REI

I have been a member for many years and support the idea of a community of members. I was very disappointed today in the lack of such community, lack of feeling welcomed, and being treated as if I was trying to return an object to Walmart and wanting my money back. Nothing was further than the truth. I love the warm down coat I bought and I knew exactly when I bought it at that location. They assumed I wanted a refund. I love the down coat - that was the first thing I said! I wanted the zipper repaired. They showed no interest in the item and said no repairs. Luckily I bought a Patagonia coat and they suggested contacting that company. They directed me to a DC store but I found a Patagonia Store not far in Old Town Alexandria. I was going to look around more in the REI store for other items to purchase today but the lack of recognition as a member and lack of true welcome made me rethink.

They are the kindest and most helpful people I have ever met. The store always feels so welcoming, and everything you could ever want and more for outdoors you can find here. Their membership deal is also amazing, not requiring you to go through the hassle of paying every month or year. The benefits are also really nice, with a 30 dollar store credit when you sign up (negating the 30 dollar sign up fee) and 10% back in store credit on purchases as well as discounts on biking and skiing/snowboarding departments. It truly is such a wonderful place for your outdoor needs

Today, I visited the store with the hope of finding some new sneakers. Eric at the Bailey's Crossroads location assisted me, and introduced me to On Cloud's! Unfortunately, they didn't have the color/ or size, I was looking for in stock, so I ended up placing an online order at home. I also decided to sign up for the REI membership program, but since I didn't make an in-store purchase, I couldn't input Eric's employee ID number. I wanted to give credit where it's due, as Eric was extremely helpful during my visit, and I ended up ordering two pairs of shoes online as a result. Thanks, Eric!

I bought on-line a tube to raise the height of the handle bar on my bike. I thought it was an easy job to install it. It turned out not to be so. I took the bike to REI of Falls Church to get an opinion of my installation as I did not want to mess up my bike nor kill myself. Ken, the repair man at their workshop immediately disassembled my poor job and put the parts together in the right sequence to my relief, and I was able to get on the trail right away. Ken has done work on other bikes for me and is very knowledgeable and courteous.

For context, I've never been to an REI store before - totally new customer. I was shopping specifically for a bike helmet, and visited this store in Bailey's Crossroads with that one item in mind. Shopping experience was great, awesome selection, friendly staff on the floor, and a really nice environment. A sales associate in the camping section informed me about an ongoing deal for new members and politely handed me a piece of paper with terms and conditions. When I went to check out at the front, they asked again if I was a member and I shared that I was not. The cashier accepted that response and proceeded to check me out, but a manager quickly intervened and told the cashier to stop, and then started to talk to me about the benefits of membership and ask me questions. I heard her out, but several times again let her know I was just not interested. This continued for about 5 minutes until she asked me "Can you just tell me why you don't want to sign up?" and I told her I just don't see myself shopping at a store like this again since I have a great local bike shop that satisfies all my needs (except a specific helmet that I wanted!). Unrelenting, she asked where I live (I guess to see if distance was holding me back) and when she learned I have another REI closer to my home, she told me "That location is really nice, you're missing out." The interaction ended with her informing me, in a bit of a snarky tone, that I could not ever return the item I am buying if I wanted to, since I won't sign up for a membership. REI actually has a 90 day return policy for non-members, but ok. I told her that was fine and I'm simply not interested, and I got another snarky response - "Ok, well good luck on your biking journey then." and she finally let the cashier proceed with the transaction. Plus, she was being a bit sneaky about the "deal" they had going on, which was if I spent $30 to sign up for a membership, then I'd get $35 off. That wasn't quite true because on the piece of paper that was handed to me earlier, it clearly said that I'd get a $35 gift card that activates the next day. And since I just want this one item, that didn't make sense for me. I get you're just doing your job, but this was a really off-putting customer service experience and left a bad taste in my mouth. I can understand that selling membership is an important part of the role, but if a customer is telling you multiple times that they're not interested, just let it go and make the sale. It just made the experience awkward. But at least I'm happy with my helmet!