No Shoes for a Disgruntled Customer

Have you ever in this world encountered a retail store that refused to let you try on the merchandise? Refused, that is, until you had given them an entire health history? I just returned from a disaster of a shopping expedition.

This morning when I went to the Post Office after meditation, I spied a new shoe store in the Bradlee Shopping Center: Foot Solutions. In my ongoing search for replacements for my 3-year-old Eccos, I determined to return later on today when they were open.

Later when I walked through the door into a very empty store, I was immediately asked “What brings you here?” I thought it should be rather obvious that I was interested in buying a pair of shoes. But instead I gave the perfunctory “I’m just looking.” As I proceeded to look a short stocky woman in a white coat (named Holly) approached me and offered to make suggestions, considering my foot history. “I’m just looking,” I said a little more emphatically to her.

They carry some very expensive shoes: Finn, Mephisto, Theresien, those multi-hundred dollar brands. But I should have known something was up because there was not a price tag to be found on any shoe.

I finally found two styles I wanted to try on and told the girl at the desk, who said, “I’ll get Holly.” It would seem my case had been assigned to Holly.

Holly reappeared with her clipboard in hand and a standard shoe measuring device. I tried to tell her I knew what size I wore, but she would have none of that. So I put on the footlets and agreed to let her measure my feet and guess what – I measured a 9B!

Then she started with questions like: Do you have a history of diabetes? Fibromyalgia? I tried to say in my nicest voice “But I just want to try on two pairs of shoes.”

She continued, “I don’t suppose you would give me your name,” to which I replied, “Right. Can I just try on the shoes?” I thought I was close, but then she asked me to stand up and turn around so she could check some aspect of my anatomy.

I announced that I was not here to get podiatry advice, just to try on two (FUCKING) pairs of shoes. Holly locked eyes with me as if to say, “My way or no way.” I said in one last effort, “If you don’t go get those shoes, I am going to hand you back your footlets and walk out of here.” She just shrugged and I realized I was up against a Nazi-like attitude that was not about selling shoes, but was rather about filling out the form. For goodness sake!

As I walked out, I mentioned to Holly, “If you insist on this process, you are not going to sell a lot of shoes.” She just looked at me and said, “Good luck.”

Have you ever experienced such treatment at a new place obviously starving for business which doesn’t make a penny of profit unless they SELL SHOES?

Where did you buy your last pair of comfortable shoes? What brand were they? (Note that I did not ask you about your arches or the general state of your feet!)