REI

Reviews 9

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Sherrylyn Ramirez

We had to go here since Saratoga didnt have the bike size we needed. This place doesnt know customer service like in Saratoga & most REIs. There was a shorter female at the bike repair shop that I ask to page someone to help us on a bike thats hung from the ceiling. She got the bike mechanic to help her out. She couldnt read the barcode/model since she said she was not wearing her glasses. When it was time to get the 3rd bike an older man couldnt give us 5 minutes to take the specific bike we need. He said he still looking for a bike for another person & he kept walking back & forth like a chicken without a head. I had to call a different person since the shorter female cant reach for the bikes too! When it was time to pay the same female put the wrong bar code on our paperwork & didnt care to change it until we insisted on having the correct paperwork. She also couldnt answer a bike brake question. When I had to go back right before closing to buy a helmet the female at the last cashier was unfriendly & acting like Im bothering her. I understand they are closing soon but its not like theyre not getting paid to take my payment. REI Mountain View should staff each department with knowledgable & able-bodied person.

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A Private User

I have been shopping at REI for a while and normally go to the one located in Saratoga. Yesterday I bought a backpacking cookware set from this store in Mountain View- GSI bugaboo cookware set. I opened the set at home and I could not believe what I saw inside - THERE WAS LEFT OVER FOOD INSIDE. Clearly someone used the set and returned it back to the store. What I do not understand is how can store management put it back on the shelf and sell it as if it was a brand new item. First of all they did not even care to look at the returned item and second how can you re-sell the item if someone clearly used and returned it back to you. Any store to my knowledge, would atleast place a “used/opened” label on an item which is returned from a customer. Management at this store does not care. This is probably the worst shopping experience I have had. period. What else are they selling which is used/returned – clothes/shoes/ski gear/sleeping bags?????? I can not believe I have been buying from this place. I am never going back to store and if you are, just look again - what you are buying might very well be used before.

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Craig F

Went to REI Mountain View on Monday 5/27 Memorial Day around 4PM. The store was was very busy. Bought La Sportiva Boots and a Fitbit. Staff in shoe department struck a nice balance on getting 3 different pairs of boots for me to try and answering other customers questions. When I went to get the Fitbit, the person helping me was friendly and helpful, even after just getting back from Yosemite. While waiting in line for a register, I appreciated that a woman brought out her portable register to process transactions with 2 items or less with credit card purchase. I decided to write this review after hearing my wife described to me the lack of friendly attentive customer service at the San Jose REI today. REI needs to know that all their stores they need to sell quality products at a fair price AND provide good customer service.

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Edward Lau

I bought a 60m climbing rope at REI and took it climbing a few times on routes thatwere 30m or less. When eventually, I did a route that required 60m to rapel, I found the rope was too short. Upon measuring it out, turns out the rope was only 54m and I took it back and complained. Clearly, I had not cut ends of the rope as the manager agreed. However, the manager said over time, ropes will shrink (WHAT?!?!) and would not take it for a refund. i fought him no this that ropes stretch, they dont shrink He has no idea WTF he is talking about. Eventually we call in a climbing "expert" who explains that the rope they sold was cut from a spool, so REI fed up. The manager grudgingly refunded my rope without an apology, despite the fact that this REI screw up could have killed me on a multi-pitch rapel. Terrible, terrible manager.

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Nancy N

Its ok. Went there at 10:30am today and there was no one to help me open a fitting room upstairs in the clothing section. I had to walk over to the shoes section and ask one of those guys there who said theyre understaffed. Meanwhile, downstairs there were 5 cashiers with nothing to do. They should think about reallocating their people. Were not going to find stuff if the staff are all at cashiers instead of people upstairs not finding what they want and then leaving. Funny thing is that the cashier asked if I found what I was looking for. Duh, yeah, because if I didnt I wouldve left and you wouldnt have known! It did take me a whole to find what I needed but I knew exactly what I was coming in for.

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Andrew Sutherland

I love REI as a chain. My experience at this location had some particular ups and downs. I couldnt get through to any customer service representatives over the phone to see if a pair of hiking shoes was in stock, which was a bit frustrating. So I just went in to the store, and it seemed a bit under-staffed considering there was a big sale going on. But once my turn came with an employee, he really knew his stuff. He found the shoe I was looking for, told me its distinctive features, and was able to show me other shoes that had similar features. I later talked to a different employee who was equally knowledgeable. If you want a good place to check out hiking shoes, this is it.

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Katherine Sun

Huge store with all of your camping, hiking, biking, and outdoor sports needs. The employees here are pretty helpful if you need help finding equipment for your trip. If youre planning to spend a lot on your new (or old) hobby, consider joining the co-op. You pay ~$20 per year and you get a dividend in March (10% of qualifying purchases). The money goes towards REIs development of their own products and you get special discounts, invitations to exclusive events, and you can participate in an REI adventure at a discount. The location of this spot is ideal; its just off of 101 and the plaza is pretty big with plenty of parking.

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Travis Wise

tl;dr: I like shopping at REI because they have great customer service, and take anything back. Last month I bought a new daypack (large backpack) in which to haul my stuff. I thought I had bought the mens version, which is 32 liters. I discovered yesterday that I had bought the womens version, which is 27 liters (same price). This morning I took the thing back for an exchange, without a receipt, and no questions were asked. Five minutes later I was out the door with my new, slightly larger daypack (now with 5 more liters of stuff!).

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Simon Molloy

Great selection of gear. However, the staff are incompetent and push you from pillar to post when trying to order an item, find the item you ordered, argue amongst themselves as to whether its a special order or not, tell you its not a special order, not order anything on special order because they cant be bothered, send your order (I still dont know whether it was a special order) to the wrong address when I requested it be delivered to the shop. Theres plenty of other places to order stuff without this kind of hassle.

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