The last dog at the bowl dies, REI is slowly starving itself of talent - Operations REI Employee Review

1.0
14 Mar 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-In general, nice socially conscious employees -The company presents lots of fronts about doing good and some are real -Neat product, discounts got less and less over years

Cons

-Management is overbloated and so protective of their jobs, there's a pretty toxic culture in management -So many changes every 6 months, new values, new purpose, new mission...new technology - that's a hard pass. REI attempts to overcome its culture challenges through re-aligning values and performance evaluations instead of actually addressing the core issues - toxic, tenured managers -Corporate survey is 'blind', it really isn't. Every manager can slice it and sort through and pretty closely identify who submitted which response. Employees are forced to complete the survey, managers are rated on completed survey %'s. SO MANY MANAGERS reported to HR for bullying employees to complete the survey and complete a certain way -Pay. Needless to say, people will say the pay is low for retail HQ. Shockingly, its about 40% below market. Benefits - 5 year vest for Retirement with a 5% match AT 5 years, health insurance is crap, plan on spending substantial out of pocket even with the high-deductible programs. I was mid-level and paid less going through open insurance market than using REI's -Slow moving company, slow moving systems with opaque leadership so its managers in their fiefdoms -Employees are incentivized to turn on each other to make themselves look good -Zero HR support, active claims of toxic manager behavior (discrimination, bullying) were repeatedly ignored or the ICs were shoved out. Better to be quiet and look elsewhere quietly than speak up

Explore other reviews about REI

5.0
16 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People and incredible work culture. REI truly walks the walk when it comes to company culture. Significant amount of focus on people and values in a genuine way. Exceptional benefits and pay. Making medical coverage available for all employees part time and full time.

Cons

Not many negatives to share.

3.0
9 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Most coworkers, some managers, discounts, outfitting people properly without extra nonsense

Cons

Some truly horrible managers, pressure to sell credit cards is a morale killer, the union people. Employees drinking the union kool aid fail to see the company’s position, REI cannot give higher pay, better benefits , consistent hours, etc… with the erratic revenue stream that comes in , if a 5 year average is X in revenue and 5 year average is Y on wages and costs, how are they supposed to increase wages and benefits? It’s numbers and they don’t line up, if REI gives the increases which increases the expenses greatly, they will cut staff, a lot fewer employees which will eliminate a bunch of union supporters, an REI job is not supposed to be a lucrative deal, when you get hired the part time , part time plus and full time options are there and you choose what you want fully understanding what hours you are going to get at minimum, they will hire those positions on a need basis, to cry later that you don’t make enough money is your fault, the terms were clear and you signed off on them. The union is promising rainbows , reality will be far different, careful what you wish for

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