REI reviews

3.6

63% would recommend to a friend

(4,361 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 4,361 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
May 14, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Customers can be awesome -Discounts (50% off REI products, 30% off all other brands) -Pro-dealing through companies -Work parties and management bringing on food which helped especially on days where there was a big sale -Breaks were fair and reasonable -Awesome pay for the job (start out at $9.90 an hour)

Cons

At my location, I had the unfortunate experience of working with management who were corrupt. They based their decisions based on politics and popularity of the individual. If you weren't in their inner circle, you weren't treated fairly. There was NO POSSIBLE WAY to make any of the managers happy. You think you're doing it right, and a manager tells you you're wrong. I was also shoved out of the way by a manager (literally) for dealing with a customer in the wrong way. The registers were made so that our backs were constantly to the customers and management would complain about us never looking back to see if customers were in line. ALSO, I worked there for a year and there was NO hope that I would ever move off of Frontline. I know that I did a great job, but management failed to base hours and promotions on job performance. There was absolutely no positive reinforcement. If something was my fault, I was battered and criticized until I cried. I had one specific manager that would constantly berate me, no matter what I did. It just seems like it would be a great place to work if the management wasn't as awful as it was at the Northville, MI location. Don't work here. STAY AWAY.

2.0
May 11, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's a relatively easy job, even in customer service with difficult customers that come there w/ problems.

Cons

The ideals/image of REI & the reality are not exactly the same. Very corporate The scheduling became increasingly difficult. Low compensation Having to push "memberships" Boredom factor... it is retail after all. Could be worse (as in sales associate) It's not as portable of a job as one would think... I know one person who moved cross country & was promised close to FT hours but kept getting less than 20h/wk. Evaluations are done thru some system that was clearly brought (bought) from some management consulting (software) company... not always reflective or considerate of all the factors.

5.0
May 3, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people - REI has an active, engaged workforce. Pleasant culture - the need to find balance between working hard and having fun is not only acknowledged but encouraged.

Cons

Some managers were reluctant to ask employees to be accountable - but I think that happens in any organization and is thankfully it is rare at REI.

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Glassdoor has 4,499 REI reviews submitted anonymously by REI employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if REI is right for you.