Category: | Camping Store |
Address: | 601 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703, USA |
Phone: | +1 512-482-3357 |
Site: | rei.com |
Rating: | 4.4 |
Working: | 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–9PM 10AM–8PM 11AM–7PM |
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Kim K
Its too bad the employees rival car salesmen because otherwise, this store is a great resource for most things outdoor related. Each time I come in, theres a slew of employees hunting me down, saying hello and almost immediately diving into their membership sales pitch. Even after explicitly stating that Ive heard about the membership/benefits and no Im not interested, they still continue to try and sell me and...why god why?! Please make it stop! Ive even had more than 2 employee come back about 10 minutes later saying, for example, "I see youre looking at this $$ item. You know if you got the membership, itd totally be worth it" while unsuccessfully attempting to shove one of their little yellow sales slips into my hand. Its interesting to notice how consistently less friendly/helpful the employees are after Ive (politely) said Im not interested in joining. For example, I was looking for a medium sized backpack. I showed the employee a few examples as well as specific features, sizes, etc. I was looking for. Instead of showing me his suggestions, he decided to lecture me on how I used the work "day pack" when I should have said "back pack" because according to him, his idea of a day pack was a few liters smaller than what I was looking for. Are you kidding? He then proceed to show me several backpacks that really were nowhere near what I had asked for and also conveniently ended up being some of the most expensive options. Another relentless saleswoman did a wonderful job at not answering my questions but instead, found a creative way to tie everything she said back to trying to get me to sign up. She ended up being the one to ring me up and tried to get me to give her the phone number of a friend who has a membership, even though she said theyd get no credit because I was purchasing a sale item. Dear god, lady! There are very few stores to have Pavlovian trained me to develop mild anxiety when nearing the entrance because I subconsciously know whats about to ensue. This REI is one of those stores. Its too bad because I like the store, but for now, I think Ill be sticking to online shopping where I wont be bombarded with sales pitches or lectured on semantics.
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dd radu
Their credit card compromised our personal data then blamed us for it: I have had this card for 9 years. Last month, someone living in Oklahoma (we live in Austin) called this bank and succeeded to not only add a new person on the account but to have a new card shipped to them in Oklahoma. Please note that we have never been there, nor do we have any family or connection to Oklahoma. We didnt loose the credit card, nor are we cavalier about our credits (they both are above 800). We also use encryption program for all our online accounts. What happened after was a mess: we were not allowed to make payments on the card, we were blocked even $10 transactions at our regular grocery store. Everythime we called, we were placed on hold for 15- 30 minutes at a time (even for making payments) and the managers in the call center were rude and unappologetic. What was worst, they changed the story about how our date was compromised 2 times: at first, it sounded like it was their fault for sending a card there (and we do agree they did it way to easily); but after that, they started blaming us. Last call with the manager Dina was the worst: "we are going to block you for making payments every time". "Your data was stolen and it is not our fault "(aka it is not the credit card companys fault for sending a card to a different state, for adding another person we a different last name on the account account AND for allowing the address to be also changed at the same time). It was an REI card and we will never going to use it again.
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Dee Frazier
I love everything about REI. I love how its a coop, and if youre a member you get a dividend check back. I love how friendly the people that work there are. I love how they have high quality products and they stand behind them. If you ever doubt this, you should check out their garage sales. They happen every quarter and are pretty awesome. You can get some really sweet deals for things that you may not ever buy, like the gopro i picked up. Everything that they have at the garage sale has a yellow tag with the price and the reason the item was returned. Some items are damaged, but some are seriously returned because "customer did not like" or "customer could not figure out." The gopro i got had the reason "never worked right." We picked this bad boy up for a 100 bucks and there was nothing wrong with it. The battery door was literally CRAMMED on and bent. I can imagine that if the previous owner couldnt get something as simple as the the battery door on properly, then the camera was likely returned due to "user error." Rei rocks!
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Michele Pain
CANT BEAT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE I was investigating FitBits and spent a good amount of time on Amazon looking at reviews. I wanted to try it on and see if I could tolerate wearing a gigantic watch. So I went down to the REI and spent quite a bit of time talking with one of the guys there. I ended up with a Fitbit Charge HR. The final selling point was I had a year to return it if I didnt like it. I used it for about two weeks and realized that the charger was not working properly. I dug out my receipt and exchanged it for a new one. I noticed that the heart rate monitor was not very accurate and, the second one had a charging problem as well. I gave up. I no longer had the receipt but went back to REI, handed them the Fitbit and said, "I give up." The woman behind the register return my money immediately with a smile. I love REI. Im going to try a different model Fitbit. No way Im buying it from Amazon. Could you imagine how much trouble this set of interactions would have been with an E store? I love REI.
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Lindsay Shugerman
I love REI. I could browse there for hours on end, especially when it comes to the camping gear and little gadgets (love the pots that fold up into one neat little bundle!) And I like the fact that its a co-op, and members share in the profits (I am one, and have been since my Utah days.) But what I dont like are the prices. Everything here is way too expensive...I mean, who wants to buy a shirt for $85 and then wear it to get all sweaty and dirty on a hike. Thats what my oldest t-shirts are for! Also noticed that here in Texas, they dont let dogs in! Now wait...they sell dog hiking gear including collars and harnesses, but you cant bring in your dog to get the right size???? Come on! Change this anti-dog policy, lower those prices a few degrees and I might be able to see one of those dividend checks someday!
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Kevin V.
I just bought a new bike at this REI after a good month of shopping online, and assuming I would find the best deal via mail order. Not only did I get a killer deal on a new GT hybrid bike, but prior to buying it they let me just take it out of the store and go for an hour bike ride out on the trails. Ive never known a store to let you do that. They also do a really cool thing since they are a co-op. You can buy a membership, which is essentially buying a share of the co-op, and then whenever you make a purchase you get a % back at the end of the year (as well as special sales for members only). The atmosphere at this N Lamar store is always very laid back, and I have never felt any pressure by any sales people.