REI

REI ski shop did a terrible job mounting my 3-​pin Voile bindings on Rossignol BC-​90 skis. The left ski binding was mounted correctly. The right-​side binding was poorly done, and the back of my boot was about one-​inch off center.
What should have been a one day turn-​around ended up taking almost two weeks (and, unfortunately, this was during one of the biggest snow dumps in December … ever. Doh! Just my bad luck).
Unfortunately, the only remedy is to mount the binding on a new ski. They cannot be re-​drilled and re-​mounted. Therefore, REI had to order another set of BC-​90 skis because they did not have them in stock.
So, no less than two mistakes were made. First, the binding was not mounted correctly. Second, either A) the tech checked the work and decided «meh, close enough, maybe the customer won’t notice»; or B) the tech, Amy, did not check her work. Either ‘A’ or ‘B’ is additional incompetence on top of the poor mounting job).
The REI staff is friendly, apologetic, but, unfortunately, reminds me of a Three Stooges short film. I haven’t even mentioned here what I had to go through to get the 10% discount off the ski package. That process was like the Monty Python Cheese Shop skit.
Pros about the Bend REI service:
* REI does «own» their problems and repeatedly work to fix their mistakes
* they do say «sorry» a lot.
* Thankfully, Bend REI’s tech is employed with REI screwing up ski binding mountings, and is not employed doing bridge infrastructure maintenance.
The Bad: It’s just drilling three holes with a jig and screwing in 3 screws. Really? You can’t get three screws in correctly?

I took my family that had just arrived from Germany and he found a Omni heat Columbia Jacket, tried it on and it fit great color, size, everything he wanted. He went to adjust the straps on cuffs and the Velcro literally ripped half way off, the stitching was poor at best. We were unable to locate another jacket in the same size and color so I went to ask for help at the check out desk and after the two girls that work there were done talking about another employee one of the girls finally noticed that we were standing there. I told her that this was the last jacket on the rack and was wondering if they had any more, she told me no what they have is what is out there. So I showed her the ripped Velcro on the cuff and asked if they could give me a discount on the 200 $ jacket because of the damage and I thought I would be able to fix the cuff and the girl just smerked and said not a chance we don’t do that here., just give me the jacket and I will put it back. I told her ok wow you are seriously going to put that back and sell damaged merchandise to someone else! She said nothing and grabbed the coat and walked away.
I love the REI store but definitely won’t be shopping at the Bend Old Mill location.

I’ve been going here for years and I’m happy to, say it has only gotten better! Thanks for being the very best outdoor store I’ve ever experienced!

Worst REI I have been to. Stock your kids shoes during summer months man! Drove all this way from Sunriver to make sure my son got a size 12 keen or similar and they had nothin! Natta… Crazy our Small town REI has way more selection and they actual care about their customers. The shoe dude felt like we were his problem

This is a difficult review for me, I have a love hate relationship with REI .
REI in old mill is a store I love to go to to browse and shop for little things and last minute stuff. I also love their return policy and excellent customer service.
The reason it gets only three stars from me is that frankly, I can buy almost anything they sell WAYYYY cheaper other places.
Even their discounted stuff is more expensive than can be bought other places full asking price. I do like most of their REI brand products and it all seems to get good overall reviews.
I recently bought a tent and a new sleeping bag and saved 146.00 above REIs discounted price on the exact items. I also bought a backpack that was 44.00 cheaper and didn’t need to pay a membership fee to do it. With those kind of savings, I have a hard time buying major purchases at the REI store.
I also have a hard time wrapping my mind around the dividend program. I’d much rather see them lower the prices at the store than to use my money interest free all year and then write me a check that I have to use at their store in a given time. The whole divided/​membership fee thing seems scammy to me.
Why pay twenty bucks just to be able to return things with a receipt? Other stores do it all the time. Yeah I know, COOP, I get it. I still think it’s a scam.
Costco charges a membership fee but the trade off is that overall you save a lot of money.

4÷5÷2015. REI Bend Oregon Old Mill District. I drove from Southern California to Central Oregon. I was on a short vacation with my kids for three purposes: Trade in wifes gas hog SUV; visit parents; go snowboarding with kids. So I got a new VW Passat and made an appointment for Easter Sunday at a local business to get a Thule roof rack put on so monday we could load our gear in the Skybox that used to be on the roof of the SUV and head to the mountain. So I show up and the place that said they would place everything out ready to install are closed. Went to the only place open, REI, where they bent over backwards to do an immediate install for me. It would have been successful if only Thule had included all the parts in the kit. Gregg and Peggy were awesome and tried their best to get it right with all the obstacles in the way. They called every place they could think of to get parts same day but all were closed. The next day I had to load all of our snowboard gear through the trunk and into the back seat so we could go boarding. At the end of the day we stopped back into REI and they had gotten the parts and did a super quick install. I thought I was going to have to leave my $ 500.00 Skybox at my parents house 800 miles away but thanks to the awesome folks at REI I didn’t. Thanks Gregg, Peggy, Amy, and anyone else who helped me those two days with your great customer service.

Had a long list of equipment to buy to get my son geared up for Boy Scouts. Jorge, an REI employee, took a lot of time to walk us through each piece of equipment we were investing in. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. My son and I had purchased the wrong backpack last week only to realize it was not the kind he needed for scouting. Even though the tags had been taken off, REI took it back and gave me the full refund. Love this store.

Tried to exchange some cycling socks that my 13 year old bought for Christmas. Her own money. Wrong size.
To my surprise REI wouldn’t do it without a receipt, which of course my young daughter didn’t keep. Reason being «she could have bought them anywhere». Despite them having racks full of these things. Upsetting for my daughter.
Here’s a suggestion Bend REI, don’t assume your customers are lying. Particularly kids at holiday season.
Buy your socks at the Bend bike shops.

REI is great, easily the best outdoors store out there from casual campers who want quality gear to pros who need the best. An REI membership is more than worth it, and pays for itself with the dividend. This Bend Venue is also one of the best locations I’ve been to.

I have been an REI member since I started college 22 years ago. It has been a family institution since I was a kid too. I like their stuff and their in-​house brand has become just as functional, tough and fashionable as the big brands in recent years. I have always had good customer service from any of the stores I’ve visited from Denver to Portland to Seattle to Bend. I love their return policy which was amazing until some people took advantage and they had to curtail it to one year post purchase. I have rented XC skis and snowshoes from them and had great experiences. My gripes are about pricing… They cater to yuppies and people with money to burn which excludes whole swaths of people from their store. Their prices can be pretty steep. Not all outdoor gear is $ 300 on average. Search their clearance and sale racks to get a deal. I would also like them to carry more variety of equipment, especially in their cycling department. Poor selection of cycling apparel. I have been looking to replace my baggy FOX MTB shorts that have a hole in them, but I can’t find a suitable replacement here. Maybe it’s just this store, it’s not very big. I’d buy from REI in a heartbeat because of the dividend but they have like 2 models by FOX and they are not adequate for the kind of riding I do. Disappointed…

REI is a great resource for all things outdoors, or for their general concept being a co-​op (which is pretty rad), but for my overall shopping experience, it’s pretty mixed. For one, as big as the store is their overall selection seems pretty dismal. I also feel as though more often than not, I have tried to go into the local REI and get some help and there has been a severe lack of employees in order to do so. The reality of our world is if I have to stand around in line in order to get any help, I might as well just go online and order it. I firmly believe in brick-​n-​mortar shops but would much rather go to a true local shop, than REI. For the times I have had relatively timely assistance, it’s always been great and pretty friendly, so that I appreciate. Overall, shop more local, if you can, but REI is always a great last resource when no other spots have what you’re looking for.

What, can you say, we have been members since the early 80s. The folks are friendly, accommodating, and always ready to help when you need it.
Last month we were traveling in Portland and found a pair of shoes that I really wanted. They did not have my size, but when we arrived home in Bend Oregon a few days later, the shoes were waiting for me on our front porch…

This is a cool REI, it’s a bit trippy walking under the huge smoke stacks and giant cables, I always feel like one will snap and kill me. (Knock on wood.) REI is the best outdoor retailer because of their membership program, garage sales, and return policy. I never go anywhere else for my gear. They carry the best products and test them extensively. The staff is always polite and friendly. Never change REI, I love you just the way you are, I want to keep giving you my money forever and ever.

The Bend REI has a huge selection and good sales items. My husband and I always purchased our hiking shoes and «gear» here. The employees are knowledgeable with the different products and every one of them has their thing — either they are bikers, hikers, kayakers, or campers. If one person isn’t sure about what is the best product to recommend for a particular activity, they will find someone that does know. You can count on excellent customer service and a great selection of fun sports gear.

One of the greatest REI locations, in the Old Mill District. The staff are incredibly friendly and wonderful to work with. The manager, Dave, is always on the floor with the employees and customers (not up in the office hiding). The management over all is great. REI in general is a little pricey but the perks of being a Co-​Op member outweigh any hesitation I may have of shopping there.

Coolest REI I have ever been in. Great customer service and nice selection in clearance.

Love this place! I could easily spend a small fortune here.

I have an «it’s complicated» relationship with Return Every Item. As a member I really appreciate some of the innovative stuff they pioneered: the dividends, the slightly used equipment sales, and of course the return policy for which they are named (in hippie slang, at least).
What I don’t appreciate are the prices, the crowds, and the staff who have this amazing sixth sense of when I am just browsing and don’t want any help (because they’re all in my face and I can’t get rid of them), and when I’m seriously looking for help or have a question (because they all seem to run outside for a smoke break or something).
But despite the cons, I still keep coming back and probably will continue for as long as I’m able to enjoy the outdoors.

Glad to see REI has come to Bend. I couldn’t think of a better place for it.
It’s your standard store, just like all the others but a great location in the Old Mill District and right where you want to buy and use all your items.
We had a gift card that was burning a hole in our pocket so we went in and got some must needed items.
They were out of water purification kits. Tis, the season for that sort of thing I guess.
I won a bet with the main man when I said they had bathrooms upstairs and he wasn’t sure. So, keep that in mind folks as there are few public restrooms in this mall.

Earlier I whined about my experience at the Tualatin store. I don’t know what happened but the planets aligned at REI in Bend.
Gorgeous store in the Old Mill District filled with great stuff AND incredibly helpful staff. Lets face it, life is pretty damn good if you are a REI employee in Bend.
Got my first pair of Keen sandals (been looking for the right style for about a year). Best of all, I forgot my dividend notice and the cashier looked me up in the system, applied my dividend, gave me the member’s 20% discount and processed the sale in 30 seconds. Now that’s service!