REI — Local services in Sacramento

REI used to be my go-to place for everything outdoors...but not anymore. Bought a GNU snowboard and Rideo Rodeo bindings from here 4 years ago, and now the right binding is not securing tightly onto the snowboard. At the time, I thought I was being a smart cookie by buying aluminum bindings (sales guy seemed to agree) thinking they would be virtually indestructible. Little did I know that metal on a board was not going to be great because of the impact absorption, or lack thereof. However, I am only finding this out this season because I havnt gone up a lot the past 3 seasons due to the dismal snow. Brought it to the store and the manager, Devon, assisted me. He was kind enough to take it to the repair shop to diagnose, and possibly repair the bindings. He promised to call me back later, which he did. The verdict was that the screws could no longer secure the board and were stripped and couldn't be removed. Devon refused to replace or return the item since he deemed it to be a "wear and tear" issue. I was under the impression that people who had bought items before they changed the return policy in 2013 (I bought the items in 2012) were grandfathered in with the unlimited return policy, however, I was wrong. Devon, and his general manager, Rob, both said that it was past the 1 year return period, and in their opinion it was due to wear and tear. I told them I was dissatisfied and felt it to be a manufacturing defect...why would $280 bindings fail after less than 50 uses? Seriously, these things are made to last less than that? The thing that really got me was how Devon and Rob were so rude and condescending. Devon had said that since I didn't seem to have any luck purchasing snow gear from the store, I should take my business somewhere else. Rob was also very dismissive and sarcastic when I told him I didn't feel comfortable now with the purchases I made at REI recently. At least that's one good piece of advice that came out of their mouths--to take my...

Good customer service at REI Sacramento is hit and miss. Every time I have called their general number, the staff has been super friendly and courteous. Additionally, Jeff, the bicycle technician, was helpful, courteous, friendly, and patient. He went the extra mile to address my bike issues and even stayed late to finish the job. However, there was an employee on the floor arranging things on the wall whose attention I was trying to get to ask a question about the bicycle bags. When I finally did, she begrudgingly walked me over to the other wall where the products were and said, pointing, "They are located there to there," then walked off. She could have asked what my specific question was, but that seemed above her pay grade. A bike tech, Wyatt, seems to have a similar attitude. I asked him over the phone for some time/cost estimates regarding bike repair, and at a certain point, when I was about to clarify a question, he interrupted, saying, "Let's slow down," then explained something to me. This is extremely condescending, and is something an adult would tell a child. A more appropriate thing to do--rather than trying to control the customer--would be to simply listen, then offer the information, rather then explaining in a pedantic way. Right after that, he said with a slightly irritated tone, something like, "There are customers waiting here, is there anything else?" Again, not the best customer service skills. The better thing to say would be the latter part of his statement, not the former. REI management needs to formally train their people customer service skills. Clearly, some have them naturally, but...

My boyfriend and I went to this REI location a while back. When we got there it was about 5:30 maybe 5:35. They decided to close a little early that day. One of the employees approached us to let us know they were going to be closing soon. It seemed like she was in a little bit of a rush. We said to her “ok. We just want to look at the rock climbing shoes and backpacks and then we will be on our way.” About 2 minutes later another employee approached us letting us know they were going to be closing and started to follow us around the store and a another couple minutes go by when ANOTHER employee who was at the end of the aisle told us they were closing soon. At this point we were very annoyed. It wasn’t quiet closing time yet and it felt like everyone was trying to kick us out because they were all in a rush to go home. Another employee told us they were closing soon. This one was a couple aisles down and had to talk loud so we could hear him. This employee also followed us through the store. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. That’s four employees that approached us BEFORE CLOSING time within 30 minutes. I have worked in retail for a long time and never have I ever treated a customer this way nor has anyone I have ever worked with. We walked in before closing time. My boyfriend and I had just gotten off work so we were not able to come earlier. This was extremely unprofessional, to not allow your customers to shop. I would understand if we showed up at closing or after closing but we showed up before closing. I have never been pushed out of a store like...