Pretty good as far as a retail job goes. - Sales Specialist REI Employee Review

3.0
23 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great industry discounts on gear, with occaisonal freebies from vendors, pretty relaxed and really nice customers, teammates are for the most part, nice folks. Pay is slightly better than most other retail jobs, and management can be pretty lenient on days off provided you put in your time off early enough. Generally drama-free workplace and you learn a LOT from your colleagues, product trainings and other customers you meet in store. It's your standard retail job with slightly better pay than your average big-box store chain.

Cons

Not enough hours to make a living wage, most of my colleagues have to work multiple jobs to survive. Expect days where you work one to two days a week. Full-time status is almost never given to employees anymore unless you were grandfathered in pre-2023. Lots of pressure to sell memberships and credit cards from management and corporate. Not much room for growth internally nowadays since corporate almost always never hires from retail and management/lead roles are far and few in between. Most folks end up leaving after a year. Union-busting from management and corporate.

Explore other reviews about REI

5.0
21 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Open and nice to work for

Cons

Didn’t like that you won’t be able to take time off during sales and so people call out

3.0
20 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Excellent coworkers - REI does a great job of hiring enthusiastic and personable staff - Slightly better pay compared with other retail in the area - Prodeals and discounts - Flexible hours - Good (although rapidly diminishing) healthcare benefits

Cons

- Once a (better) company known for its investment in knowledgeable and friendly staff via extensive training and investment, the company has been slowly slashing away at most of what makes it special since the pandemic - Hours and benefits are worsening, proper employee training is becoming hard to come by - lots of mediocrity and sometimes questionable ethical calls made by management - Punitive disciplinary policies that seem to be designed to create higher turnover (advantageous to them given the gradual pay, benefit and policy changes)

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