First off, my BF and I LOVE REI
....this review is for this location SPECIFICALLY the manager of the bike department...
We come here every week if not multiple times a week to shop around any and all equipment for the several outdoor activities we do.
Mountain biking and bike -packing has become a new hobby of ours. My BF needed to get a new mountain bike, and after MONTHS of shopping and doing research, found the perfect bike within his budget. We found a few we liked, but decided to buy from REI because of amazing customer service, warranty program, etc.
We buy the bike, go for a quick ride on a paved road. So far so good.
Then we go on the mountain. Super easy BEGINNER TRAIL near LA. At the end of the ride, the bike was MESSED UP. so many issues that should NOT have resulted from an easy ride. Several problems that were not really fixable leads us to believe something about the bike was off from the beginning.
We take back to this REI location less than a week after purchase and first thing they recommend is we use our free bike tune-up under warranty. Look, we're not idiots, we can tell the bike is damaged beyond repair.
We ask for a return and exchange for the same bike, cause something was clearly wrong with this one.
Now. Here's where my issue lies.
Brittany, the manage (?) of the bike area, begins treating us like we are criminals. After trying to convince us several times to do the included tune up, we had to put our foot down and say LOOK, we've been loyal customers for several years. Never made a single return. Spend thousands of dollars here every year, we just want the damn new bike already.
After finally agreeing, she get on her walkie and says "the bike is trashed."
OK SO NOW YOU AGREE THAT THE BIKE IS TRASHED AND ADMIT IT IN FRONT OF US and you were going to give us back a trashed bike that was beyond repair that we just purchased last week??? On top of it, she's trying to tell us that "we weren't using the bike for what it was properly meant for"
I'm sorry WHAT?!?! WHO THE F ARE YOU TO TELL US WHERE WE CAN AND CANT GO WITH OUR PURCHASE, are you my mother ?!?
They also suggested returning the bike and purchasing another one that was 3-4 times more expensive than the one we had purchased. We did our research, this was the bike we wanted within our budget, thank you but no thank you.
After much effort, she then agrees to switch out the damaged bike with a new one, but says "okayyyyy but if I go into your account and find out youve returned everything you ever purchased were gonna have a problem." Listen Brittany dear, don't patronize me. You are literally our age so talking down to us was extremely rude and disrespectful, she needs to be fired.
She also explained how my BFs account would have to be "flagged" or something from this point forward, which is total BS that we've been treated this way.
Ive never been so insulted be a business and by a young lady with "authority" .... read more