REI

I am a member of REI. I'm not a frequent shopper, but I do buy bicycle equipment, hiking boots and some clothing there. I purchased several National Park tee-shirts at Fairfax Corner store as Christmas gifts. They were great quality for the price. One of the shirts was the wrong size, so I tried to exchange it. The store didn't have the shirt I wanted in the correct size. When I went to the counter to return the shirt, I asked if they had the correct size at another store. The counter person immediately scanned my item and said the nearest store with the item was 100 miles away. I thought that was the end of the story. However, the REI employee said he could order one for me and have it delivered to my local store or have it delivered to my house. He said since I was a member that home delivery was free. I arranged for home delivery and received the new shirt in about 5 days. This is exactly what I wanted. Great job REI. You saved the day and now my daughter and her husband have matching Parks Project tee shirts. You greatly exceeded my expectations. Plus, I am still loving the hiking boots I purchased over five years ago and bicycle shorts I purchased two years ago. I'm looking forward to my next visit. Great job!

Disappointed in staff and management behavior. While shopping a couple days ago the staff accidentally overfilled a tire causing a very loud explosion. Several people screamed and others went into duck-and-cover. It would have been simple to just call out and let patrons know what occurred. In this day and age and with a large veteran population in the area, that would have been common courtesy. My sister and I were near a lady who was visibly upset and frightened. My sister asked an associate if they could let people know what happened in an announcement and she looked at my sister like she was insane, very rudely said no, and walked off. On our way out my sister saw the manager and relayed calmly and quietly that she was disappointed in how things were handled and how she was treated. The manager barely acknowledged her and said, ‘Sorry you feel that way’ and turned away. My sister is a world traveler and wilderness hiker. To say she has spent tens of thousands of dollars at that REI is no exaggeration. They will not be seeing another dime from her, there are plenty of other resources for her equipment and they lost our loyalty.

I suggest you bring a large clear leaf bag with you for your purchases. We enjoyed our experience until we checked out out. Their “no bag policy” is ridiculous. They had small totes unsuitable for larger bulkier items typical of winter the apparel for sale. Customers and members are left to carry a large number of purchases loosely gathered up in their arms to their car.This is a recipe for being a crime victim or losing expensive purchases. Not good.

Visited after checking online and here, on 9/3/23 @ 1pm, and the store was closed with no warning and without specific cause. Extremely disheartening when traveling to a decent hike and counting on REI for gear to accomplish said hike. Now, let’s hope the Tyson’s location is open. Holiday weekend with a store closed in these times is tough to accept. Maybe I’m just being sensitive due to my situation?

We have a great experience every time we go here. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Today was another wonderful experience and we were assisted by Dominic. He was super friendly and went out of his way to help us and explain REI’s discount policy when we didn’t even ask about it. He helped us save a decent amount of money.