From the outside it sounds like a great place to work. - Technician II REI Employee Review

2.0
Aug 9, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Prodeals/Employee discount Co-workers are usually awesome

Cons

Memberships are everything to this company. Sell them well, becomes a favorite, be average at selling them, mean less than dirt to them. The pay is AWFUL especially if you are a tech. You have to know more technical stuff on top of everything everyone else knows in the store and you might be getting paid less than a cashier who knows nothing which is already not enough to begin with. No seniority - A person starting yesterday who sells memberships better than a person who has worked here 15 years even with 0 knowledge can literally take all your hours. No loyalty - Management is infamous for never backing up employees to customers. You will be thrown under the bus even if you did everything right. Been asking to be trained in other areas of the store for 4 years now with 0 results. Camping sales lead asked for me to be personally trained in camping and was told no by management. So 0 opportunity for advancement. Management is awful. In the four years i've worked here the management turn over rate is scary; 12 managers at my store alone in 4 years. They will skimp hours everywhere they can to avoid paying you more. Example you have to work 25 hours on a holiday week to get holiday pay. They will purposely schedule everyone they can at 23 that week. If you aren't full time, never rely on having benefits. You will definitely roll under the 20 hour minimum required to maintain getting them. So if you get braces or something for dental one year, you might end up paying for them fully the next because you dropped nuder and are no longer receiving dental. They don't care about you at all. All they care about is selling memberships. You could be a 15 year veteran here, and if someone starts a week ago and sells more memberships, they will give you 10 hours a week and this new person who literally knows nothing about anything at the store, but sells memberships well 45 hours a week.

Explore other reviews about REI

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good managers, deals, coworkers, products

Cons

No cons, I really liked my time.

3.0
May 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most coworkers, some managers, discounts, outfitting people properly without extra nonsense

Cons

Some truly horrible managers, pressure to sell credit cards is a morale killer, the union people. Employees drinking the union kool aid fail to see the company’s position, REI cannot give higher pay, better benefits , consistent hours, etc… with the erratic revenue stream that comes in , if a 5 year average is X in revenue and 5 year average is Y on wages and costs, how are they supposed to increase wages and benefits? It’s numbers and they don’t line up, if REI gives the increases which increases the expenses greatly, they will cut staff, a lot fewer employees which will eliminate a bunch of union supporters, an REI job is not supposed to be a lucrative deal, when you get hired the part time , part time plus and full time options are there and you choose what you want fully understanding what hours you are going to get at minimum, they will hire those positions on a need basis, to cry later that you don’t make enough money is your fault, the terms were clear and you signed off on them. The union is promising rainbows , reality will be far different, careful what you wish for

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