REI — Local services in San Antonio

I’ve been here a few times. First two times was to purchase camping gear. Felt like I was being watched didn’t make much of it. Today I came in to purchase a couple of dog harnesses. I immediately saw that another customer was watching me not sure if it was because of any part of my appearance. I was crouched over looking at the sizes of the dog harnesses and it was apparent he wanted me to know that he was keeping an eye on me. He left off to the right of me in a rush and I continued looking browsing the dog harnesses. An employee immediately came over and asked me some questions that felt investigative. Almost to make sure that I wasn’t appearing to look at harnesses while stealing something else. He didn’t ask if I needed help just asked what kind of dogs I had. I answered then he said that maybe next time I should bring them in. I sayed “yeah, probably not” as I was only trying to buy things for my dogs, not take them shopping. I went to the cashier with my things then the continued to ask me questions about my dogs almost as if I didn’t have any, that just seemed investigative again. He said I had reward money and asked if I wanted to use them. I forgot that I had previously purchased camping gear and told him how nice it was as it was probably from when I purchased camping gear. He then proceeded to ask for my id which at that point it was apparent he was either asking because he thought I was using someone else’s reward points or he would know who I was in case I stole. I don’t think it’s policy to ask for an id for reward points. Either way I definitely felt like I was treated like I was either suspected of committing a crime or they thought I appeared like someone who would commit a crime. I preferred REI in Washington when I was in the navy. It’s tough coming back to my hometown and being treated like someone who would commit a crime. This is most definitely the last time I’ll come hear. You should definitely make people feel more welcome before you start asking questions. Let me remind you your job is customer service. And it should be your priority to make people feel welcome and leave wanting to come back. Although I came back for the products that you provide I always leave feeling discriminated upon. Somehow I don’t believe I’m the only person that has felt this way because your store seems pretty good at it. Regardless I have a feeling maybe there’s a lot of theft at this store. The issue is I shouldn’t know this based off of the way you failed to make me feel like a paying customer.I recommend better training or possibly management with a better outlook on life. I wasn’t going to leave this review but I believe it should be known that you REI OF San Antonio potentially come off a little racist. And as a good friend I think you...

I have been hiking for a few months and finally decided to break down and get a pair of REAL hiking boots. I had no idea this store even existed until I attended an #OptOutside hike on Black Friday.

So, I went in today totally uneducated about hiking boots and what I wanted, but the sales associate was very friendly and knowledgeable about the products. He didn’t push the most expensive ones, instead he listened to the areas I hiked in and what I felt I needed and Bada Bing! I walked out with what I needed. The ones I liked were waterproof, but I don’t hike a lot of areas with water, so I was concerned the boots would breathe well. He told me to walk around the store in them for about 15 minutes and see how my feet felt. He also told me I had a year to exchange them if I decided I didn’t want them. WHAT WHAT??? That is incredible!

I ended up settling on the Salomon Quest 4d 2 GTX which were on sale for $171.99. They might be cheaper online, but I really needed to try them on and get educated on what I needed, and REI did exactly that.

Another cool thing about REI is that they are a CO-OP. If you pay a one-time fee of $20, you get annual dividends, based on what you have purchased. This is a ONE-TIME fee.

As a member, you get access to the dividends, as well as access to what they call “Garage Sale” events where you can purchase returned items at discounted prices. You also get access to free training workshops on hiking, kayaking, camping, etc.

Yes, they might be more expensive than Academy, but their selection, quality, and knowledge is...

I have the highest expectations for REI customer service and professionalism. The bike shop technicians were very amazing. However, one employee completely ruined my experience. I came to pick up my serviced bicycle on 10/4 at 6:15p. An employee named Zoelle came and told me to wait while she went to get help from another employee for another customer. I feel completely ignored while the other employee helped the other customer and Zoelle just stood there without even asking me what I came for. Finally, she asked me. After checking out my bike, she handed me a gift card for $20 that can be used from 10/14-10/24. I took it and gave her my $30 gift card that says "Expires after 10/13". Zoelle adamantaly rejected my gift card saying it's old and only for new membership. When I said I got it when I dropped off the bike 2 weeks ago and signed up for membership for the first time, she said my membership is old...I said "I don't get it. The gift card is not expired and I'm a new member." She rudely replied with "What don't you get?". She almost took my gift card away as if it's something illegal. Finally, I said Sam (the name one of the bike technicians) and with the help of the other employee, Zoelle saw her mistake. Without a single apology she still defended herself with "I'm under the impression that you're using the same gift card I gave you." This kind of attitude is unacceptable because Zoelle has no minimal customer service and...