RE: REI

 After much consideration, I opted to purchase my first e-bike from REI.  As a nationwide retailer, they have good reputation and a location which is proximate to my home.  They not only sell e-bikes but they service them.  REI’s return policy for Co-Op members, REI’s extended two year warranty and no labor costs for fixing flats reflects well on the chain. Moreover, their deeply discounted  Co-Op Generation e1.1 and 1.2 e-bikes was a strong incentive to buy from REI. 

Alas, all of those accolades are accompanied by some critiques. 

 Firstly, the sales rap was that REI did not charge labor for fixing flats on bikes, just the cost of the tube.  While that is true, I was buying an e-bike.  In my many pre-purchase trips, I was not informed that REI assesses a $25 surcharge for any work on e-bikes.  That takes away some of the luster from REI. 

Secondly, the Co-Op Generation e1.1 and e1.2 have such a deep discount as the models are being discontinued. None of the sales staff knows if or when REI will have newer models of their REI house brand utility e-bikes.  I have been researching this purchase for four months and have no new information. 

 As a consumer, I do not need the latest and greatest of any technology so I am fine with purchasing the prior generation if it meets my use case and has a deep discount. What has put some buyers off is whether REI will support these older e-bikes when they are replaced.  This is particularly poignant regarding the e-bike battery, which is the most expensive part.  

Since the REI Co-Op Generation e.1.1 & e1.2 e-bikes are house brands, consumers can’t buy generic batteries and expect them to fit.  REI sales staff assured me that they can replace batteries under warranty.  Lithium-Ion batteries only last for so many charges.  It would be infuriating if after two years there can be no battery replacement and the buyer is stuck with a 54 pound “brick” e-bike. 

Finally, I am disappointed at the constant amount of time I spent attempting to get the attention of REI sales persons when on the floor.  I have gone on weekends to a flagship store and waited over twenty minutes to get someone’s attention (even after having reps paged).  I have been to suburban stores on weekends where it was dead and had to beg for a rep. and still waited for ten minutes.  Granted, a couple of visits were informational in nature.

 With this in mind, I thought that I would go in the middle of the week and I would get better customer service when I was ready to buy. Wrong!  I had to wait over a half hour in a dead floor, have reps twice paged from the floor, chase down an employee from the other end of the store and ask for a manger after 35 minutes, who never  actually showed up.  

It is unclear if REI is perennial short staffed or if it was just the case in my five visits. But when a consumer is potentially going to plunk down a couple of grand on an e-bike, they ought to feel more valued than begging for attention and waiting for a half hour. 

The trend with e-bikes is that many manufacturers have gone the Direct-to-Consumer route.  In the past mail order e-bikes would be a white knuckle experience for cycling enthusiasts who are not bike mechanics.  Nowadays, e-bikes can be shipped 98% assembled, only requiring adjustment to the stem, seat post and possibly attaching the pedals.

While I got my start in e-bikes via REI, the question is whether they will keep me as a customer (though I will now always be a REI Co-Op member).