It happens to all of us. That membership you signed up for years ago, but you can’t remember your membership details or which email account you used.
That’s what happened to me this month when I visited REI.com and wanted to order something online.
I’ve had REI Co-Op Membership for over 20 years.
But I had no idea what email address I used.
Which is required for me to place an order (unless I know my membership number, which I didn’t) and get the points added to my membership.
It’s been so long since I ordered something online from REI that I didn’t have login credentials in my password manager.
So I couldn’t log in.
And had to use their Look up my membership online form.
What happened next pleasantly surprised me.
Which is why I’m giving a UX win to REI and how they’ve designed a process with their customers in mind.
REI Look Up Membership Process
When I visited the REI.com website, I quickly found their online help, and the specific help page to help me find my membership info.
I entered one of my my oldest email accounts, submitted the form, and waited.
Now, I’ve done this kind of “forgot my membership” form submission in the past.
And when I’ve submitted the incorrect email address, I’ve received no response.
It’s as if my submission was lost. Got caught in a spam filter (check it all time, the response has never been there).
Which leaves me wondering what next steps to take.
Not this time!
While I submitted an incorrect email address in the REI form, I did receive an email message to my email address from REI.
The message said the email address I entered wasn’t associated with an REI.com account.
I was glad I received a response, rather than nothing at all.
But what I also found helpful was information REI’s email message included.
What I Liked About REI’s Response
While I was still without an option to log in to REI.com, the design team at REI anticipated my questions and next steps.
Their email message offered options for me to continue in my quest to get my membership details.
The subject line, The email you provided doesn’t match our records, quickly caught my attention.
Within the email body, the heading Something’s not adding up… made it clear there was an issue.
Within the body of the email message was how I could resolve the issue, with recommendations to
- Try another email account
- Create an account to speed up checkout
- Reminder I didn’t need an account to shop online
- Phone number to call if I have problems logging in
In addition, the email message was designed to be readable, with
- Good line height
- Easy-to-read font
- Large font size
- Short paragraphs
- Plain language
making it easy for me to read and understand my options.
REI went the extra step to provide multiple options, depending on your requirements, including talking with a person on the phone.
With organizations moving to chatbots for customer service, getting an actual phone number is something often missing in customer support these days.
And that’s the option I chose.
I quickly discovered my membership account included an email account I closed down over five years ago.
With the help of phone customer support, within a couple minutes, I updated my membership details with a current email address.
And placed my order.
Well done, REI!
Wrapping Up
Finding an email account associated with your online account shouldn’t be time-consuming or difficult.
Organizations like REI, providing multiple options to discover your email address or membership details, should be the norm.
Not a unique circumstance.
The REI design team took time to understand what customers were looking to do and offered multiple options for getting that information.
Thank you, REI!
Do you have similar stories about trying to get your online membership details? Share them in the comments.
