I came in on Tuesday looking for a new pair of Trail Runners and Hayden helped me out. He was super friendly and knowledgeable about all the inventory and was able to pinpoint what I was looking for even though I'm sure I didn't do the best explaining myself. Found the perfect pair of lightweight but still stable shoes! All the staff at the front desk were super nice as well and told me about the new inclusivity programs REI is supporting; I took home a pamphlet for more info as well. Definitely coming back to this location for all my outdoor needs! read more

I should have never become a member here. Salemen and saleswomen I feel have never been outside and think the most expensive items are what's needed to complete the job. If you want to test this hypothesis, go to REI and ask them what multitool is best for you and tell them what you do or think you need it for. You will see some white women named Lake or white men named Cody have their eyes glaze over as they look at the stack of 10-20 multitools ranging from $30-$300 before finally settling on one of the more expensive options, without having any experience using said multitool. They then try to sell you on the item when you can see in their face they can't wait to go home and watch Seaspiracy and pretend like they actually travel to the beach every now and then. Anyway I'm sure these people get minimum wage which means they can't even afford to be homeless. Now if homeless people worked at REI, that would be a different story. Instead of trying to sell me on a multitool they would probably offer me the jagged top of a tin can and show me all the ways I can use it. Now that's a real outdoorsman. Man really sucks that homeless people have more experience than the white people who work here. Really makes you think REI is in the wrong here. They could be supporting out homeless population, but instead are trying to make sure you spend $1000 so you can bring your 50 in flatscreen tv on a one day camping trip because they can't miss the newest episode of Atypical or whatever. Not sorry about this review at all. read more

Yikes! How the heck can you find anything in this maze?! Store layout is nuts. I wandered around for 40 min and was never approached by an employee. They have a kids section and a men's section and women's clothes scattered throughout the maze. It was as overwhelming as shopping at a thrift store. Actually, thrift stores are better organized. read more

I don't think I will purchase from them again. The employee gave me a hard time about my return of unworn winter boots. Then this man said "I'm just going to round this down so you make a donation to our foundation." He did not ask, he told me he was taking $2 from me. I donate 5% of my income every year, but I am not donating to this company's tax shelter. Zappos returns are no-hassle, I'll buy shoes from them next time. read more

Came into the store today to buy my husband, some new clothes and a backpacking backpack for day hikes. He is incredibly particular and it took about an hour and a half of trying on packs until he found his perfect fit. Jack was incredibly helpful. He showed my husband how to fit the proper pack and then he weighted it to see how it would feel. He knew we weren't set on what we were about to buy so he took the time even though he was busy to give us a bunch of options. We settled on the perfect pack and will be coming back to this store again. Also had a great selection of men's Kuhl clothes which is my husbands fav brand. read more

The woman that works at the front desk did not want to provide proper customer service when asked questions about products, she was giving horrible attitude and uses inappropriate language while speaking to other coworkers in front of customers. Unacceptable and disgusting experience I will not be back. read more

There is a cashier here named BRENDAN who thinks it's cool to force solicitation upsells down your throat at the register point of sale even tho you tell him that you're not interested. I was in a rush to check out and leave and had already endured a very long wait in a relatively short line, all because the one cashier who was open at the time, was discussing membership in a LENGTHY conversation with a customer. Brendan came and opened up and i breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked him for opening up. I approached the register and he started to ask me if I wanted to round up my sale to help blah blah blah, and I immediately said NO, no thank you , I just want to pay for my shoes and go. Instead of saying okay and expediting my purchase, he kept talking. I said listen, no thank you. i am ready to go home, i need to leave, please just let me buy my shoes. He says, well "Im just doing my job." I didnt know that his job included shoving things down customers throats that they have already indicated they dont want?! So as he is finishing, I say, you know, this is part of he reason the line is so slow, they make you do all this tlaking and upselling to people even though they just want to pay and leave. He said, "well no, I LIKE doing this, i GET to do this as part of my job." Oh! so in other words, he didn't shut up when i said I wasnt interested because HE DIDNT WANT TO. NOT BECAUSE IT WAS HIS JOB AND HE HAD TO, like he had implied a few seconds before. I left upset and angry the entire ride home. SO much so that I am logging on to vent to yelp about it. This is not the experience i should have shopping ANYWHERE. and i really hope that management TRAINS their sales staff better to not antagonize weary tired and ready t go home customers in that way. Burbank Empire center is already a HASSLE to navigate and get in and out of, cashiers should be mindful of that and just help customers along their way if they indicate they are not interested in being upsold or solicited any further. Brendan was AWFUL. Entitled and awful. read more

I knew REI opened in Burbank, which is great, it's a great resource, but never checked it out until recently. Shall I start by saying that this location is huge? Pretty well organized, well stocked, great selection of merchandise. Even if we're not experts of the outdoors, just beginners, REI is a good resource (they offer various classes, check their site), but prices are a bit high. Big parking lot as you'd expect at this shopping center. We wanted to return/exchange some items my husband received as a b-day present that didn't fit him or he didn't like. Since we like Prana, we were looking at their new collection and didn't like the style (prefer more their Yoga one). So we did a return, customer service was good, the young lady that helped us was very pleasant. When you exit you have to push a button from the indoor side, which might not work well if you carry many things. Overall, REI is a good resource for Burbank area. read more

This is a wonderful REI location. The staff is incredibly helpful and seems genuinely happy to be working there. That type of enthusiasm is infectious. The store is perfectly curated with great products from clothing to shoes, and from bicycles to tents. It's truly a wonderful shopping experience - especially if you're novice to outdoor activities. This is a great place to get what you need and ask all the questions you may have. As a bonus, there's a nice coffee stand in the front of the store where you can get an espresso or latte drink to take a break from hiking around the store. There's also a seamless process between purchasing products from REI online and exchanging them in the store. No questions asked. Just a simple scan of the product will automatically pull up the information that is needed. I had to return a pair of trail running shoes that I had purchased online and the transaction was done in seconds. I spent another 30 minutes in the store, just browsing and looking at all the great products they have here. I love coming to REI. read more

REI - Beautiful REI - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Burbank, California

I will never shop here again. The salesman John G. was rude, condescending, and snobbish, and when I asked to speak to a manager about his behavior she was even worse. This is a store for rich whites only. read more

The REI model doesn't really work anymore, at least not since the company has grown and become one of the major outdoor gear players. The whole thing was about it being a co-op and the workers were seasoned veterans who know all about the outdoors, and the gear is guaranteed for life, etc. Once the brand took off, and the outdoors became so popular (read commodified) it becomes another corporate chain unfortunately, trying to buy its soul back with non-profit investments, opt outside Black Friday...you get the point. The Burbank store is a great example of that. The staff are young and mostly just there for transitional work, not really a career mostly. Which is fine, but it makes the store just another box store. Many an hour was spent in the camping and climbing section of the Arcadia store getting to know gear and the vernacular of outdoor sports. Oh well, as is progress. Still a great store and a good brand. read more

I am BEYOND happy with mine and my sisters bike purchase today ! We were greatly helped by John-Mark and Michelle. They are such down to earth people and had a lot of great information for us regarding our purchase! John definitely gave us a variety of bikes to choose from knowing what type we liked and size. We loved the place and the employees that we decided to have a membership! Definitely a place that we will be visiting a lot ! Thanks again John and Michelle for all the help and the warm welcome you guys gave my sister Shaine and I. -Kimberly read more

I'm an avid hiker and nothing makes me happier than hear! Unfortunately, REI doesn't make my wallet too happy. A lot of the items found at REI can also be found on Amazon for a LOT cheaper. However, Amazon can measure you for a new pack, let you climb up fake rocks to test out a potential pair of Merrils, and it certainly cant tell you those leggings make your posterior look great. This particular REI always has friendly, knowledgeable staff who are ready and willing to go the extra mile to help. I have literally never had a bad experience with this REI. My only complaint related to this specific location is parking. It sucks. But then again, it is Santa Monica and parking can be difficult everywhere in Santa Monica. read more

My experience started pretty well... I needed a bike rack for my car and called REI to find out if they have one for a GLA 250. Arka (my spelling might be wrong), who answered the phone, took the time to check what options I have. I like that she was attentive and not dismissive. So when I got there, she showed me my options. She started showing me a returned item hanging on the racks. Right away, I said I want a new one. I always believe items are returned for a reason which one of them is being defective. I definitely don't want my bike to fall off while I'm driving. Then, she showed the new items, all boxed and sealed. I asked her to open one. I like what I saw and told her I'm buying it. Instead of giving me the box I picked to take to the register and pay, she said that she will be the one to take it there herself. It might be a CDC guideline but I said sure, why not? Now, here's why I'm giving two stars. So I went up to the register, paid for the item, got the box and went straight to my car to install it. I opened the box and I noticed something odd. Manuals were missing and straps were already adjusted. It turned out the box that Arka brought to the register was a RETURNED item! I rushed back to tell her what I noticed and asked for the box we opened together at the beginning. She admitted to switching boxes because she wanted to give me an unopened box. I don't get her logic. So she brings out the box I picked and exchanges it with the returned item I got. Well guess what?.. I saw a return tag on the counter and she explains to me that it was for the box I chose. Thing is, the tag wasn't there when were opening the box I asked her to open. I'm a 100% sure she did a switch. In my mind... I'm like, seriously?!! I can tell she's new on the job. I don't know how REI trains their staff but I'm blaming this incident on management. What kind of operation does REI run?! Are they into pushing returned item sales?! BUYER BEWARE!!! I suggest checking items you buy after paying for them before you leave the store. read more

I am a loyal shopper of REI and have a membership there, but after my experience today at the REI Burbank location, I don't think I will ever be able to shop at REI again. I went to REI to buy hiking shoes today, and I asked the sales associate by the name of Mimi if she could help me get some shoes, and she very rudely said no because she was already helping someone else. Words in this review can't describe how rudely she said it. I still gave her the benefit of the doubt at first, but then she kept purposely helping a lot of other people first and not me when she knew I was there waiting for her help--not even saying she would get to me, just that she was "busy with other customers." I waited over 30 minutes to get help while other customers were helped immediately (REI wasn't even that busy), and yes, she saw me there waiting, acting like I was invisible purposely passing me to help others who arrived after me--no one else was repeatedly denied assistance like I was. I thought--what about me is making the staff here refuse to assist me? I then noticed that she was ignoring another Asian family who was also waiting for her help, and only assisting the white customers and having long discussions with them, happily catering to their every need. So I thought, it's possible she or REI simply doesn't like business from people like me (also Asian). Reading the other bad reviews on here by Asian people confirmed my suspicions. I don't believe it's a coincidence that so many Asian people have had bad experiences with the staff at this location. At first I thought--maybe they just accidentally hired one racist salesperson and this is an isolated incident, but based on the other reviews, this doesn't seem to be an isolated incident. Mind you--I shop all the time at other places without issue, I go about my life expected to be treated well (or at least neutrally), but there was something very unsettling about my experience at REI. Eventually, I did get someone else to help me--I basically had to beg him to get some shoes for me to try on (and once again, they were NOT that busy), and he acted like I was bothering him (as if it weren't his job). But at that point, I was going to take what help I could get. When I went to go check-out, the person checking me out asked if I wanted to donate to charitable initiatives for diversity & inclusion. I thought, oh that's funny, apparently REI is trying to make it look like they care about racism, yet they employee some not-so-subtly racist staff. The person checking me out happened to be a manager there (Roxanne) was pleasant, and I told her about my experience with Mimi. Roxanne said she would talk to Mimi about the incident. I don't know if she did, but she seemed sincere. Regardless, the entire experience was unacceptable and left a bad taste in my mouth. After doing some research online, apparently REI actually has a history of racism (look it up!). I guess that's why their marketing team needs to work overtime now to make it seem like they aren't racist. Maybe they should look at their sales floor. EDIT: Check-out some of these other reviews who claim a very similar experience. read more

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Be careful with their dividend policy. REI is the biggest theft chain. Making it hard for non members to shop the casual way. High priced marks offering bullshit percentage discounts to their members. Went in to exchange a sweater for a different size not item within 30 days and was forced to pay the 10%. I get how accounts credit members and give them earning but REI must train your cashiers to translate this policy better where money isn't coming out of our pockets. It would of been better if I didn't do the exchange under any account for me to keep MY money. Imagine being a bit chubbier then what they gifted you and paying more out of pocket because the dividend dollars goes to the initial transaction. read more

Amazing store with so many high quality products to choose from and helpful staff! It's fun to just look around and see all of the great items available that you never knew existed. If you're looking for great deals or cheap items, this is not the store for you. The lines can be long at times, so plan ahead and shop when you're not in a big hurry. read more

The staff at this REI are knowledgeable and friendly. I always have a good experience there.

I had a weird experience today that could've easily gone south. I had been given the OK by multiple employees to return a pair of shoes. I was told I could go pick out another pair. When I got to the cash register, that individual had advised the person helping me that it was all good and he had cleared It with a manager. This other person helping me called a different manager over who gave me a really hard time and sent me on my way without a pair of shoes - having spent upwards of 45 minutes looking for a new pair. I understand they felt they were doing their job, but they did their job in a way that was honestly condescending for me as a customer, I walked away feeling non-plussed. Hard to imagine anyone could be such a return policy absolutist? As I was walking out the door I was stopped by Eileen who asked me how my experience was and I told her the customer service was bad. She called a manager, Pete, who turned the day around and helped me out. Pete explained the policy in a way that respected my concerns rather than treating me like a hustler trying to finagle some new shoes. Pete was kind and considerate. He kept me from leaving in a bad mood and honored my initial request. After that, I met Joy in the shoe section who was quite literally - a Joy. She helped me find some better shoes, she was SO helpful, kind and very funny. That's the sort of person who should be a manager - someone who knows how to handle people. Shout out to Eileen, Pete and Joy (in the order they helped me). Thanks for turning the day around. read more

This is by far the nicest REI I've been to. It's pretty new and huge. Their backpack display area is awesome because you can see and rotate every backpack they have on metal racks. I went to the to backpacking 101 class for members and the presenters were very helpful. They were two of the founders of the 52 Hike Challenge movement and it seemed like they knew their stuff. Tons of free parking, too! read more

I took my road bike in to get serviced and my the cleats on my cycling shoes were completely worn out and needed to get replaced. I took it to REI Burbank, they promised to install new cleats on my cycling shoes and get my bicycle back in tip top shape. Got everything back. Got all suited and booted, ready for a great ride with friends. Went to clip in and within a few minutes realized, they had installed the wrong cleats on my shoes. They didn't remotely match my pedals they were massive and had no chance in fitting into my pedals. I had to forfeit the ride and a great day with friends. It was humiliating. I was so upset. To think of how many hands it went through and nobody in the bike shop once thought to do a once over on the bike and make sure the cleats installed fit the pedals. Beyond negligent. Who knows what else is being overlooked. Or missed. Luckily I wasn't hurt but something else being overlooked could result in injury. Or worse. There is clearly not an attention to detail. I will be taking my business elsewhere. I would have given a lower score if not for the fact that the bike shop is only a small part of an otherwise larger store. read more

I've visited the Santa Monica location but only for nonsense such as freeze dried ice cream. Some of my colleagues have a really cool chair that they enjoy, and this thing weighs just over a pound, and folds up compact to fit in their backpacks. However, since they actually also enjoy the outdoors, I feel like such a poser, but got over that really quickly and decided to check it out for myself at the Burbank location. Right away I was greeted by a guy whose name of course I forget, but he, well, looked really young with glasses, as though this lame description will help. Regardless, everything I will say about him will be good. I told him specifically I was looking for the Flexlite chair that I checked out online, and I wanted to attempt to assemble this in person. He took me right over to where they were and picked out the color I wanted. I didn't want to copy my co-workers completely so I avoided Oregano (olive green) and Beet (magenta) and opted for Coal, which you can guess is basically black. Walking me over to an area where I would be out of the way of other shoppers, I took everything out of the sack and went to work. As I expected, I had some issues with getting the material onto the metal rods, and he helped me, giving me a couple of tips along the way which I appreciated. Most of all, he let me know they were having their anniversary sale coming up the very next day, and although he wasn't sure if the item in question was one of the sale features, they had plenty in stock in case I wanted to wait (wink wink). Turns out they WERE, and I saved a decent amount of cash. Very thankful to the guy who helped me, and the great service I had with the cashiers up front! If I ever become more outdoorsy, REI will be my first stop. read more

Largest REI store I have ever been to. I love these outdoor stores. Too much to look at, I can easily be in there for a few hours. Prices might be a bit high, but if you need it and they have it, great selection, then I'm a happy customer. Always great, top notch customer service. The stores interior is right on point. I love how the outdoor scenery is spread throughout the store. I'm pretty sure this is going to be my REI go to store from now on. I have an extensive wish list on what to buy during my next visit. read more

REI - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Burbank, California

Yakima tailgate cover Checked website which confirmed item is in stock called to double check confirm item in stock. Placed order curbside pick up. Got an email confirming item was payed for but don't come to store until follow up email. Stating item is ready item was ordered 10 am. After 6 hours no email I called the store guess what they said. Item will shipped to us not in stock. I said excuse me she said yes wait 5 days. Lost my cool at this point said refund my card. They said we can't tell it arrives. Went to store had to buy item which was on the shelf agian they said that's the only way todo it. I can't believe this type of service very disappointed with REI read more

I've been in this REI location numerous times. I feel compelled to write this review berceuse I've read some of the critical reviews and I could not disagree more with most of these complaints! EVERY SINGLE TIME I've come in and interacted with the staff, it has been an above-and-beyond experience! read more

A manager by the name of Peter reached out immediately and he was such an angel. Very empathetic and understood how to diffuse the situation appropriately. He's the kind of customer service manager you'd want on your team! Gold standard. He really tried to understand the situation and talked to both staff members to ensure a more inviting and empathetic approach to managing customers. He also invited me back to meet with him which is nice and said he'd share more about how they're working hard to make the experience more inclusive as part of their DEI work. read more

While I've had many lovely experiences at various REI stores, my customer experience today with Brendan (?) in the running department was exceptional. I came in looking for a shoe I thought I wanted, as previously recommend by another REI staff member, but left with something different because of a truly personalized experience. Brendan asked about my running tendencies, acknowledged my Hoka apprehensions and brought out all the shoes I selected--plus one he'd thoughtfully selected that was new to me. I'm grateful for personal running Knowledge and gentle insight. I now have a running shoe I'm super excited about. Thanks for hiring lovely folks REI ‍ read more

Lovely store, polite staff but sloppy tech work in the bike shop. We bought a mountain bike for daughters Christmas and she likes a kick stand - the tech installed it and clamped one of the gear cables fast. Daughter was put off of the bike because the gears were too hard to shift - after inspection we saw the problem. read more

REI - Store installed kick stand clamped over the gear cable. - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Burbank, California

UPDATE: They are shipping me replacements. They are super nice and willing to fix their mess ups so o appreciate that. They mentioned that they don't do too many wheel builds so they might overlook some details when taking the initial order but Mark (I believe is who I spoke to) said he would relay the message to his coworkers. For this assistance I raised the stars from 2 to 4. Seems like training is needed for this type of work. I want to love this place, but DAMN. So I went in on Friday 5/21 with rims and hubs (no spokes/nipples) to get them built and trued. They failed to ask me what color spokes/nipples so they didn't start the building until Sunday afternoon, and they were promised to be finished by Sunday as they have a 48 hour completion time frame. One employee I spoke to on Saturday told me that they would be ready Tuesday, so I said he'll no let me speak to a supervisor. So I told him the problem and that the failure to ask me color specifics was not my fault for the delay. He then said he would prioritize my wheels for completion by Monday. They are done, and I picked them up. I didn't realize this until I got home but the rear wheel nuts are not on the hub........... REALLY!? Now they are closed. It's the little things that really make a big difference. The wheels are honestly built very well, but these things that sound like little inconveniences are actually HUGE. Now I can't ride early Tuesday morning as I had planned. read more

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Taylor in shoes helped me find the perfect hiking boot...my new Oboz arrived today and I can't wait to try them out this weekend. Shout out to Taylor and Kevin at checkout. They both went above and beyond to ensure this customer was satisfied. read more

This place just pisses me off. First of all, they don't really have all that much in there to sell, believe it or not, despite it being a HUGE store. Big 5 at 1/4 the size has 12 times as much STUFF. Using the Best Buy strategy of line them up at the register / rock-em sock-em hypnotize-em with glitzy shelving displays of scanty colorful fanny packs and such merchandise, most of the space is taken up by ginormous standing gondolas, cavernous cabinets and shelving containing surprisingly LITTLE. Plus what they're selling is not what you want, it's all overpriced THEIR brands. I still find their bicycle sales and repair department a bit weird. Exactly who is it for? Nobody is coming in to get a chain replaced, cables re-strung, or their flat tire fixed. Shelving and shelves and carded racks oh my! Best Buy should combine forces with REI and put THEIR STUFF in there as well. IT COULD WORK! That plus a Willy Wonka chocolate fountain. read more

I decided to throw up this review because I am rather surprised this REI location has a 3 1/2 stars rating. I'm guessing that's because a bunch of passive-aggressive Karens have been jumping on here to complain instead of actually speaking to the store manager about what is likely some minor and insignificant issue that could be easily resolved. I see one guy on here gave this location 2 stars because they didn't have the generator he wanted. Ooooookay. Not sure that warrants a negative review, but hey, humans are moody and petty, and that ain't changing anytime soon. You gotta take Yelp reviews with a grain of salt, especially since our society has become increasingly saturated with people that love to b*$tch about everything. From my own personal experience of having shopped at this REI for years now, I love this location. Everyone has been super friendly and I've never had any issues bringing anything back. They have great sales and a lot of good inventory. It's a fantastic REI and keeps up the proud tradition of the REI brand. If you have an issue with this place then hey, maybe go shop at Big 5 and tell me how much customer service you get there. read more

Really want to give a shout out to Victoria (6/6/20) here, for going the extra mile to help us out in a bind with a late item pickup when she didn't have to. Employees like her are the reason we keeping coming back... please, please give her a raise and promotion. read more

First time visiting this location very poor experience. Unorganized items scattered all over the place. Employees chatting with each other while ignoring customers. Waited and waited for someone to open up the dressing room area. When some guy finally came over was very unfriendly and pushy. would never come back to this location and will make as many purchases as possible online from now on I'm done with REI. read more

I went to return an unused pair of shoes. They were in their original packaging, I had my receipt and I was well within the return window. The sales associate doing my return was so rude and gave me a really hard time saying he would "do it this one time" like he was doing me a favor. The more I questioned why he was giving me such a hard time the more rude he was. I was so confused by the whole situation. I won't be back. read more

It's an interesting specialty store for extreme outdoor activities, primarily for individuals who like spending money like water literally. All the different types of water filter systems and bottles seems really neat. Probably the only items I would probably try out later on down the line. Doomsday prepper status. Needs tutorials and pictures everywhere on the show floor to depict how to use each filtration system, I had to go onto their website to check out usage and specifications of the least expensive version of the filter. read more

REI - anti theft bag - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Burbank, California

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I went here two days in a row and both times I had excellent experiences! Not sure why this place doesn't have higher starred reviews! Shout out to Micah and Cory who helped me out. They answered all my questions and guided my indecisiveness to make some smart choices! Thank you! Store is clean and well kept. Parking is kind of a sh*t show, but that's okay! read more

Only came here to buy an Adventure Parking pass for a hike but I did look around for spinning shoes. Overall staff is nice, of course they try and get you to buy their membership. I had to be like, thanks but I don't shop here very often. It's honestly kind of pricey for my taste. read more

Brought in a pair of Fischer skis and bindings to have them mounted and calibrated but they turned me away since they're not a Fischer authorized dealer. I can understand if these had to be drill mounted but the bindings are on a track! They can be slid right on and calibrated. After driving 10 miles there to check them out since they're new to the area, I was very disappointed that I was turned down and sent away. I just called their competition and got the bindings mounted the same day. They could have had my business but I guess they don't need it. read more

REI - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Burbank, California

Fully staffed and it's easy to find assistance here. It's a busy grand opening weekend but there isn't that much Grand about their opening. Average sales on certain brands but nothing spectacular. It's clean and organized. Burbank definitely needed an REI so it's nice to finally have one. Can't wait to come back and buy new hiking shoes and back pack. They've got you covered for all your outdoor adventures! read more

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