Terrible service. Trying on clothes at REI in Durham yesterday. The store was quiet with lots of staff working. I asked a sales clerk if she could help me but she was helping another customer so she radioed ‘John’. John came over and he found what I was looking for in the store system. I had already looked through the bins so he said that he would look in the back. So I wait in the fitting room for about 10-15 minutes, then come out and speak to another staff member who radios John and tells me that he is still working on it. I return to the fitting room, wait patiently and finally decide to retry an article of clothing. I leave the fitting room to look in a mirror and there is John, helping another customer (the store was slow, with lots of staff). At this point I give up change my clothes and leave the fitting room and here is John, trying to make it sound like he preformed an exhaustive search but he admittedly hadn’t even looked in the back. I think it is incredibly unlikely that he looked at all! I grew up with REI in Seattle and was a member when there was just the one store on Capital Hill. Sad to see that the staff in Durham just don’t get it.
Jason Addison
Jan 17, 2019
2
I don't have a great concept of why everyone else rates REI so well. All of the goods here are jacked up in price by at least three times and you can find cheaper, better quality models of most equipment online. Now the clothes that least are of a superior quality, but don't go here if you're looking to pick up a couple extra things on the cheap, because you won't find it even with a sale. I can also admit that if you're into biking there store is almost par none in the industry outside of specialty shops.
The employees are trained in the style of constant bothering that no one really favors and retailers keep on preaching anyway. They probably sell more if they let people peruse in peace and made them self available when needed. Barnes & Noble has a good model. REI has a bad one. I usually try to find the positive and everything, but really the most I can say here is that if you're an REI fan with disposable income it probably wouldn't matter to you too much how much they jack up prices. Not only that but there's a certain subset of fitness oriented outdoorsy types that it just speaks to. For me and my money? Someplace online.
Shengwei Zhang
Mar 27, 2019
5
This place is definitely your best choice for one stop shopping of all outdoor gear and supplies. Staff are helpful and friendly. As a road cyclist, I can find almost everything you need including clothes, repair kit and energy food and drink. It's worth stopping by a few times a month.
John Jung
Feb 16, 2019
5
Staff is super friendly! Everything in this store has great quality, you will pay for that quality as well as customer service. For discounts go online for the same products, especially cots, but you wont get the great customer relations as well as personal experience, that only the in-store offer.
Mitch Franklin
Jun 3, 2019
5
Great place! ❤️❤️❤️ It is very enjoyable to shop online for items and pick them up in the store.
Marley T.
Mar 11, 2019
5
My sister and I went to REI last week to get a travel backpack for an upcoming trip to Greece. After looking at some by ourselves, we found Gabe and asked him for help. Turned out to be the best thing we did! He was so knowledgeable, asking us about the details of the trip so he could make the right recommendations. We ended up with the perfect solution for us - and both joined the co-op too. If all the staff who work at REI are as helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable as Gabe at the Durham store, it's a great investment to join and I'll certainly be back!
Oliver Wood
Jason Addison
Shengwei Zhang
John Jung
Mitch Franklin
