REI — Local services in Concord

Long story short, I don't consider myself a member or customer of REI anymore.

The first time I took my electric bike into the repair shop; I requested the side mirrors to the new bike be installed I had trouble doing on my own. In addition, the front disc brakes were rubbing. On the day it was due, the lead technician called me up to inform me they had lost the side mirrors I requested to be installed. They in turn replaced them with new ones on the house. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt by coming back a second time for another issue that arose later.

Turned out to be a big mistake.

The aforementioned issue was the rear brake pad began to squeak after a day trip. I went back to have it serviced. A different technician called me up to inform me the repair got done two days earlier than expected. Walked there to ride the bike back home, paid the fee, and went on my way. Immediately an error code came up on the display. Rode back to the shop and requested they repair it. After spending two hours, they couldn't fix it, so I walked home empty handed.

The next day I returned to pick up the bike, the error code was now gone (the cable to the rear motor did not get connected properly).  I began the ride home again, only this time for the rear bike wheel to fall off completely! I could have fallen to the point of getting injured. Thankfully, that did not happen.  After muscling the bike back to the shop to get the problem resolved, I again was turned away empty handed after spending a total of three hours in the store.

Called up the next day to ask about the status update, only for the lead technician to inform me the rear bike motor got damaged to the point of needing to be replaced completely. After over a month of waiting, the repair is complete after the parts arrived at the store. Suffice to say, I am quite dissatisfied.

I give two stars and not one due to the fact that I've shopped at REI for many years prior to this situation occurring. However, it is clear now that some of the staff are not competent in their job functions. Too many apologies without results to show for it. I am done being...

For every one good experience I have at this store, I have two negative ones.

1. I returned two shirts 11 months after purchase. REI prominently advertises the 1-year return window as a perk of the co-op membership. They were unworn and not dirty, torn, or otherwise damaged in any way. I was initially told they would need a store manager to approve the return, but when none arrived, another senior (?) employee came over to approve the return. She hassled me about returning the shirts after 11 months. I pointed out that the advertised return window for REI members is 1 year, but she still insisted I “be cognizant.” I’m not sure what I need to be cognizant of other than the advertised return window. The two employees who processed the return acted like the cost of the return was coming out of their paychecks.

2. The return of an item purchased prior to my membership that was new and unworn with tags--was told on the floor they'd take the return, was then refused at the register.

3. The pricing of an item that was missing parts. I couldn't figure out what the buckles on a duffel bag were for when the floor associate informed me that the bag was supposed to have backpack straps, which it was missing, and told me I should speak to the front about adjusting the price. When I was ready to check out, the cashier called a manager who told me they couldn't adjust the price because they use a "set pricing matrix", so now I have a bag missing parts for the same price as a bag that's not missing parts.

4. When asking for MSR IsoPro fuel to use with my MSR Stove, an associate pointed me toward the GSI fuel and insisted it was the same thing. It's not. MSR IsoPro is 20% propane and 80% isobutane. GSI fuel is 25% propane, 70% isobutane, and 5% butane. MSR stoves are specifically designed for the 20:80 mix.

On top of that, of the 3 times I’ve ordered items on the site for pickup at the store, 2 orders were cancelled after I waited for hours because they ended up not having them. How does the store not know...

In August of 2014 at age 60, I visited Mt. Whitney for the first time in my life and fell in love with it. I was too overweight and out of shape to even think about climbing it anytime soon.

After being diagnosed with PD soon after, I retired, changed my diet (Keto) and started exercising by doing hard cardio every day (cardio is the only thing that slows the advance of PD down). As I began to loose weight (+/- 30lbs) I decided I was going to attempt to climb Whitney by August of the following year with my youngest daughter.

Shortly thereafter I visited the REI in Concord for some basic equipment in order to start training by hiking and prepping for our climb up Whitney. Good hiking boots, proper wool socks, sun cap, hiking sticks, lightweight shorts, wool shirts, rain and down jackets and hydration packs were purchased for starters.

We did climb Whitney successfully almost 1 year to the day later. Took us 18 hours up and down from the Portal. Since then over the last four years I have purchased Thule roof racks and luggage carriers, backpacks and Nuun, Yeti coolers and 3 or 4 different types of tents, countless headlamps, knifes, gps units, a Fitbit and so on.

I can safely say that we, my family and I, are customers for life. I seriously wouldn't think of going anywhere else to get my outdoor gear except an REI. I have never been disappointed with any product I purchased. Never been given bad advice. If something fails early or doesn't live up to my expectations REI will take it back with no hassles. And my annual membership rebate for becoming a member more than makes up for any sales I may be missing by not shopping around. Time is too precious!

And kudo's to the staff and store management over the years because staff is always polite, cheerful, friendly, knowledgeable and...