UniqueOutfitters

A friend told me she bought climbing gear for her daughter at the gear shop inside Stone Summit. She told me what a GREAT experience she had setting up her daughter with gear as a beginning climber. The guy who helped her was super helpful and the price was great. So for my son’s birthday, I took his buddies to climb and slipped away to go in the shop to buy my son some gear.
The store was empty for the most part until check out. The woman behind the counter, Megan was unhelpful, rude and had a condescending manner. When asked general questions about harness, shoes, chalk for a beginner climber, she tells you where stuff is and maybe walks over there (or not). She makes you feel like an idiot for asking any questions. I had to say, «excuse me» several times to get her to help me. When I tried to be proactive and brought over a harness for myself that I tried on without any help from her, she chastised me saying I had to get a Men’s small instead of medium. When I corrected her by politely showing her the Women’s label she didn’t apologize or say, «My bad.» That is the tone of the whole exchange. At check out I asked if Summit rents shoes. Polite customer service means you don’t talk down to customers, instead of saying she didn’t know, she proceeded to educate me on the fact the they are two separate businesses. I gave her a benefit of the doubt and said, «Sorry I’m such a newbie at this, I guess I should have researched more before coming into the store.» She didn’t bat an eye.
After buying two harness, belaying equipment, chalk/​chalk pouch and all the essentials for a beginner climber, I felt so unwelcome that I forgot to get climbing shoes. I went back to the store and when I told her I also needed shoes, she pointed to the wall and stayed behind the counter. I was the only customer in the store! There was some guy behind the counter (who I don’t think was on shift but he was at least nice). Finally, after asking for help, she came over and brought out a couple of shoes. When I tried to purchase them, she stopped ringing me up to chat with an acquaintance walking through the store to get to the gym. It wasn’t even, «Hey man, I gotta ask you something» exchange, it was more of a shoot the breeze «What’s going on» banter which led to a full on convo about running trails while I stood at the counter. Meanwhile my mind is racing, worried about the 7 boys in my son’s birthday party who I was supposed to be belaying and helping supervise… she literally stopped ringing me up to finish her convo with this guy who was halfway out the door.
I should mention, I returned the the store later because the shoes were too small. The manager was there this time, probably the guy my friend was raving about. He was attentive and helped me find a better fit. I hope they read these reviews because it looks like this clerk’s snobby attitude was experienced by other reviewers. I spent hundreds of dollars that day but received the worst customer service EVER.

Extremely rude. We were the only ones in the shop and looking for shoes for 10 minutes with little acknowledgement and no offer to help by the girl playing on her computer behind the desk. When we asked for help getting a size she was short with us and super snobby– e.g., «where are you getting that size? Climbing shoes don’t fit the same way as regular shoes» [add rude tone here]. She talked to my boyfriend like he was stupid (he and I both have PhDs, btw) and despite her assertion that climbing shoes fit differently she gave NO additional information or help and didn’t even offer to allow my bf to try a range of sizes to see what might fit best. She walked to the back, announced she didn’t have the size he requested for two different styles, and told us to come back in a month. No. Thanks.

This place is legit!!! They’re more about keeping people climbing than making a quick buck, and the people who run the shop have done a lot for climbing in the Southeast. They can special order almost any piece of gear you want (Even stuff you can’t find for sale on the web) I read a couple bad reviews on here, and it seems they’re all Internet sales. Hmmm… Idk. Maybe try supporting you local shop next time: p

The worst customer service I have ever experienced. I was sent a defective item and they made me pay to ship it bad. To add insult to injury they the charged a restocking fee on that defective item. This is absolutely absurd. Avoid shopping here at all cost.

I had a bad experience dealing with this company online. Bad customer service and they don’t put the customer first. Rather, they look out for themselves. I will not do business with this company ever again.

Atlanta ain’t exactly the land of milk and honey for climbers, so good climbing gear shops are rare. This one is the only place I go when I’m stuck in ATL for business and it’s totally solid, even by west coast standards. Small but packed with gear and great advice.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
Terrible customer service; they avoided internet communication after I filed a complaint about an order I placed, and paid for, that was canceled six days after the original payment. On the day the shipment was scheduled to arrive I received an email stating my account had been refunded due to inventory shortages. Why they couldn’t warn me of this when the order was placed I will never know.
Unreliable!

How is it possible that no one has reviewed Unique Outfitters yet? It’s a travesty, I tell you!
Anyway, this gear shop is attached to Stone Summit climbing gym. It’s not very big, but there is a ton of great climbing-​related stuff packed into such a small space. They have pretty much everything you could possibly need for climbing from basic gear (harnesses and shoes), gear for leading (ropes, rope bags, quick draws), to a whole bevy of cams and other trad gear. They also have a decent selection of men’s and women’s clothing, hats, and project boards.
Selection aside, the staff members here are the best — they are total saints when it comes to helping you out. Even for simple purchases they will talk your ear off about the advantages and disadvantages of different products. For trickier purchases like buying new climbing shoes, they are total saints and willing to help you out with as many pairs of shoes and different sizes are is required to get the right fit.
Though I haven’t been to many other gear shops in Atlanta, I’d come to Unique Outfitters over REI any day. Great selection, awesome staff, and you can’t beat the location for convenience if you are a climbing addict.