I don&#x27;t know about REI in particular, but in my experience when many companies tell customers that they&#x27;re &quot;members&quot;, they don&#x27;t mean it. They seem to want to create engagement (&#x27;you&#x27;re part of something, part of our growing, exciting family &#x2F; movement&#x27;) and want their customers&#x2F;members to sacrifice money or time, even volunteer, and to put up with bad service.<p>But when it comes to the benefits of membership - sharing in the profits as well as the sacrifices, or having some influence and communication - you&#x27;re a customer, or at best a customer with a free branded t-shirt.