Patagonia — Local services in Honolulu

Please use caution when visiting this location especially if you are a person of color!!!!!

On November 11, 2022, I visited this location and I was accused of shoplifting which ended up costing me $3000 in legal fees.

Background: I entered the store and about one second later a lady entered the store behind me and the fire alarm went off. I started looking around since no one was evacuating. I few minutes later the staff started evacuating the store so I exited the store. Once I exited the store, I waited a few minutes then decided to leave instead of standing around. I ended up visiting the store a few hours later to finish looking around. Two weeks later I was contacted by the police department and I was informed that I was being investigated for theft of less than $250. They assumed I was with the lady that pulled the alarm because she walked into the store seconds behind me. Due to the nature of my job, I hired a lawyer. At my court hearing, Patagonia and the police department did not show up (thank you for wasting my time but they have up to 12 months to file a case). I am currently sitting in limbo because it was assumed I was shoplifting. I contacted corporate Patagonia and they told me that the police department decided to pursue this case but that is untrue/gaslighting. Shoplifting is not a mandatory reporting like child abuse or elderly abuse so the store decided to pursue this case. I was accused of shoplifting less than $250 but I can't imagine all the money/tax dollars that was spent to investigate this case and they had no proof to start with. Financially I can take the hit but others may not be able to afford a lawyer, to miss work and face the risk of termination from false accusations so use caution when visiting this store. I didn't realize walking into a store would end up costing me $3000, stress and embarrassment and I left empty handed.

In the future Patagonia, if you are going to accuse someone of a crime, make sure you have proof instead of trying to destroy someone's life for less than $250. I really wanted to purchase a bag in your store but I will spend my money at a store that respects...

I visited the Patagonia store in Honolulu, located at 535 Ward Avenue, on Monday 10/17/22. It was my first visit and I was very impressed with the store. It was huge…I mean surprisingly big! In addition, the store had a great selection of merchandise and a nice area to hang out with a laid-back island vibe. It was clean and the merchandise was nicely arranged amongst cool décor. I was greeted as soon as I walked in the door and asked if I needed help. I did need help.

The reason for my visit was to see if I could return a pair of boardshorts. I purchased a pair of Patagonia boardshorts about a week prior from my local REI in Colorado. The boardshorts were bought specifically for my vacation to Oahu and I wore them 3, maybe 4, times before I noticed that a seam had begun to fray.

Christine took a look at the frayed seam and asked if I had my receipt. I didn’t have a receipt and I told her that I bought them from REI back in Colorado. She said this store did not carry that style of boardshort but she looked up the price and showed me which shorts were available for an even exchange. I picked a new pair and Christine completed the exchange and then I browsed around the store.

I have been a Patagonia customer since the late 80’s and I believe this is the first time I have returned an item. Patagonia certainly came through on their “ironclad guarantee” and Christine provided excellent customer service from the time I walked in until my exchange was complete. I was very satisfied with the effortless transaction! I highly recommend visiting this store. It is well appointed and has an authentic laid-back vibe. If you visit and need help, ask...

I rarely ever complain about in-store customer service, especially at Patagonia which i love as a brand. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a strange experience here. My local friends have some “Pataloha” shirts and came to ask if they had those at this location. A rather snarky staff member immediately says (in about the rudest tone imaginable)“… ill let you think about that for a minute”. She seemed to have a rude attitude before we even asked anything, but this definitely made it worse! After saying its cultural appropriation (not in a nice explanatory way, but a rude condescending shouting way) she stormed off

While I understand why the store may no longer sell the shirt, and fully support that decision, im not sure why the staff member needed immediately be so rude and “uppity”. Its not such a crazy question to ask for the shirt, when every other brand uses “aloha” on their merchandise and the store still has “mahalo” on the trash cans. And… check how patagonia replies to other reviews- thet use aloha! Again, I understand the perspective of the lady, but she really could have politely explained why the store no longer carries that shirt. Instead she was super rude and other customers nearby were glancing with concerned looks around as they heard all this happen

Aside from this strange moment the store was nice, and i got a patagonia hawaii shirt. I like to support Patagonia as a brand for their sustainability, mission, and quality… just hope customers in the future avoid...