Then she must have blown off the salespeople when they asked to help her.
Recently I bought a backpack from them and the person who helped me not only knew all about packs but also gave me advice on all the different stoves and water filtration systems they have there.
And someone is usually right there to help with shoes. So I find it unbelievable that the staff at REI would sell her the wrong boots to begin with.
Damn I'm good.
I've met REI staff who didn't know much about their own products. And boot fitting is tricky with many subtleties. For example, she was likely wearing different socks on the trail than she did in the store. And her feet could have been swollen. (Recall that her feet didn't become problematic until weeks into the trip.)
Nail loss can also happen if you don't trim your nails and/or the boots aren't tightened enough. The injury would give her the impression that the boots were too small even if they weren't.
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she was doing a bit of attention-seeking with the mostly male staff.
A man has sex with many females and he's a stud and cool. A woman does the same and she's a slut. Gotta love misogynistic morons.
Time wounds all heels.
Never heard of REI but it must be some USA thing. In every genre of sports or adventure there are shops that will sell you stuff you don't need. I have been guilty of carrying 10 extra kilos of stuff that I didn't need because the arguments for having said stuff seemed reasonable.
This holds true for bicycle shops, tire shops, clothes etc.
What's important is she learns to evaluate this stuff herself and makes decisions regarding.... She burns the pages of her books for example.
We don't need shaving cream. Soap works just as well. But millions of men buy it anyway. Red Bull has no energy advantage over a can of coca cola or a similar sized glass of milk. But we don't flinch as millions waste money on Red Bull. It's no different here. Marketing works or companies wouldn't do it.
Yes, REI is an American chain of stores that do wilderness/camping/hiking supplies and equipment, and prides itself on having informed, experienced staff who will see you right with what you need.
But like any retail enterprise, of course there will be staff who on the one hand fail to give adequate advice or indeed sell you too much stuff you don't really need. REI is supposed to have a good reputation though.
They are pretty helpful when I bought my hiking boots. I was completely clueless about what to get. Also had no idea that regular cotton socks were a no-no.
shareI haven't personally shopped there, but many years ago my then-husband bought some things there, and he said they were really helpful and knowledgeable. I gather they are one of those retailers who market themselves as having very dedicated staff -- kind of like everyone who works there is usually a person who actively camps and hikes etc themselves, thus intimately knows the gear.
shareIn the book, she said the boot salesman spent ages with her trying to ensure that the fit was perfect, but the boots killed her feet on the trail. Not what went wrong there, but the guy did try to do it right.
Some of the other salespeople must have thought she was a real sucker, they sold her all sorts of stuff she didn't need and couldn't carry.
A while back, I asked an REI person if I should buy the Sun Hat, and she replied, If You Want to Look Like A Girl.
Frankly, that hurt my feelings a lot. I just wanted to buy something that gave my face some shade, and she treated me like I was some idiot. Never gone back to REI again. But they don't miss my business, I guess.
I know a guy (my wife's niece's husband) who works at REI and claims to be some kind of outdoorsman, yet he's so clueless that he took his wife backpacking in shorts and t-shirts and didn't bother to take jackets. When the sun went down and it got cold, they started freezing and had to sit around with their sleeping bags draped over their shoulders like capes.
share