New REI Bitch Thread

[chirp]

 

.

 

[corvallisclimb]

who gives a damn when you can return every fuckin item you buy!

[zoroastr]

http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0325/news-rei.php

[SemoreJugs]

wow. That was quite a well-done piece. The fact that Madsen doesnt give one satisfying or even complete answer is the most revealing part. I wonder, how many members of cc.com are REI members? At least 1,000 I would bet, we would only need 20,000 more signatures to run for the board. If we replace the entire thing at once, we can set REI back in reverse. Downsize that bitch. Unwalmart it. Fire MAdsen. And get the fuck rid of the toblerones!!!!

[John Frieh]

Wayne Colwell was one of my managers back in the day at Eugene... no suprise they paired the author up with him... what are the chances someone committed to a career with REI give a bad imagine of the company?

 

Wayne is a prime example of one of the many things wrong with REI... they put someone who is so out of touch with gear and the outdoors (dude owned piles of shit but never went out of town) in buyer based positions. It's guys like Wayne that are responsible for 28 options in "sport sandles" and 2 options in mtneering boots.

 

That's why I buy elsewhere unless I know I am going to wear it out in 6 months and return it.

[cj001f]

At least 1,000 I would bet, we would only need 20,000 more signatures to run for the board. If we replace the entire thing at once, we can set REI back in reverse.

You can't replace the whole board at once - there is a limit(2?) on the number of write-in board members allowable at any one time. They've enough other restrictions in place to make it practically impossible to win as a write-in, and impossible to effect change if you do get elected.

 

It'd still be a sweet job as a climber. $20k a year for 1.5 days a month work. If you ask REI they'll provide you a packet of information on canidacy requirements.

[SemoreJugs]

hmmmm.

This information saddens me. If we cannot change it from the inside, we must change it by exposing them for what they really are.

 

The worst kind of criminals. A bunch of toblerone dealers.

 

I'm going to make a sign and picket in front of the espresso cart everyday. The sign will read in really really really tint tiny letters.

 

"Did you know REI pushes TOBLERONE on our Unsuspecting youth? sometimes, REI even sells BABY strollerS!!!!! And there is a dam below the waterfall, and now the swedish fish cant swim upstream to pop the chocolate covered cherries. Its a true corporate-retail-guised-as-a-co-op disaster!

 

The toblerone wards at Harborview are filling faster than these kids can go into insulin shock and drink their mountain dews. Once, I saw one kid fall to his death at the REI pinnacle when he tried to belay with a keychain biner. If only they kept keychain biners production in america, the biner would have borne a stamp reading "not for climbing use". But instead it read, "made in China".

 

seriously, why didnt the author of that artice interview Lloyd Anderson or Jim Whittaker? Why dont those guys take a stand against REI's sullying of its co-op roots?

 

I think that is the saddest thing of all. They must have sold out and are getting money still from REI. Has anyone heard them lament at all about the fall of their gear-child???

 

I know T-baby, I know. Now drink your MILK!

[JAFO]

Face it guys you all love REI and will continue to go there. Also you will continue to bitch about it. Look. I love REI too and I will always bitch about it. You see it's like Disneyland,

(the motherstore) you get pretty little paintings by your parking spot. The waterfall and not to mention painted cement to look like wood! Plus you can paruse the "mountainbike test track" and enjoy the perils of reading your favorite zine on top of the huge glass compass. All this while sipping a $3.50 "luna C". Then when that gets borring you can go out on to the balcony and watch people feel like they have done something "extreme".

 

*slap!* Now when I am done with my outdoor relaxation time I will walk accross the street to Featherd Friends to buy the real stuff. Like leaper cams and keyhole hangers, rivet hangers and get advice from some real climbers who can tell me about bringing wing nuts down to the valley (worked awsome!) and other tidbits of usefullness not handed out at REI. But I will continue to go there anyway because I like gear and cool buildings.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Why's everyone so cheesed off about Toblerone? They've been selling that shit for as long as DFA can remember, at least since the Seattle store was the only store. Sounds like y'all are a bunch of Johnny-come-lately poseur types to this Doctor.

[thelawgoddess]

hey, i LOVE toblerone. and i have loved it since before i had ever even heard of an REI. cheapest place to get it is at the border, though ...

[gabbro]

Post deleted by gabbro

[knotzen]

I hate REI because they make you walk all the way upstairs to make a return. Like we're mountain climbers or something.

[Koolaid]

Not a fan of OR?

 

...fyi, they have gotten alot better and guarantee their products for life. They have a shop in S. Seattle and replace or repair any OR thing you have....

Edited August 19, 2005 by Koolaid

[K_Y_L_E]

 

Not a fan of OR?

 

...fyi, they have gotten alot better and guarantee their products for life. They have a shop in S. Seattle and replace or repair any OR thing you have....

 

Yeah except the last time I went in (a seam blew on one of my fleece/schoeller jackets) I was told I could pick a new one, which was a new style I did not like and only in bright red. When I said I would just like the old one fixed they said it would be 3-4 MONTHS because they only had one guy sewing stuff for the entire U.S.

I thought that was weak. I just took my old jacket home with me. Now I have one side that has a breast and hand pocket and the other has one big ass long pocket. Whatever. Still good stuff.

Kyle

[seawallrunner]

well, rei is not a mountaineering store

 

Given that rei and mec (in canada) have drifted from their original focus -- where do you go, to buy reliable mountaineering gear? looks like both coops have left a void to fill.

[ScottP]

Yeah except the last time I went in (a seam blew on one of my fleece/schoeller jackets) I was told I could pick a new one, which was a new style I did not like and only in bright red. When I said I would just like the old one fixed they said it would be 3-4 MONTHS because they only had one guy sewing stuff for the entire U.S.

I thought that was weak. I just took my old jacket home with me. Now I have one side that has a breast and hand pocket and the other has one big ass long pocket. Whatever. Still good stuff.

Kyle

 

[Figger_Eight]

Toblerone has to be the worst tasting chocolate in the world. Period.

[catbirdseat]

well, rei is not a mountaineering store

 

Given that rei and mec (in canada) have drifted from their original focus -- where do you go, to buy reliable mountaineering gear? looks like both coops have left a void to fill.

There are places. They exist. They just don't have the flashiness and pizazz.

[whidbey]

Toblerone sucks ass!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ask Bush... it's all under control.....

[K_Y_L_E]

Yeah except the last time I went in (a seam blew on one of my fleece/schoeller jackets) I was told I could pick a new one, which was a new style I did not like and only in bright red. When I said I would just like the old one fixed they said it would be 3-4 MONTHS because they only had one guy sewing stuff for the entire U.S.

I thought that was weak. I just took my old jacket home with me. Now I have one side that has a breast and hand pocket and the other has one big ass long pocket. Whatever. Still good stuff.

Kyle

 

 

Yeah Scott...I sew Like a retarded monkey. I mean I can make a balaklava (sp?) out of a leg of my spare poly-pro, and it will do the job. But on an expensive (relatively) jacket I would rather the pros handle it. But like I said...I kinda like the big pocket

peace

Kyle

[matt_m]

The major challenge with ANY shop trying to be a "climbing shop" is that climbers are 1) an extremely small consumer group 2) tend to spend conservatively 3) are picky bastards 4) like to complain

 

SO - truly be a successful shop (in a climbers eye) you need to have a VAST assortment of gear and knowledge and have it at a good price. From a business perspective this is a hard thing to do and even harder to do well. Having lots of selection/inventory is costly so unless you have a lot of throughput it's very difficult to carry a BROAD selection. Even harder is to match low prices because your sales volume is low. Internet shops are successful because they can reach A LOt of climbers and thus their volumes can remain higher and in turn their prices can be lower. You guys can bitch all you want but the reality is climbers a bad consumers. There are only a few places I can think of where you have a destination climbing area, solid climber culture, the $$ demographic and the through put to maintain a good shop. Rock and Snow in NY with the Gunks up the Street and NYC an hour and half away. The Mtn Shop in Yos. IME or EMS in North Conway, NH Others? Yes Seattle has a lot of diverse climbing opportunities and frankly, with the $$ in this town and the climbing from Squamish to Smith I'm surprised there isn't a Rock and Snow esque shop in town. There are lots of options and combined you can get what you want. REI contributes to this selection as does FF, Jim's Shop, Marmot, Cascade Crags and even Mgear.com. No one place has everything though and I don't expect them to. Also of note is a certain "anti-gratuitous-gear" attitude found in the PNW. The tree hugging trickles down to gear purchases too. In the gunks EVERY newbie had a new shinny rack of C4s and no one blinked an eye (Rock and Snow rolls in the $$). Here, there's a certain 'tude if you have shiny stuff and drive a new audi all-road. Different strokes for different folks.

 

All in all - I get gear from all of the above and don't expect one shop to have everything. Bitching about REI not having one thing and having too much of another is silly. Name me one shop that has all your needs. Me - I like having multiple shops because each one offers something different. I've never liked the "vibe" at FF for example but they have stuff that other shops don't. Jim's place is cool as is Marmot. REI? Frankly I LIKE going with my Girlfirend or family and getting my world wrap and smoothie, playing with the newest stove and buying new carabiners (They have the new DMM spectres for example). And Just so I feel like a PNW rebel - I get a stylie softshell and a Startbucks before I leave.

Edited September 22, 2005 by matt_m

[cj001f]

Also of note is a certain "anti-gratuitous-gear" attitude found in the PNW. The tree hugging trickles down to gear purchases too. In the gunks EVERY newbie had a new shinny rack of C4s and no one blinked an eye

[Dru]

well, rei is not a mountaineering store

 

Given that rei and mec (in canada) have drifted from their original focus -- where do you go, to buy reliable mountaineering gear? looks like both coops have left a void to fill.

 

The selection at MEC Vancouver is still comparable to a good independent store like Escape route, Valhalla Pure or Climb-On squamish.

 

I mean Murray carries prana tops and $200 Chaco sandals and no one says he's sold out....

 

Mountain Magic and Monods in Banff are still the best non-coop stores specifically for mountaineering, they can sell to all the mountain tourists who wanna walk up and down the Cave and Basin Trail in plastic boots.

[magellan]

About four years ago I went to REI for crampons. I ended up getting the most expensive pair, because I couldn't say no to the salesgirl. Recently at the mothership I tried on every softshell there, came home and ordered the one I wanted online for 30% off, no tax, no shipping. Now who's bitchin?

[zeroforhire]

wow... you guys are the most hard to please bastards I have ever seen... REI, while not perfect, certainly doesn't deserve the crap you throw at it. Good place to shop, great place to work; and it carries a broad spectrum of gear. Prices aren't the best, but the return policy kicks the crap out of any other... quit your complaining, and shop somewhere else if you really can't stand it.