REI — Local services in Santa Barbara

I normally love REI, especially the one close to my home. As a significantly physically disabled autistic woman the outdoors are both wonderful and challenging and I have always felt supported when going into REI. In fact, it’s one of the few stores I will go into alone.

The Santa Barbara REI was awful in this regard. Apparently they made the decision to remove their carts. This is a big problem for someone like myself who is limited to carrying around five pounds and was expecting carts because every single REI I have ever been in has had small carts or at least rolling baskets. The last time I was in this REI they had carts. At first I thought that the carts were just all in use but it took getting to the back of the store and talking to a store employee to find out they didn’t have any carts.

Wait! They do have carts. But it took quite a bit of hemming and hawing on their part for me to find out they actually do keep some in the back. Eventually an employee did bring me one but it was made to feel like this was a special favor. This first employee did listen when I explained why this was problematic and to her credit was quite nice and willing to be educated about how this was a barrier to my accessing the store but it was really upsetting to not have this taken seriously at first. By this point I had been trying to carry some items in the bag I had brought which is still causing me pain. I appreciate the engagement of this woman I’m glad we could have a productive conversation.

When I checked out, the cashier had been informed of my cart request ahead of time and kept trying to justify not having carts, why it wasn’t a big deal, telling me most stores don’t have carts anymore, and how they keep them in the back in case someone needs one BUT that they hide this fact so people won’t know they can ask for them. He kept going on about how they have baskets. I can not carry a basket in a useful capacity. I explained this in a calm manner. I don’t expect floor employees to fix policy issues but to have the issue downplayed repeatedly was hurtful and embarrassing. I’ve worked retail in the past and I know it can suck but it doesn’t take much to say “I never thought about/experienced/knew about (insert store created barrier), I’m really sorry our store has caused a problem and I will let my manager know”.

I would also point out that many of their clothing displays were very close together and the cart was not able to easily navigate some of the areas. That means that if I had chosen to take my wheelchair or walker inside I would not have been able to easily independently navigate.

This isn’t a review of REI but rather REI in Santa Barbara and the decisions made by management at the store both to make it inaccessible and to put no effort into even a bare minimum of training for staff. I have had lovely experiences at my local REI every time. The people there have been wonderfully supportive and helpful (which usually just means asking if I need a hand lifting something or helping me think through whether a piece of gear can meet my needs but it makes such a huge difference to be treated like that). There are a lot of accessibility barriers in the outdoors that I have to navigate. I don’t appreciate the Santa Barbara REI creating new ones.

The explanation I finally received was that some carts had been stolen and that is why they didn’t want anyone to know they still had carts. I had suggested that a solution it would be helpful to put a sign up saying that if you need a cart as a disability accommodation to ask an employee but was reminded they don’t want people to know they have carts on hand for customers who need them. There are so many solutions here that don’t involve making the store inaccessible for people like me. They can put poles on the carts like many stores do. If I see a cart with a pole when I walk in the store, I immediately know I will have to call my partner to come meet me at the door to pick up merchandise but I can still walk around the store and shop by myself. Or locking...

My wife and I came to this store to inquire about a potential exchange. The item in question was a Toaks 550ml pot that got bent while I had it in my pack. I packed it the same way I've always packed my backpacking pots, but this one got damaged on my first trip with it. I thought it couldn't hurt to ask if an exchange is possible, but I was fully prepared for a refusal and had no intention of arguing if that was the case.

The employee we spoke with was very polite. She wasn't sure if an exchange was possible so she consulted another employee(I assume the manager), Mike. The manner in which we were treated by Mike was unacceptable and left us deeply upset. Mike dismissed us without asking any questions or showing any interest in understanding the issue. He proceeded to raise his voice and berate us in a condescending manner.

I understand that Mike might be jaded from working with the general public, and he probably acted out because of past encounters with difficult customers, but I don't consider that an acceptable excuse for his behavior. We were nothing but polite throughout the interaction, and at no point did we ever argue or insist on an exchange, so Mike had absolutely no reason to treat us this way. His lack of basic civility and decency was shocking, and neither of us had ever been treated this way before.

My wife and I were left stunned. What was upsetting was not the refusal to process an exchange but the complete lack of professionalism and respect. Mike made no effort to engage us in a constructive conversation, he simply went off on us for daring to ask. Unfortunately, this experience has made us reconsider where we shop for our...

So i had some time to kill and wanted to find a carabiner for my keychain REI seemed like the perfect place. Im a member of their Co-op so i thought it would be ok if i shopped around a bit, they really do have so cool stuff in there. So there i am having a good day looking at all the stuff in there which i thought was ok but apparently i dont fit there ideal customer look (no patagonia jacket or flashy tesla) and was bothered every two minutes by some dopey employee asking if i need help. Was already getting an un welcoming vibe when i was approached by an overweight girl with bad skin claiming to be the manager. She then told me that she could take my packback with everything i intended to steal up to the front, Hey now lady excuse you! I said i wasnt stealing and that she could look through my bag but she said she couldn’t. I then voluntarily opened my backpack and took everything out for them to see and guess what nothing belonging to REI was in there. Now instead of being apologetic when i vocalized my distaste with how they handle the situation she was very rude and self righteous not once saying sorry. I put down everything i had intended to buy and left the store feeling less than and very unwelcomed in a place where i pay extra to be more a part of, referring to there lame Co-op to which ive been a member of since moving to SB to no benifit. Horrible experience all around! Ill end here and just say F@ck you REI staff, you shouldn’t think you better than or think you know somebody’s character it only reflects on yours. Just cuz i dont fit your profile dosent mean im a thief. I hope you get some...