REI — Attraction in Kennesaw

Been an REI member since ’09. Shopped at this store more than any other stores. Normally have quality interactions with the staff here, but not during my last visit (6/13/14):

I don’t recall ever returning an item, but after 5 years of membership, I was truly unsatisfied with a camp chair that I had purchased an admittedly long time ago (could only find out from the cashier once I was in the store – bought in 2011). I wanted to know if I had any options under the satisfaction guaranteed policy, which I was unaware had changed. To the cashier’s knowledge of the new refund policy (June ’13), I could not exchange the chair; no problem, I knew it was a long shot. He wanted to confirm his decision with the manager, though.

Enter store manager (cashier 116657). She must have inaccurately gaged my demeanor because she jumped right in to the situation as though I had been giving the cashier a hard time.

After she confirmed the cashier’s decision, I attempted to empathize with the absurdity of the old policy by letting them know that one of my friends used to work at this store, and he used to remark that customers were allowed to return anything/anytime, no questions asked. She perceived this point to mean that my friend was taking advantage of the system and rudely quipped, “I bet they no longer work here anymore.” She was right, he went on to REI Corporate… I then tried to garner some answers on hypothetical scenarios for how I should return future items under the new policy. Said manager could neither answer my questions confidently nor maintain a polite manner in trying. I left feeling more than put off.

The best part- I flew out to visit Yosemite last week, and a friendly employee of REI Dublin (CA) told me that my chair is considered a grandfathered item because I purchased it under the former return policy; it should have been returned/exchanged for me.

I was under the impression that REI customers paid higher prices because the return policy allowed us to avoid buyer’s remorse. With the change in policy, and the unprofessional attitude of the Kennesaw REI manager, I plan on trying other stores far before returning to REI. I may keep the chair to remind myself of this...

Place an order for curbside pickup. Receive an email that the order is ready. Drive to the store. Proceed to pull up the email on my phone so I can click the link to let them know I am there (store is closed to customers for covid-19 so they only do outside pickup) and there is a new email telling me that part of my order is cancelled. Employee comes out with my partial order, and when I voice my frustration at only finding out once I am at the store that the whole order couldn’t be filled, employee says that I can go back on the website to find an alternate item. I point out that the item I originally ordered showed as being in stock, so using the website to verify stock isn’t accurate, and employee says: “well, there are other locations”. At this point I ask: “can you not go into the store and let me know what alternatives are in stock (I ordered a woman’s bicycle helmet).” Employee says no, that I would need to use the website for that. They need to get their process fixed so that if they cannot fully complete an order, they at least send an email that “PART of your order is ready for pickup”. As their process stands, customers are left at the mercy of a flawed website that does not reliably confirm in stock items. As far as the employee not being willing to advise on what alternate items were in stock, that is just awful customer service. There are plenty of options for purchasing sporting goods. I was able to drive up the road and purchase the item I needed off the shelf at another store. I will not be doing business...

I ordered and paid for an online purchase to be shipped to the store for pick-up. When I tried to pick up the item, I was told that it was shipped back to the warehouse. I don't understand since it was completely paid for but I was told they only hold the item for 30 days. I said that I never was even notified that it was received at the store after waiting a month. One of the snippy female clerks adamantly told me that she sent it back and that I should have checked my spam mail which I always do. I called REI Customer Service and they had no record of the item being shipped back to the warehouse. They told me they could not give me a refund yet until they received it. They did however reorder the item (I paid for it again) to be shipped to the Kennesaw store again. I called REI Customer again 3 days later to inquire about my refund. They still had no record of the return and still could not refund. About an hour later I received a voice mail from a store manager who told me that he had the first item and also second item at the store. He stated that he was sending both to my home address. Argh! After all the aggravation and frustration, I have 2 identical items. We'll see if I even get the items. I am very disappointed with the store's incompetent and rude staff. Their customer service could be...