Outdoor Gear Exchange — Attraction in Burlington

It breaks my heart to leave a poor review for a store that I've loved over the years, but three recent terrible interactions have confirmed that the recent changes have made the OGE experience worse to the point where I can't trust or support the store like I once did. I hope this message gets to the right folks that can correct some of the devolution I've experienced recently as I don't want this to just be a litany of complaints. First: I went to check on a jacket I had on consignment that I was surprised wasn't sold. I looked at all the racks and couldn't find it anywhere so I asked an employee if it had perhaps been sold. They told me they didn't have the time or staff to fill a missing item report but that I could keep checking back. The next few times I looked again for the jacket and was concerned because I couldn't find it and wasn't paid out. Other employees mentioned they thought a co-worker bought it; when I mentioned that to the consignment manager he said "you know what they say about assumptions.." implying I was an a**? Finally I asked again about the jacket and the lead of the department grew frustrated and suggested maybe this wasn't the right place for me to bring my items if I wanted them back and agreed to just pay me out. I was simply concerned it was stolen, but it seemed the staff was stretched thin and stressed as it was and the whole experience made me feel awful. Second: I requested a check for my consignment balance on 12/18 and was told it usually takes a week or two and to hold tight. After three weeks I asked again and was told they emailed accountings again. After 4 weeks I called and was told they emailed again and I got the check in the mail 5+ weeks later. Third: I bought a pair of pants in the store and when I got home I realized they still had the security tag attached. So I drove back the 20 minutes and paid for parking again the next day and brought the tag with me, stood in line for the register, and the employee thanked me but didn't offer anything in the way of an apology or something to make up for wasted time. Mistakes happen, I know, but this seems to be keeping with the trend. I apologize for the diatribe but I hope this in some small way helps OGE reverse course and return to the wonderful experience it has been in Burlington...

I once placed an order through this site and the representative I spoke with went above and beyond to make sure I was ordering the correct item. I was VERY impressed by their customer service. When I think a company has excellent customer service (especially a mom + pop shop) I always continue to order from them to support their company.

However, today I called to place an order and they failed to match their "price match guarantee". There is no current language in their policy stating they will not match a price from a website where you have to create a log-in (even if the log-in creates a "membership" which would be free). Apparently it is their policy, but for whatever reason their website does not have this statement listed and cuts the sentence off at "We" (see attached image of how it read when I contacted them -- end of the first paragraph). This, of course, is not the customer's problem, but an error on Outdoor Gear Exchange's side. Said bluntly, it is false advertising.

The customer service this time disappointed me as they were not willing to honour their policy as it was written at the time I contacted them (it has since been updated listing the specific site I was trying to price match). A company which truly has excellent customer service (as I previously experienced) would honour their policy and this company wouldn't budge.

I have now written this company off as one from which I will shop. I purchase a lot of gear, so they have lost at least one customer -- which for a mom + pop shop should matter to a small degree. Since I'm a climber, which is a very communal sport, I will also spread the word in my climbing community to not purchase from a company who does not honour their policies as written and therefore falsely advertises.

I wish I could say something better about them other than the first time I ordered from them the representative was amazing. Upon second purchase, the customer service was abysmal. I like to support ethical companies and in my opinion Outdoor Gear Exchange does not practice ethical...

I used to love it here, but yesterday made it clear I don’t want this store to have my business. I went to get a decent amount of items for my snowboard, and I went to check out, and I was using my dad’s card. I asked how to bypass the pin, and the cashier explained that I have to insert not tap to bypass, and it’s more complicated to bypass, so I should just enter the pin. I said, I don’t know the pin because it’s my dad’s card. (He did give me the pin, I just didn’t feel like opening my phone to look for it.) then I continued checking out, as some employee was like “did you say that’s not your card” and I said yes it’s my dads card. He was being so rude, it really took me by surprise. He then said he can’t verify if it’s my dads, which kinda felt like he was saying I stole someone card… extremely disrespectful. So I showed him my debit card, which looks exactly the same and that we have the same last name on both cards. He then proceeded to talk to me like a child, saying it’s extremely illegal (it’s not) and that I cannot use that card to buy anything in any store, not just this one. I actually know a lot about this legally because I study law, but wasn’t going to explain it. I didn’t actually care about that part. It’s that he denied my business because I was going to use my dads card. I have more than enough on my own debit card, or I could’ve even used my credit card to pay, but at that point, I didn’t want to put any money towards OGE. So I left, went to a different outdoor store, and gave them my business. It wasn’t about the money. If he had kindly said “ oh hey it’s actually store policy I’m so sorry I know it’s a drag” I wouldn’t have cared, and I would’ve just paid with my card. But he got very standoffish and condescending. Extremely rude. Kinda sucks but I won’t be coming back here for and if my maintenance or...