REI — Attraction in Dublin

Lackadaisical, Indifferent Employees. I've lived in Houston, Austin, LA and Seattle. I've had categorically great experiences at all of those REI's. So much so, that I bought all my children memberships when they were born. So it's baffling and extremely disappointing that I've been to the Dublin REI three times and had three negative experiences. Now, this isn't the largest REI in the world. Their inventory is limited. I get it. Not every REI can be a Seattle flagship. But customer service is customer service. My first trip, I was looking for a bike trainer. I went to the bike trainer section. They didn't have the one I was looking for. When I finally tracked down an employee to help me, he just pointed me to the bike trainers. I said I knew where they were, but wanted some advice about bike trainers and their features. He said he didn't know and that I could read about them online. I asked if there was anyone who did know about bike trainers. He said he didn't know, but I could look online. I left the store without a bike trainer and wound up getting a Peloton. My second trip, I had a return. They were a pair of Olu-Kai sandals that had broken. The customer service guy said that he could tell they were out of warranty. I asked him to look it up. He did. They were slightly out of warranty. I said that given how badly they had failed (the leather part that you slide between your toes totally detached), it would be great if he could replace them. He said since they were over a year old, there was no way. Now, I happen to know this isn't true. REI employees have a degree of latitude in these cases. For whatever reason, he just didn't want to take my return. He seemed to resent that I asked him to look up the purchase date of my sandals. His attitude was that I was trying to pull a fast one and didn't not seem to share my view that the sandals I spent $120 on shouldn't have fallen apart after one year. I wound up buying some new sandals at Nordstrom, because I was so irritated by that guy. And lastly, I went to buy my son some sandals for the summer. I asked an employee to measure my son's foot. I could tell that his heel wasn't flush against the back of the measurer, and the size he came up with was two sizes too large. So the sandals were absurdly large. We went ahead and tried them on anyway, just in case I was wrong. After all, I'm no expert in show sizes. They were enormous. They looked enormous. My son, who is six, said, "These are enormous." The employee asked if we wanted to take them. I asked to try a smaller size. He said okay, and proceeded to help another lady find some shoes. MY son and I waited patiently for a few minutes, thinking he was just trying to multitask. When it became obvious help was not coming soon, we left. I ordered some sandals for him online. Now, I'm not one of these people who's just itching to write negative reviews about a store. Usually I have positive experiences when I go out into the world and interact with people. My historical experience with REI motivated me to revisit this location 3 times before coming to the conclusion, it's not me. It's not a fluke. There's something amiss...

I'm writing this review with a heavy heart, as I've always believed and cherished REI as a reputable and customer-focused brand. I’ve been a dedicated member of REI for many years and had up to this point consistently been treated with respect and kindness.

Yesterday, however, my faith in REI was entirely shattered due to the overwhelmingly disappointing interaction I had with store manager, Kim.

On my recent visit to the store to return a Yamaha system rack for behind the car, I found myself in a situation I would not have imagined. Kim refused to honor REI's return policy, showing a surprising lack of understanding and respect towards a long-standing customer like me.

To make matters worse, not only was the return policy overlooked, but I was also denied a basic customer service requirement - a printout of my receipt. When I requested Kim to provide me with a printed copy, she outright rejected my request without giving it a second thought. This negligence further magnified my unsatisfactory experience.

What truly upset me was not just the refusal to uphold the return policy, but the distinct rudeness and unprofessionalism that Kim displayed during our interaction. The level of incivility was completely at odds with the decorum I've come to expect from REI over the years. Such an attitude is not just unbecoming of a store manager, but it reflects very poorly on the REI brand as a whole.

Despite claiming a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their online platform, my experience with REI and specifically with Kim, was nowhere near satisfying. A complete contradiction to such a bold claim, it questions the integrity of REI in honoring its stated promises.

This is a plea to REI to look into the matter and ensure that no other customer goes through a similar negative experience. The REI that I've known and loved for their exceptional service and customer respect can, and must do better.

I sincerely hope my feedback will prompt a thorough re-evaluation of staff behavior and adherence to customer satisfaction policies. It would be truly regrettable if such an isolated incident were to tarnish REI's...

I went on for a bike rack, but I had questions. No one was around except for 2 employees who saw me but were too busy chatting to help. I finally went over to ask if they were available. The woman (dark curly hair) was friendly, but as I asked questions, she really didn't know enough about the bike racks to give me much help. After a bit, an associate from the bicycle shop came out to help a customer with a bike tuneup. He said he was listening, and when he was free, he tried to help (and correct something she had told me), but he was almost on overtime. He was able to pass me off to the bike associate coming on shift, which was good. However , I wasn't quite sure what to ask, and he didn't really know how to qualify me. I also felt like I was being pre judged for how much money I might be willing to spend. Then a customer came in that wanted to trade in a bike, and he had to go help him. So the woman who had sort of helped earlier was there, and he turned me over to her with her being very aware of it. Then he turned to help the bike. Ustomer and she followed after him and left me standing there. I have NEVER had an REI experience like that! This visit I was ignored and dismissed. No one bothered, knew how to, or had the time to educate me on the various racks. I left the store in no hurry to EVER go back. 2 days later, I went to Trek bicycles in castro Valley. I was welcomed, educated, and happily bought a $1000 rack that I absolutely love. I did not intend to spend that much but I was shown all the features and benefits plus assured that when I picked it up they would unbox it, show me how to put it on my vehicle and make sure all my questions were answered. And that's exactly what happened when I picked up the rack. 2 days later, I started getting targeted ads from REI, and the SAME rack is 20% off at REI. Do I care that I spent full price at TREK? NO! I don't want to give my money to a business that doesn't care and can't be bothered. They missed a $1000 sale this time, and I doubt I'll be back for...