I bought a bike from REI and had a few problems. To solve these problems, I visited the REI Bloomington bike shop frequently. It was a time-consuming and frustrating experience.
Some mechanics are really bad. For a few times I went there with one problem, but left with an additional, then visited again, and then more problems. There is a mechanic who does not seem to be very honest in addition to his incapability. He helped me twice but solved no problems. He usually just says that everything is within tolerance. He messed up my brakes each time, and sent me home with a loose rear wheel one time. Thank God, I got home safely. It was dark outside. He kept my newer front wheel and sold it to a different customer without telling me anything. However, I found it out myself. I thought he made a careless mistake so I went to talk with him three days later. However, he said it was not an accident and he knew what was going on. I asked him why he did that. He said he was not able to install the wheel back to my bike. I asked him if he consulted anyone else about it. He said it was his own decision. I asked him why he did not tell me upfront during my visit. He said his job was to make things work instead of talking with me. Moreover, he threw away my hex locking skewer because he could not make it work, and he blamed my tires as being weird. These parts were installed by a master technician in their bike shop at an earlier time. I took my wheels off quite a few times and never had any problems putting them back on. My lesson is to avoid visiting the shop after 6pm or during holidays and long weekends, because good mechanics are probably off-work or on vacation during those times. It is very important to find the right person to talk with so that we do not waste time.
The bike shop is a bit messy with bikes and customers. My first bike developed a frame/wheel alignment problem after I rode it for 400 miles. It is mainly due to a design flaw of a rear stay bike stand that I used for bike maintenance. To stop this kind of problem from happening again, and to get a good bike to ride for myself, I filed a claim for property damage through the bike stand seller. All I needed was a new frame and a new rear wheel with an invoice. However, their bike shop took my bike back as a factory defect instead. I was grateful for their generosity, but it made me uncomfortable as well. Ironically, I saw they put my returned bike for sale after cleaning, for the same price, pretending nothing happened in the past. And it was sold within two days during the Labor Day weekend. I know the problems of that bike very well. In addition to a distorted rear triangle and an off-centered rear wheel, the seat tube opening was damaged. I asked the bike shop how they made that decision. They told me that REI is a business and that is just how business works. This made me uncomfortable as a customer. It undermines my trust in their products. I would be very hesitant in buying anything on their floor. It is not easy to figure out if these items are indeed new and what problems they had in the past.
A newer sales associate enjoys teasing customers while idling around. He labeled me as the customer who was not very happy with her CTY. He asked about my kids in a funny way, and joked about relationships between me and one of their bike shop mechanics in public. I am a "retired" university professor and a mom of two smart kids. I think I deserve more respect from them as a customer. I heard him teasing another customer as well. In my opinion, the store needs to hire more good-quality, hard-working bike mechanics and fewer unprofessional sales associates who do nothing except idling everyday.
Another newer sales associate is never hesitant in giving wrong recommendations. She strongly recommended a car rack when I was waiting for my bike. She pushed me to get it during the Labor Day sale. It sounded like, do it, right now. I quickly checked it online but found a very low rating with many negative reviews commenting on its bad design. It does not seem to work well with my bike either. I was a bit confused so I showed her the rating. She then told me that I can always return it if I don't like it. I did see some returned items on their floor. I would rather get the right thing the first time. Meanwhile, she was strongly against a top-rated rack style that I have seen many times. I hope REI could jump start their new employees with some solid training in the future.
I accidentally found out the past criminal record of a bike shop technician in the store. It made him very uncomfortable. REI then decided to accuse me for shoplifting when I visited the store for bike service and to make some donations. I was a highly respected university professor! REI also withdrew my membership twice in the past two days in order to protect someone who does not kn read more