REI

Huong Dang

I appreciate the convenient location of this REI. Since I live so close and made an e-bike purchase from them, I’ve been dropping in more regularly. Because of the frequency, I’ve had plenty of less than ideal experiences. A lot of the problems I’ve faced came down to their technology. Their digital shopping experience is so clunky. Just today, when I went in to pick up an item, the person in front of me appeared to have been waiting a long time for their item, and it turned out that there was some error on REI’s end that needed not one but two employees to resolve. A lot of the exchanges that I’ve heard between the employees were variations of “oh you can’t input it this way, you have to do it this specific way” or “do you know how to input that?” This enforces my personal belief that the technology that these employees have to use is so overly complicated that it causes so much unnecessary wait time due to human error. For myself too, picking up an online order was incredibly annoying because I ran into a payment issue. This was due to REI slow shipping window and their card reauthorization policy. It’d be nice if I could’ve just faced one of the two problems. The in-store layout also leaves little to be desired. If you need to lug your heavy e-bike into the store for whatever reason, it’s a wait for the door to open when the accessibility button is pressed. Order pickup and customer service are on the opposite sides of the store, so if you were to pick up something and realize it wasn’t a good fit, you have to go to the front of the store because the pickup side employees don’t have the “authorize code” to initiate a return. Overall, I don’t know how the employees here do it. I’d have a perpetual migraine if I have to deal with these inefficiencies day after day.

Josh Jaarsma

Always a wonderful place to pick up my outdoors gear. I’m particularly fond of the REI garage where I can get sweet deals on lightly used items. Parking seems crazy but it always works itself out if you have patience.

Chris Parker

This has got to be one of the coolest REIs I’ve ever been too! The floor plan is multiple stories and crosses what seems to be an entire city block. I originally came in with a friend looking for some athletic shorts and shirt for a game, yet, we ended up spending a couple of hours here. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. This location also has its own rock climbing wall and is centrally located to downtown.

Melissa Rausch

Large outdoors store with many services such as bicycle repair and snowboard waxing. They even have test facilities such as a dirt track for bikes and a climbing area. The options for sports and camping products include pricey brand names like Patagonia and more affordable REI-brand products. I love my REI cooler - It’s great quality and much cheaper than similar coolers by YETI. Expect to pay a high price if you want long-lasting material, even in the clearance section. The used (or returns) section can be very cheap, but make sure to read the tag for a description on why it was returned or on sale. Sometimes, it’s something as simple as “used once and returned for wrong size” and other times it could be “zipper is broken.” The staff is very knowledgeable and can help you with anything. Need tips on climbing shoes? They can help. Want to purchase camping gear specifically for summer season? They’ll explain the right products for that. There are parking lots and an underground garage that are free for the first two hours.