REI 321 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

"I normally love REI, especially the one close to my home. As a significantly physically disabled autistic woman the outdoors are both wonderful and challenging and I have always felt supported when going into REI. In fact, it’s one of the few stores I will go into alone. The Santa Barbara REI was awful in this regard. Apparently they made the decision to remove their carts. This is a big problem for someone like myself who is limited to carrying around five pounds and was expecting carts because every single REI I have ever been in has had small carts or at least rolling baskets. The last time I was in this REI they had carts. At first I thought that the carts were just all in use but it took getting to the back of the store and talking to a store employee to find out they didn’t have any carts. Wait! They do have carts. But it took quite a bit of hemming and hawing on their part for me to find out they actually do keep some in the back. Eventually an employee did bring me one but it was made to feel like this was a special favor. This first employee did listen when I explained why this was problematic and to her credit was quite nice and willing to be educated about how this was a barrier to my accessing the store but it was really upsetting to not have this taken seriously at first. By this point I had been trying to carry some items in the bag I had brought which is still causing me pain. I appreciate the engagement of this woman I’m glad we could have a productive conversation. When I checked out, the cashier had been informed of my cart request ahead of time and kept trying to justify not having carts, why it wasn’t a big deal, telling me most stores don’t have carts anymore, and how they keep them in the back in case someone needs one BUT that they hide this fact so people won’t know they can ask for them. He kept going on about how they have baskets. I can not carry a basket in a useful capacity. I explained this in a calm manner. I don’t expect floor employees to fix policy issues but to have the issue downplayed repeatedly was hurtful and embarrassing. I’ve worked retail in the past and I know it can suck but it doesn’t take much to say “I never thought about/experienced/knew about (insert store created barrier), I’m really sorry our store has caused a problem and I will let my manager know”. I would also point out that many of their clothing displays were very close together and the cart was not able to easily navigate some of the areas. That means that if I had chosen to take my wheelchair or walker inside I would not have been able to easily independently navigate. This isn’t a review of REI but rather REI in Santa Barbara and the decisions made by management at the store both to make it inaccessible and to put no effort into even a bare minimum of training for staff. I have had lovely experiences at my local REI every time. The people there have been wonderfully supportive and helpful (which usually just means asking if I need a hand lifting something or helping me think through whether a piece of gear can meet my needs but it makes such a huge difference to be treated like that). There are a lot of accessibility barriers in the outdoors that I have to navigate. I don’t appreciate the Santa Barbara REI creating new ones. The explanation I finally received was that some carts had been stolen and that is why they didn’t want anyone to know they still had carts. I had suggested that a solution it would be helpful to put a sign up saying that if you need a cart as a disability accommodation to ask an employee but was reminded they don’t want people to know they have carts on hand for customers who need them. There are so many solutions here that don’t involve making the store inaccessible for people like me. They can put poles on the carts like many stores do. If I see a cart with a pole when I walk in the store, I immediately know I will have to call my partner to come meet me at the door to pick up merchandise but I can still walk around the store and shop by myself. Or locking cart wheels."

"Very nice store! The team was very good helping my son find a good climbing shoes. And great selection of many outdoor items."

"The staff was incredibly helpful. I popped in to grab a new set of pedals for a bike, and the young guy working in the service dept. had the best attitude and work ethic. They were short staffed that morning due to the Santa Barbara 100 coming up that next day. He was basically working on his own, multitasking like crazy, and handling the work load like an absolute pro. I will be back for sure and will recommend this shop to others."

"Came in here for a online order and looked confused expecting a worker to help me. Instead 4 workers in front are small talking a customer that is paying for his goods. I wonder confused to the back to see if I can pick up my bike part I ordered online. They tell me to go to the front register to pick up my online ordered item. Would have been nice if the 4 workers small talking in front the one customer told me that."

"Accidentally donated my old Leatherman to the USA Transportation Security Administration. Helpful in-store folks were happy to talk me through a couple models on a display table and work out which would work with my old case and bits. Also let me know about a members sale that day. Very satisfied with the result!"