You know what, I've never been an REI fan in the past.  While I appreciated their large selection of items, I always considered them vastly overpriced. I still do think their prices are a little (or a lot) too high, but I received such great customer service at REI this week that it softened my heart toward them a little.  I'd gone to 3 different stores looking for a disaster/emergency kit to have on hand at my job and had no luck.  I needed to get it ASAP, so I had no time to order it online. The very helpful sales rep assisted me in finding what I needed and assured me that I'd be able to return it if it didn't fit our needs, so long as the internal items were left unopened. She was just so pleasant and really went above and beyond.  I am not sure that I'll become a regular REI customer, but I'll definitely give them a smile instead of a scowl when I pass it by!