REI guarantee experience

[mister krabs]

What has been your experience with the REI 100% satisfaction guarantee?

"Every item you purchase at REI is 100% satisfaction guaranteed. "

Did they swap out your blown out 800mile trailrunners with no questions asked? Did they repair your Leki's for free at the end of your through hike?
Here is an opportunity to sing their praises. If your experience has been different, here is the place to damn them.

I went over there yesterday to talk to them about a piece of gear and wanted to see if my experience was similar to others. I'll share the story in a bit so as not to affect the result too much.

[SteveJ]

I have a Gregory Whitney pack that I bought in a moment of insanity...$350 at the time. This was about 2 months before deciding to go lightweight. It has hung in my closet for 6 years, I believe used once (my Marine Corp brother carried it one weekend).

I was in REI a few months ago, chatting with the manager. I mentioned the pack, and that it had been a big mistake purchase. He encouraged me to bring it back in for a refund / store credit.....

[Rain Man]

I've never once had REI give me grief about a return.

RainMan

.

[Marta]

Nope, no grief when I've returned things.

I would NOT return shoes that had blown out after 800 miles. Shoes wear out--they don't come with a lifetime guarantee.

However, when I ordered a Bear Vault that broke, they took it back without question. I changed my mind about an ice axe I ordered. They took it back.

[partinj]

I had a Snow Peak stove in my closed for about a year work ok when i put it away would not work when i took it back down would not light could not hear or swell any gas getint to the burner. Call REI they send me a new one befor i even send the old back. One the few great company left around will alway buy stuff from them

[the goat]

they really did replace my trail runners after 700 miles.

[sherrill]

Our guides in Alaska told me about a guy returning a pair of 8 year old worn out boots to the store in Anchorage. They took them, no questions.

Our conversation turned to the ethics of the situation. We all agreed that REI stood by their commitment but we thought the dude was an ass.

[mister krabs]

Ethically, I think my situation is a little more grey. I have a 10 year old, but not worn or abused thermarest lounge chair. It's a bit heavy so hasn't gotten much use over the years, it's in very good condition otherwise with no tears or abrasions, burn holes or cracked stays. If it were a car, it would be a clean 98 with 30,000 miles on it. Kept clean on blocks with the oil drained.

I got it out of the closet last weekend for car camping and about thirty minutes into sitting, it started giving way. Where the strap meets the side, the reinforced triangle of nylon started to pull apart, in the way that nylon can do, where it comes unwoven and loses it's structural integrity. Like it's unravelled, but not frayed~it's hard to describe. The chair is covered by both the Thermarest "lifetime" and REI "satisfaction" guarantee. Thermarest even makes a big deal about how most things can be fixed, and please don't throw them away.

Let me preface this with my attitude at the service desk: I did not have a "you should make it right cause I'm a member" attitude, it was very much, "can you help me out with this?" I've worked in service positions, I understand the right way to ask for help. I'm a 15 year member, have bought thousands of dollars worth of gear over the years, and this is the first time I've taken anything to them with a problem.

The dude at the counter was not especially enthusiastic about keeping the chair out of the landfill. He was not interested in helping me out. I said I'd like to get it repaired or replaced, he started talking about "useful lifetime" and nothing really he can do, and it not being worth repair. That's reasonable enough I suppose, but it was not what I expected after hearing such great things about the guarantee, and it put me in deer in headlights mode. So I asked him if he would be willing to send it back to Cascade Designs to see if it qualified for their warranty. His response was, "Why not, worth a shot I guess" Good enough I guess, saves me the cost of shipping and we'll see what they say about it, if it doesn't get lost. It's just not what I was expecting. Perhaps my expectations were unreasonable, perhaps not. If they were, then weren't they set by REI themselves with their 100%?

I'm not arguing about what the guy said, it was all reasonable enough. It would have been nice if he were nicer about it, or offered to help in any way, or if I got the feeling that he was "going to see what he can do." It just sounded like he was reading from some corporate playbook telling you how to dissuade customers from pursuing the satisfaction guarantee. I don't know whether that's attributable to the guy, the store or the company. I do know that the comfort of their satisfaction guarantee was one of the reasons I often chose to buy there, now I'm not so sure. I guess I could buy into that useful lifetime stuff and get on with my life, but then I would have to ditch my very functional 14 year old car and 60 year old house, maybe even trade the wife in on a newer model! Talk about expensive!

Then again, maybe I should chalk it up to some dude who was just phoning it in that day.
~vent over

[Hoop]

Only ten years old, you say?

[MOWGLI]

Ethically, I think my situation is a little more grey. I have a 10 year old, but not worn or abused thermarest lounge chair....

Trying to return a 10 year old piece of gear is simply wrong. Nothing grey about that at all. There is wrong, and there is right. And how much you've spent over the years has nothing to do with anything. I say that as a fellow member of the same co-op.

Thermarest has a lifetime guaranty. Take it up with them.

[workboot]

Returning a pair of worn out shoes for replacement is wrong....

[max patch]

Trying to return a 10 year old piece of gear is simply wrong. Nothing grey about that at all. There is wrong, and there is right. And how much you've spent over the years has nothing to do with anything. I say that as a fellow member of the same co-op.

Thermarest has a lifetime guaranty. Take it up with them.

Can't say it any better than that.

[mister krabs]

Dang, ya'll are harsh. It sat in a closet, like I said.

[mister krabs]

I wonder why I should take it up with thermarest, but not REI?

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Poor choices, no vote

What they did when I returned a Sierra Designs Wild Bill sleeping bag that had a horrible zipper issue was apologize, asked which option would make me happiest (refund/exchange/store credit) then refunded my money immediately and had a floor manager personally show me every bag in stock.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

they really did replace my trail runners after 700 miles.

Shame on you

[MOWGLI]

Dang, ya'll are harsh. It sat in a closet, like I said.

Harsh? Maybe. Truthful? Yes.

I also offered you some good advice along with the criticism.

Why should you take it up with Thermarest?

http://www.thermarest.com/support_warranty.aspx

[the goat]

Shame on you

i wore 'em to the store to get new ones after my '03 hike & the manager offered to exchange them for me.

shame on me for taking him up on it?

ok, if you see it that way.

[mister krabs]

Harsh? Maybe. Truthful? Yes.

I also offered you some good advice along with the criticism.

Why should you take it up with Thermarest?

http://www.thermarest.com/support_warranty.aspx

Ya, I knew about that when I went there, what I asked was why thermarest and not REI? They've both set some pretty hefty expectations and both use their guarantee in their marketing. I'll admit that I was hoping to get something out of them, ( and I did, shipping to thermarest is nothing to sneeze at) but it was just as much to see if the stories about the magical 100% were true. Stories about the 700 mile boots are priceless to companies like REI and LLbean, much better than mice typed limited liability warranties.

besides, REI is closer

I'll not lose sleep tonight over it either way. Stealing is wrong, asking is right. Like the guy said, it's worth a shot.

And no, I didn't say *only*

And no, I didn't say *only*

[Just Plain Jim]

I knew Rainman would think highly of REI as he [and I quote] "practicaly lives at the one in Brentwood, Tn."