REI

I love this store and come in all the time, but I am very frustrated. My husband I just spent a little over 2 hours in the store talking with staff and trying things on to make sure these big purchases that we will spend a lot of time using and supporting our bodies with will be a good use of our 20% coupons. Very easy to spend that long when you are looking at packs, shoes, sleeping bags, etc. We leave and have to pay $20 in parking... which makes the thoughtful attention we spent in the store looking at different prices completely a waste of time. Why is a private company profiting off of parking at a store where you can easily and reasonably spend several hours just deciding what to buy??? Especially when REI makes such a big effort to make MEMBERS feel loyalty to the company? This is also less lenient than it was in the past. I expected to maybe pay $5, not $20. No fault to the staff at all, but we were even told to keep walking around for an extra 10 minutes in each piece of gear. The parking policy is completely at odds with how they encourage customers to make purchases. It's honestly predatory and makes me not want to go back. The staff was super helpful and kind though, so at least there's that.

Look, I like REI most the time, and I do think this is a good store overall. However, what just happened to me was so frustrating, and other customers deserve to be warned. I was excited to find some smart wool socks on clearance for about half price. So, I bought two pairs. And double checked they were in the row marked as clearance (they were). After a long time in the store, I was excited to finally return to my car, whereupon I double checked everything on the receipt to discover that they had charged me TWICE what they should have charged for the socks. So I re-enter the store, wait at customer service. When the guy helps me he calls over to the area. 5 minutes later I’m informed the clearance price was for a different color. I’m surprised, and go back to the sock section. Sure enough, it was 100% clearly marked as clearance for the socks I had initially chosen. The sign even said “white”, which was definitely the color of the socks too. I guess they were just “kidding” about those being on clearance (two entire rows btw, were marked at half price and all identical colors). I wonder how many customers don’t double check every single item like I did..? REI has probably made some nice extra cash from their “mistaken” price tags. The cherry on top was that the extra time figuring this out at the store caused my parking time to be 3 minutes over 3 hours, which meant a whopping $30(!) I had to pay when leaving. It left a gross enough taste in my mouth that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be back unless I need to return something…

Such a large story and renovated so beautifully. Biggest REI I have ever seen. The restored brick building is beautiful inside and outside. This is also attached to a Starbucks coffee which is very convenient if you want to walk down the river. Parking is free for first 90 minutes!

This specific REI location is really cool to visit, and the aesthetic appeal of it is great. The free 2 hour parking is a plus. The employees seem to truly care about their work and are helpful for finding items. I would recommend ordering online and picking up in store if you are there for efficiency rather than hunting for the item you need. As a local, I can say it is incredibly difficult to find things if you are shopping for specific items. The signage is quite bad and the place is absolutely massive. You will get lost. Would highly recommend going outside near the river! Great views of the city and lots of things to do in the area.

Love this store. Have everything I might need for an outdoor lifestyle and even more. Staff are always very friendly and helpful. Have bought some of my smartest and most used stuff here, and they seem to last forever. Very happy customer.