Pros
My team of retail sales associates are awesome and I really enjoy my sales team staff. They are SUPER knowledgeable, humble, and awesome human beings. These people work SO damn hard to please the general public. Being honest, someone takes a job at REI because they either want the steep industry discounts, they need a job or they will be homeless, this is their retirement job, or this is their job while in school. You get free rentals, which is cool if you think you will use that benefit. You also receive health insurance, though it is high deductible and not one that you actually can use if you are earning the pay that is commensurate with a job at REI. You can also earn minimal PTO as a part-time employee and accrue sick time above the minimal state requirements. Lastly, you get two paid days off per year to use at your leisure to go enjoy the outdoors, which is quite unique. Oh, and the store is closed on Black Friday, which is great for physical and mental health.
Cons
REI isn't who you think they are, but they are just another business. The image that they project - an ethos of inclusivity, commitment to their community, environmentalism, and a company driven by core values - this is increasingly just an image. One that sells, and one that you are buying into if you shop there, and work there. While the company does prioritize inclusivity and diversity, this just honestly means that they are willing to treat everyone the same - like a number in the list of metrics on the way to profitability. The commitment to community means that they are committed to using the community as a resource to profit from as they move toward increasing expansion in the U.S. True community commitment does not look like the union busting behaviors that REI has aggressively pursued as stores have unionized. For example, illegally firing tenured employees in droves for baseless reasons, then doing a large rehiring to take their places; revoking the singular benefit that staff receive from working in a "co-op" from unionized sales associates, while allowing management and non-unionized stores to keep that benefit; constant unwillingness from REI hired law firm Morgan Lewis to make movement on union contracts in an effort to waste time and get bogged down in minutiae so that attrition and lack of progress leads to a union re-vote in their favor. While REI does demonstrate some characteristics of environmental concern - they contribute to a non-profit (tax write off) that improves green spaces in the communities that surround REI; they also got rid of fluorocarbons (PTFE/ teflon) in their products in adherence to a CA state law which is having a HUGE impact on product manufacturers for outdoor brands that sell in the U.S. - but, they are still a retail store that manufactures consumerism and simply changes product colors from season to season just to keep people buying the same products. And, consumerism is key contributor to the destruction of Earth. Do I need to describe what REI's true values are? Or have you gotten the picture already... Beyond what the store projects in its marketing maneuvers, REI as a store has frequent employee turn over, is best known amongst staff for how poor the communication structures are in the company, leading everyone to question the corporate leaders legitimacy and experience, including the lower level store managers. If you are cool with working in an environment with all of that, while also managing customers needs and a constant pressure from managers to sell memberships while also being surveilled by managers as you talk to customers - this is a great place for you :) (customer service friendly smile and two thumbs up)