REI reviews

By far, the largest con would be the total emphasis on membership sales. It does not matter what else an employee brings to the table. If they don’t push the membership as hard as possible, they will be penalized in some fashion. My membership sales were fine, but REI’s treatment of employees hinges entirely on one metric. That is not at all what you would expect from a company that works so hard to appear different from other big box stores. Also: Poor compensation, Lack of focus on employee knowledge and competencies, and the fact that they market themselves through virtue signaling and pandering. Trust me, they don’t really care about anything beyond their bottom line. Seeing behind the curtain was discouraging as a longtime member of the co-op… which is not an actual co-op, by the way. Members do not get to choose board members or vote on many important issues. REI used to be run by folks who love the outdoors. It has gone 100% corporate and uses the environmental/inclusivity platform to guarantee growth.

I've never worked for a company as dishonest, disconnected, and deceptive as REI. The company sells itself as one that "loves the outdoors" and believes that "a life outdoors is a life well-lived," which is a cute motto but not practiced in reality. REI is a retail store, nothing more. It punishes employees for trying to take time off to adventure outside (which directly contradicts its marketing strategy that shows its employees using the gear and being "experts in the field.") I was terminated without my knowledge, while in the backcountry hiking the Colorado Trail, even though I had this time approved. REI only cares about one thing: selling memberships. REI generates millions of dollars a year in revenue just from getting people to buy into a stupid co-op that strives to put smaller retailers and brands out of business. It lies to customers about where the funds go, saying "a portion goes to the National Forest service" lol not true. Each district decides where less than 1% of proceeds go, which almost never impact the local community or environment. REI is an organization that hopes people never realize that the "I" stands for "incorporated" and instead believe that it is a small, grassroots business rather than a large corporation. I had to deal with sexual harassment from an employee that had a history of workplace sexual harassment at REI and he didn't get fired until I made another claim. I also had a large bay door malfunction and close with me underneath it and management told me "it worked like it was supposed to". REI doesn't care about its employees or the outdoors, it only cares about money.