REI

REI, 1789 28th St, Boulder, CO 80301, USA,

Category:	Camping Store
Address:	1789 28th St, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Phone:	+1 303-583-9970
Site:	rei.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 10AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

A Private User

BEWARE IF YOU OWN A BIKE--DONT GET IT WORKED ON HERE Went in to get my chain fixed really quick (around 7pm)--thought a 5 minute repair would be simple enough to pass by--NOPE. #1. Got completely snubbed when I asked if the bike mechanic would come by and give me a second opinion on how to unhinge my stuck chain--the answer I got to that was "sorry man, the lady working on bikes is super swamped, heres the tools--good luck" #2 Asked for a pair of gloves as to not blacken my hands with chain grease--the reply I got was, "pfft, everyone gets their hands dirty here, just roll with it" ...turns out they had a stack of gloves near the hand washing sink in repair shop. ...so the power link on my chain bent, and the thing wouldnt connect 100%. If the mechanic had helped me for literally 45 seconds of her time, then I would have had some concise instructions to follow. Instead, I attempted to futz with my chain to get some sort of a result as 2-3 shop employees stood idly by and watched to make sure I wouldnt steal the tools they lent me. Chain wouldnt link, and I had to ride home (all bike shops closed at this point)...so I couldnt just give up and save it for another day. Yanked hard on the chain with a tool, and ended up slicing my finger--chain grease, blood and all! JOY! I rushed back to the shop sink to wash out my cut, when I looked up and saw the LARGE boxed stacks of mostly un-used plastic shop gloves thats seen at ANY bike shop across planet Earth. Had to call out the BS at this point, let the dude know how I was feeling at that precise moment, and walked out with a busted chain. ...all the while, the swamped bikesmith in the back was at the mouth of the shop door watching intently at my exchange with the desk employee--looks like she didnt have 45 seconds for my chain, but had spare minutes for what I had to say to the front desk goon. Thanks for reading my negative experience at REI--I hope you decide on a more local spot to buy your gear from such as The Pros closet, Boulder sports recyclers or the Boulder Army store! These people back the gear they sell, ENOUGH SAID ...as for the bike shop aspect of REI, ya gotta be joking with yourself if you think REI would do a better job then an actual store FOCUSED on bicycles. Deal with people that know what they sell--not some goon crew whos scraping by to pay off college loans

Lara Minichiello

Been a member and customer here for many years. Bought a bike that I ended up being really unhappy with. Only had it a couple of weeks but a few issues off the bat and overall the fit was just poor for me - riding it was hurting my back/arms/wrists. After trouble shooting what my options were for fixing the fit issue, which ultimately resulted in no certain solutions and getting a fair amount of attitude from one employee in particular, Evan came out to work with me and he was GREAT! He was so kind, and patient, really took more time than anyone to listen to what I had to say and understand what wasnt working for me. He obviously knew what he was talking about and shared his insights without the slightly condescending attitude many bike shop mechanics can have. We ended up going with a new bike that I LOVE and would have bought the first time had I been shown it as an option as it was exactly what I was looking for. He made sure I was on board with everything they did from that point forward, REALLY made me feel respected and valued as a customer. He even asked me if I had a chance to eat as I had been there for such a long time. I left with a bike I am super happy with and ride every day now. That said, I have been back numerous times since to get more accessories for the bike, and had been considering getting a roof box during their sale, but was met with less than helpful customer service from (not all but) a few, and thus decided not to buy one. Moral of the story: ask for Evan when you go to the bike shop. Be prepared to WAIT for someone to be able to truly help as the staff there often seem overwhelmed without enough staff on the floor to answer questions or really take much time with you no matter what department. I get it, customer service can suck - retail can be exhausting and customers an absolute pain in the butt. Especially in Boulder. But it shouldnt be up to a handful of amazing staff to have to balance out the rest. I feel bad for the awesome staff that suffer the frustrations from customers after dealing with the rest.

Jonathan Turner

I have always loved rei, and shopped there for all my recreational needs. That ends today!!! A friend of mine gave me a carbon fiber Fuji sl 1.1 road frame that had a small crack in the seat stay. Obviously, it made more sense to get it repaired, as its a $2000 frame and a repair was only $300. Broken Carbon did an amazing job fixing the carbon fiber!!! I brought the repaired frame into rei to order all the components and set up a build today. I had already been working with Brett on putting a parts order together and was ready to spend $2000+ today. Thats when some ignorant chevy chase looking tool bag came up and arrogantly told me that they will not touch my bike because it was repaired and they dont want to be liable. I calmly told this less attractive chevy chase look a like that the business that repaired my frame has a almost perfect success rate and even warranties their repairs for 5 years, and that there would be no liability on their part for the structural integrity of the frame compromising when all they would be doing is attaching gears and brakes. After all, you logically couldnt hold a vehicular brake shop liable for your axle snapping in half if all they did was replace the brakes. Mr know it all was not happy with my response and condescendingly replies that its impossible to fix carbon fiber and hes not touching my bike. Chevy chase obviously does not know how the customer-employee relationship works. I tell you what to do and give you money and you do it. End of story. Horrible experience, poor customer service, and patronizing employees. I have spent thousand of dollars at rei in the past and was going to spend thousands today. Now I will never give another dime to this overly expensive shot hole. All thanks to chevy chases mentally incompetent brother in the bike shop.

Elaine Nicole

The store itself is okay. My problem is with the guys I have interacted with in the climbing section. Last year when I went to buy my first pair of climbing shoes... let me repeat that; MY FIRST PAIR OF CLIMBING SHOES, ever... the guy practically demanded that I get a pair that was two sizes smaller than my normal shoe size. After explaining that I couldnt stand up, he said that they were a good fit. Needless to say I returned them. I thought maybe this guy just doesnt have the capacity to think like a non-obsessed climber. Whatever. But then today I went back to exchange another pair that my fiance bought for his sister (who wears the same shoe size as me) and they were also her FIRST pair, and she is also new to climbing. So I went to exchange the shoes, a different employee asked me, "Do you REALLY need a WHOLE size bigger?" Yes, dude. Obviously I need a WHOLE size bigger, thats why Im here. The shoes are for a person that is new to climbing. It just feels like those guys dont actually care what you need, they want to show you how much they know about climbing and some people who are new to these sports and in this case, need a shoe that is comfortable enough to get used to climbing in general. And they make you feel stupid for not wanting to follow their advice. Not everyone that climbs has to live and breathe climbing, some people are just weekend climbers, and thats fine and they shouldnt be made to feel bad about that. I will drive to Denver next time I need to go to REI.