Recreational Equipment

Emails are from July 14, 2022 and they STILL have not done anything.

On Thursday, July 14, 2022, 8:10 PM "Kay" wrote:

Hello!

I recently became an REI member and made several purchases at the store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Ive been shopping at that location for a few years now, and am thrilled with my decision to finally purchase the lifetime membership.

While I was there, I noticed that the price for a bicycle tune-up was around $75 - less than what Ive paid in the past - so I decided to drop off my Trek Fx 2 hybrid for a tune-up and whatever else it needed. I dropped my bike off on July 7th and was advised that a $27 additional charge fee would be added if it was determined that anything above and beyond would be necessary. No problem.

On 7/12, the promised-by date to pick my bike up, I got a call, which I missed, and the message stated that my back wheel had cracks where the spokes met and needed to be replaced. On 7/13 I went in to look at the cracks they were talking about and agreed to have the extra repair for around $100 more.

On the way home, I thought to call the service department and check with Derek whether the new wheel would say Bontrager, as the old one does and like the front wheel does.

I know that Bontrager is a brand that goes hand-in-hand with Trek and I wasnt sure if REI would be able to order a Bontrager wheel. Sure enough, Derek said that the new wheel would not say Bontrager; it would just be a plain wheel, at which point I said, ok, dont change the wheel, I will just come in to pick up the bike with the regular tune-up.

When I got back to the store (my second trip) I found that nothing at all was done to my bike. The tune-up wasnt done, it wasnt cleaned, and in fact, the brake pads had been taken off, so it wasnt even rideable at that point. When I asked them to put the brake pads back on the associate said that he could not because, with the wheel being a safety issue, he would not be able to test ride it.

Okay, then.

That was really unexpected. They kept my bike for almost a week and I picked it up in worse shape than when I dropped it off.

I was not charged anything and my service was canceled by customer request.

I left with my bike and took it a mile down the road to the Trek store, where I noticed that REI had replaced the cassette and failed to charge me for it.

At this point, I was pretty angry over the wasted time and the way I was treated when I asked them to put the brake pads back on - not to mention the fact that no one thought it was worth it to mention that the new back wheel wouldnt match the front wheel - and I didnt want to keep a free cassette from REI. I asked the Trek associate to remove it so I could bring it back to REI, and he did.

Now on my THIRD trip to REI to bring back the cassette, I made it a point to tell Derek that he should have told me that it would just be a plain wheel that he was ordering. But the way they handled the situation was to take no accountability whatsoever and act like it was unreasonable of me to think that a mismatched wheel would be something that Id want to know about upfront.

I dont feel like that is unreasonable, but another associate there said something like I disagree. Then he went to get his manager.

At this point, I was actually glad that the manager was being brought in because I took the cassette out of my bag and informed them that Id come there to return it, since I hadnt been charged for it, and didnt want it. I told the manager my complaint over the wheel (and again, mostly the time that was wasted when my bike should have been fixed) and he clearly didnt care. The other guy, the one that left earlier to get the manager, said he would like me not to come back to the store again.

Obviously, Im upset about the way I was treated.

As I mentioned, Im a big fan of REI, and I JUST became a member. I certainly dont want to be banned from the only REI around me because we could not agree to respectfully disagree about the importance of brand-name wheels on expensive bikes. I am writing to ensure that my membership is in good standing, and again say that this unfortunate instance aside, it would be my pleasure to keep shopping at REI King of Prussia. From: REI

Date: Fri, Jul 15, 2022 at 10:22PM

Subject: Re: Bike Repair Services

To:

Hello Keely,

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience.

I have forwarded your comments to the store manager, and our retail operations team for review.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Caitlin K.

REI Sr.

Service

www.rei.com

P: 1-80*-***-**** (U.S. and Canada)

P: 1-25*-***-**** (all other countries)

Mon-Fri, 5am-10pm PT

Sat-Sun, 6am-9pm PT

Disappointed to say the least. 20+ year REI club member and will never shop here again.

Always though REI sold quality product and offered great customer service however my most recent experience has left me disillusioned. Recently purchased a pair of Keen sandals from what I thought was a closeout or discontinued display. They looked fine and did not appear to have any damage of any kind. Tried them on and they seemed to fit fine.

Took them home wore them for about 20 minutes and they turned out to be the most uncomfortable shoes I have ever owned. Attempted to return them to the store the following day and was informed by the cashier and the manager that they were "Garage Sale Items" and were unreturnable. I politely protested and questioned how was I supposed to know they were unreturnable. Neither the item tag, the receipt, or any signage in the area displayed the return status of this item.

In fact when question about the location of the signage stating that the "Garage Sale items were not returnable the manager just said that "its over there somewhere". but wasn't exactly sure where that was. The store manage insisted that they would not offer a refund under any circumstances so told her I have no use for the sandals and that I would never attempt to sell or give them to anyone knowing the issues with them so would she be kind enough to dispose of them for me. Left the shoes on her counter and left the store.

Immediately contacted corporate customer service and after 43 minutes and speaking with 3 supervisors and a 1000 apologies the best resolution they could come up with was to offer me a $25 gift card for the $66.83 defective shoes they sold me. Really not a sincere and adequate resolution.

No problem with the no return policy on the "garage sale" items however if you truly pride your reputation on exceptional customer experience, you really should have the items marked as unreturnable and the cashier should acknowledge clearly that the purchase is a "garage sale" purchase that is not refundable. REI you made your problem my problem and were indifferent of my 20+ years of loyalty.

My loyalty was worth less than $66.83 and the bitterness will remain indefinitely. Buyer Beware-Hope this saves someone else the inconvenience and the time.