REI Reviews

I used to love REI. Now, I'm determining that they are being run extremely poorly by Corporate. They have a longstanding return policy of 100% satisfaction guarantee. As a member, I have 1 year to make a return on purchases, and non-members get 90 days, even if you use the item. How it is explained on their website and by the REI employees, they want the customer to be satisfied with their purchase. This is a major reason why people shop at REI. Of course, there has been talk recently about people abusing the return policy, using gear heavily and then returning it at the end of the year. Apparently, .02% of members received an email abruptly stating that they could no longer return items. This was a generic message and never gave clarification to what the problem was specifically with that member.

Staff amazingly engaging and helpful. I was looking for a particular pair of boots that were listed online as ‘in stock. (The store doesn’t usually stock them, but apparently someone had returned a pair ordered online to this store.) To have that accurate an inventory, a staff member who could locate them in under 2 minutes and an unprompted discount (b/c they weren’t usually stocked) was service way beyond my expectations. Kudos to North Hills REI.

A month ago I would have given REI five stars and I've been a member for over 20 years and all my family members are members. But due to their seemingly random, unspecific and unjust return policy changes, they are now one-star company to me and my entire family.

I am a lifetime legacy customer — my parents were shopping REI in the 1960s — and previously recommended them to everyone. I recently received an email saying they would no longer accept returns from me following a series of returns I needed to make due to receiving faulty GPS watches. They treated me very poorly and with absolute contempt, claiming I “abused” their returns policy. Clearly, they never cared to investigate the nature of the returns. I never received a warning of any kind and my returns were valid, qualified by REI employees, recommended by the watch manufacturer, and entirely inline with REI’s return policy. Sadly, I will no longer shop at REI and hope I can spare others the appalling treatment I received.

They don't tell you how long a refunds takes on the website. Up to 4weeks. The 30 dollar membership fee is a waste of money. The customer service is awful. Talked to a supervisor Chis who said he was going to make it right. Never did. The quality of products reflects the company's service.

I signed my grandson up for a bike riding class. He woke up that morning throwing up. They will NOT reschedule. I guess REI doesn’t believe in staying home when you’re sick!! I’m not asking for a refund - I’m asking to reschedule. I guess we should have brought him even though he was sick. Absolutely horrible!!!

Short story it's a lie and customer service states it's my fault for not reading the terms of service and was extremely rude. They also try and charge you 10.00 as a chance to win. Terrible experience and unfortunately has turned me away from REI as they have lost the trust factor for me.

REI used to have the best warranty of any store. But not any more, at least on shoes. I paid $118 for a set of walking shoes that I only wore sparingly, maybe twice a week for a couple of hours each. And by use I mean in the house or on sidewalks, I don't run and never hiked in them. They began coming apart after 6 months and were impossible to use after 8 months because plastic pieces were coming through the cloth and jabbing me. I tried to return them and was denied. I was told that's how long they're supposed to last. This is against their own written policy of a one year warranty but they would not budge. I left them in the store and will never buy from REI again after 31 years of membership. It's not the same REI.

REI - Not the same company as of 5 years ago. Terrible customer support. I will not purchase again from REI. I was told first that I would not have to pay for a return label for an item not as described. When I called again joking about the label I was informed that I would have to pay for the return.

Just posting here that REI lost another 15 year customer today. They would not take a bike rack back that I could not attach my bike to, and I was going to buy another suitable rack instead. The salesperson just insisted that the bike would definitely fit the rack while I literally showed them that it was impossible. Will blacklist REI and never shop from them again. In the long run it's better for me anyway. I can find better deals online these days. I used to like to go to the store so I did not mind the higher prices but the membership questions and my recent experience have turned me off.