REI COMING TO CHATTANOOGA

JUST SOMETHING I HEARD!!!!!

lame

Being totally unfamiliar with the town, but knowing it's a huge climbers paradise,,I'm shocked they never had a store there before. Who was the competiton that was keeping them out of the area? Is EMS big that far south, or mostly up in northeastern states? Eddie Bauer stores? LL Bean outlets? What was the major supplier of climbing gear and quality camping stuff in the past? Will an REI do them bad business juju?

Rock Creek is the major supplier of gear in Chatt. Nothing else present (that I know of). Ehhh I'm not the biggest fan of rock creek so.. an REI actually might be nice. Too bad I don't live there anymore...

one is supposed to open in Knoxville this year

Cool! Chattanooga is really coming along. I would totally live there.

Dawson Wheeler, the owner of Rock Creek Outfitters absolutely squandered the best, most active community of employees that you could ever have in the outdoor industry. I worked there for a year and a half. When I first came on board, the store was staffed by an incredibly active and knowledgeable staff that contributed to every aspect of Chattanooga Outdoor adventure.

It was almost funny watching him throw it all away. He fostered an incredibly stressful and unhealthy work environment, forcing managers to work 50+ hour weeks with no overtime. He had a staff of managers and employees who were skilled and passionate about outdoor recreation. But chose to let them all go in favor of a sedentary group of clock punchers who knew more about folding North Face t-shirts than properly sizing climbing shoes.

There are still a few good people there, two managers in particular will always stand out to me as a truly kind and generous souls. But I oftentimes wander why they haven't
taken their skills elsewhere.

Rock Creek Outfitters is a company that cares more for its bottom line than customer service and employee well being. I'm sure that the work environment and employee hours have become even more laughable with the requirements of the affordable healthcare act.

I'm sure that REI is going to take Rock Creek out to the woodshed for a beating, and I wish them the best of luck. No one should have sympathy for this "little guy" company as they get pushed out by a big national corporation.

Maybe post this in a regional thread. Not something the rest of the country needs to hear about.

Will Butler wrote:Maybe post this in a regional thread. Not something the rest of the country needs to hear about.

It is in a regional thread. "Southern States Forum". Maybe you should double check before you say something.

Ahh I see. My bad. Wonder why that was showing in my forum thread here in CO?

Btw, it's incredibly douchey to bash a former employer online using some rediculous alias. Enjoy the shopping.

My name's Will Eslinger. And this is an online forum where usernames are less commonly someone's actual name than some "alias" as you put it. It would be different if I had suddenly created the account to trash my former employer anonymously. But this is an account that I've used for a while. The above post contains opinions that I would happily share face to face with anyone involved in the Rock Creek organization.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the silver lining to all of this is that almost all of the quality former employees have moved onto much more fulfilling careers. Some are gear reps, some work in fish and wildlife management, one is a park ranger in glacier NP, and another is in management at a Fortune 100 company.

don'tchuffonme wrote: How about how does that pile of...

Check your own sentence structure before calling out others.

And yeah. Lesson learned here. Carry on.

History lesson for the youngsters. Rock Creek grew out of a cool little gear shop called Canoeist Headquarters. We would go in, hang out, buy stuff, exchange stories and route info with Dawson, and to a greater extent Marvin. And often see Marvin cruising effortlessly through The Sunset Girdle Traverse early on weekend mornings up on Lookout Mountain. I also remember catching Paul Piana's slideshow about the Free Salathe' up there in that little store on Hixson Pike. That was a pretty big deal at the time. Awe inspiring even.

They saw the trend in online retailing and took advantage and grew their business. I, for one, don't fault them a bit. I also don't believe that retail...even management...was ever designed as a career that would allow one to live the American Dream. It's a stepping stone at best. And it sounds from Will's post that it has been just that for several former Rock Creek employees.

I, myself, worked for an arm of the company called The Adventure Guild back in the day at The Walnut Wall for a brief time while I was going to school. Least money, and most fun I've ever had "working".

All this to say...Rock Creek aint exactly Walmart. Don't get it twisted.

Paul Barnes wrote:Don't get it twisted.

Right on, Paul.
I, for one, would prefer REI not come to town....
Rock Creek does fine by me when in town or if my local store doesn't carry something.
As to Rock Creek growing their business in modern times.....hurray for those dudes.

Will Butler wrote: Check your own sentence structure before calling out others.

Hahaha. Fuck. Keen eye, Mr. Butler. Keen eye.

Careful whatcha wish for Jake. It's been my experience that a set of Atros or DMM alloy offsets can escape a notchless biner quicker than you can say "Now I'm Fucked." I carry nothing but notchless biners EXCEPT for the one holding small wires. To each his own though.

Now...back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Jake Jones wrote: Unfortunately where I live in my little pocket of central VA, I don't really have a choice. …...My $.02.

Thats a specific piece of gear, like you stated. Most sets of nuts already come with a "free" carabiner. Nuts with 'biner So trying to add-on a specific biner would almost be too redundant. Wouldnt you feel like they are trying to upsell you something if what you are buying already comes with a free one?

Jake,

My disdain for REI has to do more with their big box nature, but your customer service (or lack thereof) story is another gripe.

If you must order online, why not use a legit company like GearExpress, BentGate, or Neptune instead of dealing with REI?

Rock and Snow, Rock Creek, and Alabama Outdoors all do the online thing and are all decent shops, as well.

When I got started, I acquired a good bit of equipment from GearExpress. They are my go-to online retailer for climbing-specific gear.

BHMBen wrote:Jake, My disdain for REI has to do more with their big box nature, but your customer service (or lack thereof) story is another gripe. If you must order online, why not use a legit company like GearExpress, BentGate, or Neptune instead of dealing with REI? Rock and Snow, Rock Creek, and Alabama Outdoors all do the online thing and are all decent shops, as well. When I got started, I acquired a good bit of equipment from GearExpress. They are my go-to online retailer for climbing-specific gear.

I'd add gearx.com to that as well. I'll only order online if my local store can't order or doesn't carry the product im looking for. Always try and support to the local family owned business. Shout out to High Country Outfitters.

Paul Barnes wrote:All this to say...Rock Creek aint exactly Walmart. Don't get it twisted.

Oh, I absolutely agree 100%. Wal Mart treats it's employees much better than Rock Creek.

Paul Barnes wrote:History lesson for the youngsters. Rock Creek grew out of a cool little gear shop called Canoeist Headquarters. We would go in, hang out, buy stuff, exchange stories and route info with Dawson, and to a greater extent Marvin..

Let's be real here. Dawson beta was simply regurgitated Marvin beta.