REI Reviews

Former Employee – worked at REI part-time for more than a year

Pros – Company treats employees very well through benefits, small acts of appreciation. Very well paid for a retail job.

Cons – Customers are usually well off and can act very snobby, because of the return policy, it reinforces the saying, "Customers are always right" which just encourages customers to be even ruder when things don't go their way. Work experience can heavily depend on who is on the management team.

Advice to Senior Management – Really consider who you put on your management team, my experience went from awesome to not so great when 2 of the managers switched out. If you're going to move great managers into HQ, please replace them with equally competent ones.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at REI full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Fantastic work environment, great benefits

Cons – Only possible advancement through retail if able to relocate over and over...

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at REI full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Work life balance was great

Cons – low pay, low pay, low pay

Advice to Senior Management – chill

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at REI full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Great benefits and they really take care of you

Cons – I worked retail and couldnt stand some of the customers

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at REI

Pros – Great environment to working and amazing management.

Cons – Vendor orders can be very complicated when there isn't a system to follow up on.

Advice to Senior Management – There could be some extra training with vendor orders.

Current Employee – been working at REI full-time for more than a year

Pros – Great coworkers and management. Good pay and benefits package. Good customers and a fun environment to work in. Room for advancement for those who are willing to put in the effort and are able to relocate.

Cons – Limited opportunities for full time employment. Irregular working hours that include nights and weekends. Company is going through a lot of change currently which can be stressful.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at REI full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Genuine endorsement for spending time outdoors whether going out for a jog over the lunch hour or getting into the mountains on weekends.

Cons – Heavily bureaucratic and siloed in approach to decision-making and innovation. Lacking an inspiring organizational and brand vision beyond promoting discounts and sales.

Advice to Senior Management – Find a visionary leader. Embrace unique status as a co-op. Create a bias toward action rather than a bias toward including more decision-makers.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at REI

Pros – Very progressive company.
Trying to be creative in staying competitive in a challenging environment.
Ensure that all employees had access to some type of health insurance (although basic).
Positive public image, people get excited when you say you worked for them.
Really good discounts.
If you are looking for part-time work to subsidize your income this is a great job.

Cons – Raises are small, if any. Hours are often being cut. Hours are not consistent.

Can be frustrating because they can be slow (or reluctant) to change in some areas.

Inconsistent in communicating to employees. Too much on some topics, minimal on others.
Future opportunities are questionable--REI recently released a lot of employees, some of which had been there up to twenty years. In addition they were very closed mouthed about this and not up front with the employees about their reasons, which made some staff uncomfortable about their future and what they needed to do to keep their jobs.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at REI as a contractor for more than a year

Pros – Very nice people, pretty campus, positive vibe in most departments.

Cons – They have turned into a profit chasing corporate assembly line at their HQ. Obsession with constantly expanding the profit margin at the expense of organizational stability. The IT department is run by clueless middle managers with no passion for or deep knowledge of IT. Cost cutting is king and jobs are outsourced to cheap workers in India. Onsite contract employees are treated poorly. Recent layoffs of employees that have been there for years so that their jobs can be outsourced, show that REI is focused on the numbers, not the people. Many of their best IT people have left or are leaving. Work life balance is a lie for the IT department.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop chasing endless growth and re-focus on building a really great company that can withstand the test of time. Money can't buy loyalty.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at REI full-time for more than a year

Pros – Great culture and enjoyed working with co-workers and in house management.
Faith in products being sold.

Cons – Company so focused on customer satisfaction that they allow themselves to be ripped off with returns.
Endorsement for management is decided by a phone call with someone you may only meet once or twice in the course of a year instead of the in house management that works with you on a daily basis.

Advice to Senior Management – Endorsement process should be handled by in store management team and not by district manager!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend