This is why I love REI
 

They've got the best satisfaction guarantee around. Yes, a lot of companies say they have the same policy but most fall short. Not REI, not in my experience anyway.

Two years ago I bought a Novara Trionfo Race 56 cm, their second to top of the line road bike. It felt a little big for me but the mechanic adjusted the bike a few ways to make it fit better. After a couple of hundred miles on the bike, I went back to the same store to complain about the fit. I described the soreness I was feeling on my neck and shoulders and the same mechanic/fitter thought it might be because I was new to cycling and just wasn't used to the aggressive geometry of the bike. He recommended a shorter stem with a higher rise, plus scooting my seat forward slightly. I've put 1100 miles on the bike since then.

Last night, I decided to bring the bike in to another REI and told them that I felt my bike is still too tall and long for me and I am no longer a road bike newbie. That bike fitter/mechanic had me straddle the bike then sit on it while he checked the fit. He agreed right away that it was indeed too big and offered to take back the bike for a full refund! Then he said he will sell me a 2007 Trionfo Race 52 cm (one of Bicycling Mag's best value bike for 2007) that is the proper fit at a discounted price. This new bike cost $200 less than the 2004 model but had better components. I jumped on the deal. I really liked my old Trionfo because it was stable and fast but it just stretched me out too far.

Anyway, if I had purchased the bike from another store, I would not have been able to return it 2 yrs and 1100 miles later for any refund. Yes, another store probably would not have sold me a bike that's too big in the first place but I look at it like REI paid me $200 for riding their bike for 2 yrs. REI is tops in my book..

I've never had to use a guarantee there, but I really like most of the stuff that they sell.

REI grew up in my neighborhood. I was a member when it was still a little co-op, a real co-op. Bulletins used to go out to members for group buys on cool stuff; the more of us that got in, the cheaper it got. Members were their biggest source of product information, from what to stock to how it worked. Used to have lots of surplus stuff, and inexpensive (but tried and proven) gear. No glitz or heavy marketing allowed.

That has all changed. Yes, they still have the best customer service in the industry. Now, however, they pay for that service by spreading it out accross their customer base. No more cheap, useful, reliable equipment to be found at REI - it's all top name brand at top dollar. No more piles of stuff to sift through out on the floor to find the cool stuff and the good deals. They've gone yuppie on us. They have gone from the VW bus crowd to the Range Rover crowd. Oh well; they do have great equipment and great service. I just miss the quaint little hole-in-the-wall locale and the enthusiastic (but poor) counter-culture staff.

I've been a member since the early 70's - great customer service and if the product is in REI, it is usually pretty good.

The REI brand stuff keeps getting better and better.

Been a member since '68 when we had to order stuff from the catalog here in SoCal. I still buy things there, but have noticed a lot of the other people who go there have an identifiable, upscale "REI look."
I've returned very few things. The last were a set of hiking boots, which I tried to break in for a couple of months before a two week trip in the Sierras. They kept giving me blisters on the heals. I took them back just to ask if they could tell me why & suggest some way I could avoid the blisters. Instead they said they would give me a full refund & help with picking out a new pair that would break in sooner. It was a good deal.

Another member since the early '70's here and very happy with them.

BTW you should buy a bike with a frame on the smaller side if possible. The larger a bike frame is, the more it flexes and the more it weights. Neither are good...

I remember going to an REI that was closing in San Francisco, damn I spent a lot of money that day

an aquaintance really screws them on that stuff. he will find old REI backpacks and stuff and return them for store credit. get that tent or whatever it is he needs that week, returns it and "borrows" his next item.

it pisses me off.