Horrible experience, don't work at this location! - Customer Service Specialist REI Employee Review

2.0
14 May 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Customers can be awesome -Discounts (50% off REI products, 30% off all other brands) -Pro-dealing through companies -Work parties and management bringing on food which helped especially on days where there was a big sale -Breaks were fair and reasonable -Awesome pay for the job (start out at $9.90 an hour)

Cons

At my location, I had the unfortunate experience of working with management who were corrupt. They based their decisions based on politics and popularity of the individual. If you weren't in their inner circle, you weren't treated fairly. There was NO POSSIBLE WAY to make any of the managers happy. You think you're doing it right, and a manager tells you you're wrong. I was also shoved out of the way by a manager (literally) for dealing with a customer in the wrong way. The registers were made so that our backs were constantly to the customers and management would complain about us never looking back to see if customers were in line. ALSO, I worked there for a year and there was NO hope that I would ever move off of Frontline. I know that I did a great job, but management failed to base hours and promotions on job performance. There was absolutely no positive reinforcement. If something was my fault, I was battered and criticized until I cried. I had one specific manager that would constantly berate me, no matter what I did. It just seems like it would be a great place to work if the management wasn't as awful as it was at the Northville, MI location. Don't work here. STAY AWAY.

Explore other reviews about REI

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun time with fun employees

Cons

Schedule was tricky to coordinate

3.0
20 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Excellent coworkers - REI does a great job of hiring enthusiastic and personable staff - Slightly better pay compared with other retail in the area - Prodeals and discounts - Flexible hours - Good (although rapidly diminishing) healthcare benefits

Cons

- Once a (better) company known for its investment in knowledgeable and friendly staff via extensive training and investment, the company has been slowly slashing away at most of what makes it special since the pandemic - Hours and benefits are worsening, proper employee training is becoming hard to come by - lots of mediocrity and sometimes questionable ethical calls made by management - Punitive disciplinary policies that seem to be designed to create higher turnover (advantageous to them given the gradual pay, benefit and policy changes)

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