Is REI a good company to work for?

REI has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 4,512 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 64% of employees would recommend working at REI to a friend and 33% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about REI have been left by employees working as Store Sales Specialist , Retail Specialist and Frontline Staff .

Does REI pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, REI employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at REI. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at REI?

64% of REI employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated REI 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at REI?

Sales Associate (637) , Sales Specialist (464) , Retail Sales Associate (327) , Retail Sales Specialist (179) , Sales Lead (151) , Customer Service Specialist (109) , Customer Service Representative (103) , Cashier (49) , Sales Associate/Cashier (38) , Retail Sales Manager (35) , Customer Service (31) , Warehouse Associate (31) , Sales (30) , Sales Representative (29) , Frontline Cashier (27)

What are the pros of working at REI according to real employee reviews?

"Great for people that enjoy the outdoors particularly if you are looking for deep discounts on outdoor product for yourself." ((in 478 reviews)); "Coworkers are great and the general technical acumen is high." ((in 364 reviews)); "They give you a great discount on all store merchandise as well as comprehensive benefits." ((in 346 reviews)); "REI has a great culture for those who are or want to be involved with the outdoors." ((in 201 reviews)); "Great work life balance is great." ((in 131 reviews))

What are the cons of working at REI according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and even lower pay for those with over 20 years in the company." ((in 367 reviews)); "Bad management and not much growth" ((in 260 reviews)); "Some managers don't appreciate hard work and favor employees who make them feel liked." ((in 114 reviews)); "Long hours and difficult to have a consistent schedule" ((in 105 reviews)); "It’s still retail and the wages are low." ((in 28 reviews))

What are employees saying about REI layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about REI layoffs and their outlook for job security at REI in 2026.

What are the top reviewed REI locations?

Seattle , Kent , Sumner , Denver , New York , San Diego , Portland , Atlanta , San Francisco , Austin , Chicago , Boston , Berkeley , Bellevue , Houston , Tustin , Boulder , Issaquah , Los Angeles , Goodyear , Salt Lake City , Framingham , Washington , Columbus , Bloomington , Dallas , San Antonio , Bedford , Phoenix , San Carlos

REI reviews

3.6

64% would recommend to a friend

(4,373 total reviews)

Mary Beth Laughton

38% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (4,373 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

REI has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 4,373 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

1.0

Oct 1, 2023

Don't work here

Sales and customer service

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You can work from home

Cons

Terrible pay, terrible leadership, terrible customers

2.0

Aug 31, 2023

Not what I expected

Sales specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Discounts for employees Good starting salary

Cons

They make you sell the memberships, they really push it and you feel the pressure for it. Customers have a strange impression that we should know everything, old models, new models, benefits of one brand over another and a million more questions and they get mad if we don't know the answer, they don't have patience. The prices are not cheap at all, which means that the type of regular customer are the MAGA type who feel that they should be treated like they are superior, many Karens...

5.0

Aug 19, 2023

Great Employer

Sales lead

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There are many pros to working for REI. From health insurance to fair compensation to wonderful coworkers. I felt that all of words were heard and considered when working for REI Co-Op. These days, you don't even have to be full time to receive benefits from REI. That says a thousand words in reference to care for the employees.

Cons

Some cons of working at REI: Monotonous work that can definitely cause burn out. You will work a lot of weekends, even as a manager due to busy hours. Since REI is a large corporation, you don't always have a strong preference in the way that things are done. Lastly, REI is reducing the amount of gear that they sell and increasing the amount of clothing and/or fad items. As a believer in the Co-Op, this breaks my heart knowing where REI's roots are from.

Viewing 541 - 543 of 4,373 Reviews

Jobs at REI

Store Sales Specialist

Store Sales Specialist

Greenwood Village, CO

Store Sales Specialist

Store Sales Specialist

Store Sales Specialist

REI

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