Forum Index > Gear Talk > Why I HATE REI - Arrgh!!
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salish
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salish
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PostSat Feb 02, 2002 11:26 am 
PB, it was fun exploring all those wooden bins of stuff behind the cash registers in the old building (circa 1975) and seeing all those high impact things like Collins Hudson Bay Axes and wood burning Alaska Stoves. But you hit the nail on the head with the creosote aerosol. In dealing with the staff there, you defintely got the feeling that the exhausted salesperson with bags under their eyes acted and looked like that because they just came off a climb to Mt. Stuart or someplace, not because they didn't have their morning latte. Wish I could have seen the "old" store down on 3rd (?) Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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rgstarek
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rgstarek
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 3:43 pm 
REI...I like it to go see the stuff first hand. But the advice I get there has been from bad to *really* bad. And the clerks seem to speak down as if I were a newbie at the hiking game. I went to get new boots and they kept trying to sell me something much less in weight than what I wanted. Of course I noticed that they were stearing everyone (the newbies mainly) to these boots...makes me wonder what the agenda was?

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McPilchuck
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McPilchuck
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 6:13 pm 
Maybe I'm alone on this, but rarely do I seek any advice from REI employees when I shop there. And usually I know what I what before hand having done some research prior on a particular item...one reason it's great to have gear discussions here at NWHikers.net...you get a wide variety a good opinions from people who REALLY know something about stuff (usually thru experience).

in the granite high-wild alpine land . . . www.alpinequest.com
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Oldtimer
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 10:36 pm 
I was going to stay out of this one, but given the letter I received yesterday, I decided to add a comment. I wondered why nobody has said anything about the 1% refund that can be obtained by using REI credit card. If you put (almost) all your purchases on REI credit card, that gets you a pretty good credit, plus the 10% you also get. Last year, I had a credit of more than $250. I bring that up because I just received a letter from REI saying it has switched credit card companies. I'm wondering if that means everyone must switch, or whether the notice is only to people like me. "Like me" means I dropped our REI Visa and Mastercards about 4 months ago--not because of REI but because of BorA (Bank of America). Its handling of a challenge I made to an unauthorized charge was so bureaucratic I cut up our 4 cards and sent them to the CEO. BTW, I'm not a greenhorn. I have a low 5-digit number. One of my late fishing/backpacking/hiking buddies had #46 (I think--it was under 50). He would have had #6 (think--one digit, anyway) if he hadn't wound up on the wrong side of a coin flip; he and another fellow wanted to join, but they didn't have enough money for both to join at the same time. They flipped, and he lost. (Some of you will recognize the name, George Lewis).

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Malachai Constant
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 10:43 pm 
rant.gif I got the same letter. We have been using the card for everything and have bought a tent and other things. I don't care for BOA either and had good luck wwwwwwwith US Bank before. Maybee BOA was sich of us never carrying a balance, or maybee they lost too much on Enron.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Brian Curtis
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Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Brian Curtis
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 11:15 pm 
It's everybody with an REI Visa, Oldtimer. I got the same notice and I hadn't cut up my card and sent it back to BoA.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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Tom
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PostSun Feb 03, 2002 11:33 pm 
He he, you guys need to get an AMEX Blue card and release yourselves from the clutches of REI. You'd have to charge $10,000 on your REI "rebate" card just to get a measly $100 back, and even then you're forced to spend it at REI.

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C Dog
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PostMon Feb 04, 2002 1:12 am 
Quote:
You'd have to charge $10,000 on your REI "rebate" card just to get a measly $100 back, and even then you're forced to spend it at REI.
Just FYI, not true. You can request a check for cash money, you just have to wait until June to do so. Did it the past two years.

// Chris Duval // WashingtonHikes.com //
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Tom
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PostMon Feb 04, 2002 2:42 am 
Well, that's not too bad of a deal if it's cash back. I guess the ol' co-op is actually good for something then wink.gif.

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numen
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numen
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 12:16 am 
I appreciate the tendancy REI sales people to not try to "sell" me a product but instead just direct me to right area were I can look over the stuff myself without them hovering nearby. The exactly correct item depends upon so many variables like my particular psysiology, habits, predudices, experience etc. that I find the advice of "experts" next to worthless with the exception if I am a total newbie in the game which quickly passes after a few conversations or reviews. And isn't this part of the fun. Do we want to be spoon fed by some important big cheese equiptment guru on how to spend our money and live our lives. No by god I appreciate the efficiency and light weight of some new piece of gear mainly because I suffered so long with the older clunky one.

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Dante
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 10:22 am 
Hmm...it's amazing how perceptions differ. When I have sought the assistance of REI employees, they have usually tried to sell me up, sell me the house version, and/or sell me an accessory or accoutremont. I can't complain much about that--that's what retail sales people are supposed to do. For example, when I bought my last pair of boots I knew exactly what I wanted and went straight to the shoe department to get it (surgical strike mode). Unfortunately, I had to ask an employee to get the boots I wanted from the stock room. That gave him a change to suggest what I believe is an REI version of the same boot (at least I can't find it anywhere else online), a pair of superfeet and the appropriate boot dressing. Again, no complaints. None of the suggestions were unreasonable. I knew what I wanted and needed, but the advice may have been valuable to a "newbie" and if acted upon would maximize REIs revenues.

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numen
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numen
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 11:25 am 
Wait a minute - 10 percent of 10,000 is 1000 not 100

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 12:50 pm 
Yep and 1% of $10,000 is $100 which is the cash rebate you'd get on your REI credit card (assuming you charged $10,000 of non-REI and REI purchases combined on the card during the year). Of course, you'd still get your REI dividend no matter what card you use.

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Brian Curtis
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Brian Curtis
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 3:01 pm 
REI reduces the dividend by 2% if you use a credit card other then an REI VISA card. With the REI card you get 1% cash back on all purchases and full dividends on all purchases at REI. Here's the explanation from the REI website: Cash purchases and REI Bankcard purchases earn you the full patronage refund, while all other bankcard and debit card purchases from REI earn you a reduced refund—usually 2% less, to cover bank processing fees. A few purchases earn no patronage refund: sale items, gift certificates, bike/ski shop labor, rental fees, repair services and REI Adventures trips.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
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lo coop #
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lo coop #
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PostWed Feb 06, 2002 3:21 pm 
Another unusual twist: When I returned a Black Diamond Moonlight headlamp that I got for Christmas that broke before I ever got it in my pack, I was asked if I had the sales receipt? "No, it was a present." "Do you know who gave you the gift?" "Yes, my sister." "What is her name?" When I told them, they entered it into the computer to confirm the purchase, then told me she'd be docked the 10% rebate on this return. So she lost 10% on my return. Hmmm. Seems like it would have been better to give me a store credit, with no rebate on that.

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