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| - I have heard friends and relatives talk positively about REI for years. I had never been there (until today). I received a gift certificate to REI recently, and I was happily anticipating a trip to a local store to use the certificate, as I was curious about the establishment. Based on the prior opinions of others I had an expectation that this would be a pleasurable shopping experience, but in an effort to be helpful (and probably score some sweet commissions or sales spiffs) the staff members with whom I interacted came off as pushy. I have no idea what the compensation to the employee for selling a "membership" might be, but it must be nice, because I was given the hard sell on this twice during my ~10 minute visit to the store. (I get enough junk mail and spam already, and I'm certainly not about to pay $20 to be signed up for more, no matter the perceived benefits.) The selection of goods and apparel was adequate, I suppose, but I can't really make an accurate judgement on this because I was so annoyed by the hard sell on the membership that the only thing on my mind was finding something to spend the gift certificate on and then getting out of the store as quickly as possible. The store was clean and easy to find, but that cannot overcome the "membership drive". I will not be shopping at this (or any other) REI location in the future, as it is clear that this behavior is not something specific to this location, but is obviously REI corporate policy. There are too many other outdoor equipment stores, both online and brick-and-mortar, that sell the same (or similar) products and without the "membership" hassle for me to return.
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