REI reviews

3.6

64% would recommend to a friend

(4,365 total reviews)
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Mary Beth Laughton

38% approve of CEO

34% positive business outlook

REI has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 4,365 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The REI employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
2.0
Apr 23, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employee discount - 20% off everything in the store, 50% off REI brand, and special deals on top of that. Minimal availability requirements for PT - 2 half shifts during the week, one full shift on weekends. PT health benefits. The store overall is a little higher class than most retail, which means a higher percentage of customers who don't suck. They actually pay above minimum wage for starting positions if the cost of living in your city is high.

Cons

If you're PT, and almost everyone in a starting position is, you may frequently only get 5 hours of work a week. "Black-out dates" - days when you're not allowed to request time off - cover roughly 90% of the calendar! It's impossible to take a week off to go visit family at *any* time of the year. These stores live and breathe through the folks who do floor sales - the people with astounding product knowledge - and they aren't paid much more than a cashier.

3.0
Sep 25, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Best customers in any retail store ANYWHERE Super Community Outreach Program Great Product and Gear Above Average Employees

Cons

Very frustrating place to work. Supervisors and managers do not seem to be held accountable for anything except their "metrics"; and so there is complacency amongst management. They have a boss they meet with twice a year or so...otherwise they seem to operate with total autonomy.

2.0
Mar 7, 2024

REI is failing

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-REI attracts good people. I loved my coworkers -I experienced steady pay increases over 4 years. -benefits are quite good, and mental health is valued. -it’s supposed to be fun!

Cons

-as a department manager, there is very little you can do when your store manager is negatively impacting the business or employee experience. All store info flows through them to upper management so they are protected from proper course correction. If they aren’t receptive to your feedback, you’re stuck. -it is becoming rapidly corporate, and losing much of what makes it special. The decision to hire big box corporate leaders is eroding the thing that made REI what it was. -the relentless pursuit of membership sucks the life out of working for REI. It became cult like towards the end. -unless you’re interested in management, there really isn’t room for growth in retail. -completely random schedule at all times. Week to week, I never knew when I would be scheduled. I had to have completely wide open availability from 7am-9:30pm everyday. Meaning it’s difficult to make plans outside of work. As a result, work life balance ultimately sucks. Oh, and you rarely get two days off in a row.

Viewing 4258 - 4260 of 4,365 Reviews

Glassdoor has 4,503 REI reviews submitted anonymously by REI employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if REI is right for you.