'm just sorry I paid." "It's fine," he assured me. I'll never not shop at REI, but I think I'll stick to the clothing section.

Despise being asked to sign up for high interest credit cards, round up and give money while checking out, thinly veiled upselling of the most expensive products in the store. Turns the employees into corporate robots, and makes it a sad impersonal shopping experience. The vibe I get while shopping not about enjoying the outdoors, it’s about bending over for capitalism.

First time at REI (Sept 25, 2023), beautiful store, but had the worst retail experience of my life. Me and my husband were going to buy two downhill mountain bikes and helmets. Asked one of the sales associates (older-mid 40s, slim, maybe a mustache) if they had any full faced helmets. In a snarky tone, asked us what would we need that for and laughed. Pretty ridiculous given that Tennessee is known for their down hill mountain biking and jump parks. Then after looking at bikes, he randomly offered my husband to go outside and test one, as my husband agreed, my husband suggested that I test one too since we were already going outside and I was trying to decide between frame sizes and full suspension or not. The sales rep then literally stopped us and asked are you actually going to buy one or are you just playing around. My husband said never mind we’ll buy bikes elsewhere and put the bike back. So ridiculous and unprofessional, not sure if this is the same guy as mentioned in other comments, but the experience was very similar. Didn’t know if we didn’t have enough named brand clothing on or if he’s like this to everyone, but could have bought every bike in that store without noticing. Everyone else in the store was super helpful and sweet, but I’ll never shop at another REI store again.