REI recieves a pass/fail

Joshua Steenburgh wrote: I know! Orange slices, man! They naturally breed lazy people! Before I get into how sliced fruit is destroying our youth, could we get this site renamed "Crotchety Old Climbers"?

I see you have not been to supertopo yet.

I'm not siding with the guy returning old ass, busted shoes, but after thinking about it, under what circumstances would a true lifetime policy like Backcountry.com's be used legitimately? They state on their site that if "now, next month, in 30 years" you're not satisfied, you can return an item no questions asked. When would it be okay to return something after 5, 10 or 20 years? They are the ones putting that out there. It's a selling point for them. No one can be faulted for taking advantage of something the company is choosing to promote.

I was going to point out that returning a 3 y/o pair of used and abused shoes is the pinnacle of dirtbag dooshery, but I guess that's already been said. Carry on.

Did anyone not get the memo that no actual, existing shoes were purchased from REI, nor were they resoled three times and subsequently returned? There is also no Easter Bunny and your tooth that just came out of your mouth is not worth a quarter, unless you are still living at home and your mom is around.

When the op doesn't respond and you do, five times, you just got trolled.

REI sucks a bag of dicks and I return everything I can. Serves them right. Their return anything model has put most of the local retailers out of business. This is why I encourage everyone to return as much as you want, whenever you want, for what-ever reason you want. This co-op is not going broke anytime soon, but the country sure is.

Jonhy Q wrote: When the op doesn't respond and you do, five times, you just got trolled. REI sucks a bag of dicks and I return everything I can. Serves them right. Their return anything model has put most of the local retailers out of business. This is why I encourage everyone to return as much as you want, whenever you want, for what-ever reason you want. This co-op is not going broke anytime soon, but the country sure is.

You resent REI because they are more successful than some of their competition? They have policies that customers like? Who do they think they are? Occupy REI! Down with those capitalist pigs!

Very successful troll. People arguing & getting riled up, political rants, funny MEMs, at 5 pages and still going. A+

Something that has been totally missed in this thread is that I suspect that most people who interact with REI on a commercial level (not just trolling or flaming) are members of te CO-OP. That means you are an owner of the chain of stores and have all the rights of an owner.

To the OP: Did you vote for the current board members? Have you attended a general meeting of the co-op? You have the power to change their policies through organizing member initiatives.

Stop bitching and go for it.

Oh man, this was so much fun up to the Ewoks! Now we're getting all slogany...

Troll or douche, that was an excellent read this morning. Seems like most of y'all are good people- happy to know it!

Can we nominate an ewok to the board, or are they just there for forested assault/defense security?

Is the plural of "anus", "ani"?

muttonface wrote:I think what he's saying is that he resents them because they've become somewhat of a monopoly. There is merit in what he's saying. REI is the Walmart of outdoor shops. Yes they do have a great policy- for customers. I do think, however, that there is something to be said for shitting on the little guy that can't keep up. I know the argument very well. It's American consumerism. It's capitalism. If you can't keep up, you don't belong there. If you didn't have a business plan that turned your own shop into REI, then it's just natural selection in the business world. That's all fine and dandy until YOU are the little guy that gets a giant dump taken on him. I see both sides of the argument, and both have some validity. If I'm buying something I'm unsure about, that's where I go because I know I can go back and tell them it sucks and it's covered. Shitty? Perhaps. I don't feel like it's an abuse though. I'm certainly not going to bring in a well-used product at the end of its life and demand a replacement. For most other things, replacing gear, getting new gear from a manufacturer that I know makes quality stuff, I buy online usually from Bentgate, Al's, or somewhere similar. I'm surprised that in this discussion, no one has actually focused on price. I'm hard pressed to NOT find something I want discounted 20% off. Shoes are generally the hardest thing to find discounted. (certain ropes and specialty pieces, e.g. big bros, ball nuts are a close second). Even so, the majority of my climbing/outdoor purchases are 20% off retail or more. At REI, usually you'll pay retail, and then get 10% back in dividends. As a matter of fact, the only things you spend on that you'll get back in dividends are the things you purchase at retail price. So, by this logic, most of the time, you're still saving ten percent by purchasing somewhere other than REI. Sorry for diverging from the OP, and from the initial response.

Yes, damn REI for starting out as a little guy and having a successful business model! They should take all their profits from running their successful business and donate it to all the mom and pop stores.... Seriously? Whats your point?

Also to the other people posting it is not Return Everything Inc. They do have a good return policy but a lot of people get flagged and eventually denied for abusing the return policy.

Malcolm Daly wrote:Something that has been totally missed in this thread is that I suspect that most people who interact with REI on a commercial level (not just trolling or flaming) are members of te CO-OP. That means you are an owner of the chain of stores and have all the rights of an owner. To the OP: Did you vote for the current board members? Have you attended a general meeting of the co-op? You have the power to change their policies through organizing member initiatives. Stop bitching and go for it.

Lol.

I abused their bathroom yesterday while returning old crap and buying starbucks. Afterward I got jerked off in the underground parking garage by a butterface barista!

Randy W. wrote:I abused their bathroom yesterday while returning old crap and buying starbucks. Afterward I got jerked off in the underground parking garage by a butterface barista!

Best post by far

Butterface,hmm. butters

dam randy what store was this at?

FrankPS wrote: You resent REI because they are more successful than some of their competition? They have policies that customers like? Who do they think they are? Occupy REI! Down with those capitalist pigs!

No, I resent REI because they put myself and friends personally out of business with these wonderful customer friendly policies. I say, since they developed those policies to rule the market, take advantage of them. What the hell is the point of creating a policy that you aren't supposed to use?

And why are you attacking our wonderful mixed market system? Are you a pinko-communist or something? You might want to lay off the Faux news Frank, it's beginning to affect your discourse.

Jonhy Q wrote: No, I resent REI because they put myself and friends personally out of business with these wonderful customer friendly policies.

I don't know your friends but judging from your vitriolic online persona I am personally glad REI put you - personally - out of business. Warms the cockles of me heart, it does.

Hmmm... now how to spend my dividend?

Maybe the Ewok is supposed to be the barista??