This is my experience with a local small business shoe store.
My husband and I were on a mission to find some shoes. We ended up at The Heel Shoe Fitters in Green Bay. I thought they could measure his feet and we would walk out with a good fitting pair of shoes for him.
We didn't know what to expect when we walked in. We started at their outlet, the lady that was working there wasn't very friendly but did greet us when we entered. We went over to the main store. They have you check in and you're basically assigned a salesperson. They are very trained on feet and knowledgeable. They ask all the right questions and will bring you as many pair of shoes to try on that they have.
Our sale lady, Hannah was amazing. She matched our stupid humor; she brought out so many pairs of shoes for my husband to try on. He found a pair of tennis shoes that fit perfectly and were the correct size for his feet. We also purchased two pairs of shoes for me and a pair of slippers for my daughter. In total we spent over $800 on an impromptu trip to the shoe store.
The problem started with the work boots my husband purchased. He tried them on in the store and they fit. He did stand up and walk around the store. He decided to wait until it wasn't so muddy out to actually wear them. He put them on in the living room, walked into the garage to start packing his truck and decided that they weren't going to work as they hurt his feet. He immediately took them off and put them back in the box.
We threw away the receipt which is a problem we know we have. I contact customer service online regarding their return policy and they answered exactly as the new receipt that I have states:
“Items must be returned within 30 days for the date of purchase. Items must be in unworn* and like-new condition with original packaging and tags* for a full refund.
Items returned more than 30 days from the date of purchase are up to the manager discretion and may not be accepted. Return policy exceptions are subject to restocking fee and in-store credit only.
Defects will be handled on a case-by-case basis per manufacturer.
*Worn items ARE NOT eligible for refund
*Items returned without original packaging and tags will be subject to a 20% restocking fee.”
All of this is pretty basic, my main concern was that we didn't have the receipt and the tags were cut off in the store. The customer service rep assured me that they have the receipt on file and that the tags being off was fine. Perfect, he wore these for maybe 10 minutes, and they weren't worn.
The problem arose when he went to the store. They stated that the boots were in worn condition and were subject to the re-stocking fee. To say we were upset would be an understatement. I reached out to customer service yet again and was met with the owner of the store. He stood by the boots were in worn condition due to a light dusting on the bottom.
I have attached the pictures of what he sent, as you can see, these are brand new boots, and you can tell by looking at the tread that they weren't worn at all.
The definition of the word “Worn”: Damaged and shabby as a result of much use
The definition of the word “Tried on”; To put on (a garment) in order to test the fit or to use or test experimentally.
According to this these boots were in in tried on status, yet according to the store employee and owner these were worn. The owner tried to guilt trip me into understanding that they can't put them back on the shelf and that they are losing money. Although I understand this completely, it's not my concern.
According to their return policy we should have been given a full refund no questions asked; however we weren't. We were argued with and treated extremely poorly. In a world where customer service matters the back end failed. So much so that a store we originally raved about we will never go to again. We will tell people of our terrible experience each and every time someone mentions their name.
Customers have a reasonable expectation that if we follow the return policy we will be treated fairly and given a refund or store credit. We are not responsible for deciphering the verbiage of a return policy.
This store will treat you great while you are there spending money but terrible if there is a problem after.
I did speak with the owner, and we were given a full refund. He did admit to me that if we would have whipped off the bottom and then returned them, they wouldn't have asked questions. This is strange to me because these still look brand new and simply tried on, no more so than they did in the store.
The Heel Shoe Fitters is located at 930 Waube Lane Green Bay, WI
You can shop online at theheel.com and they apparently also have an amazon store.
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