Clarks Selling Kids Shoes Unneccesarily

bargainaholic

On Saturday I took my son to Clarks believing he needed new school shoes & a pair of trainers/football boots. They put him on their hi-tech foot measuring machine & decided he needed a size 13. The shoes he was wearing were a 12, so they went a got him the same style (his choice) in a 13. We chose football boots, paid out £50 & left.

When we got home I realised I'd got a voucher for Clarks that I hadn't used , so on Monday morning I returned the shoes. After school on Monday I took him into a different branch to buy his shoes again. This was our more local & smaller branch without the hi-tech approach.

They measured his feet the old fashioned way, looked at the shoes he'd taken off, then got him to put his shoes back on & checked where his feet were. They said he didn't need new shoes yet. Taken aback a bit I said that I'd had him measured on Saturday in another Clarks store but they didn't have his size in stock.

Straight away the now two women involved asked if he'd been measured on one of the machines. I said yes, & they looked at each other shaking their heads. "They don't measure them properly do they?" one said to the other. "No, it all depends how they stand on it" came the reply. :mad:

So, if your children get measured on one of these machines please make sure they're also checked in the shoes they already have, or that they're measured the old fashioned way too.

My son definately doesn't need new shoes just yet, & I've still got my £28 & my voucher for when he does

Jay-Jay_4

Hi,

There are already a few discussions regarding Clarks and foot measurements so maybe this one will be merged at some point.

I always ask for my daughters feet to be measured in the 'old fashioned' way as the machine is usually out by a couple of sizes. I don't know why they don't get rid of the machines as everyone seems to have problems with them.

They do say that the measurement is only a guide and the fit is more important. Didn't they check the fit of the new shoes?

bargainaholic

The new shoes fitted lovely, but so did the old ones!

I'm not questioning the fit of the ones sold to me - just annoyed that having put myself in their professional care, they sold me something I didn't need.

juno

I was scared of the machines, and thought they'd never stop and would squish my feet!

divadee

juno wrote:

I was scared of the machines, and thought they'd never stop and would squish my feet!

they have changed them since then, i used to hate those machines as well.

The new ones you just stand on them on pressure pads and the computer measures the pressure you put on it.

The old ones where they came at you from all sides were scary. I wonder if you could buy one on ebay :rotfl: great to scare little miss divadee with

juno

divadee wrote:

they have changed them since then, i used to hate those machines as well.

The new ones you just stand on them on pressure pads and the computer measures the pressure you put on it.

The old ones where they came at you from all sides were scary. I wonder if you could buy one on ebay :rotfl: great to scare little miss divadee with

That's better then I used to squidge my toes up, so they cant've been accurate!

Poppy9

Children shoe fittings are a minefield. I have taken back worn shoes to Clarks because they have rubbed etc. If you are paying a premium for fitting you expect them to fit. They have never quibbled with supplying new shoes.

I have found that measuring DD feet is always different in different Clarks shops even when they use the machines. I always try to check the fitting as well even though I am not trained I can see big gaps and where likely creasing is going to form because my DD has very narrow feet and something to do with her arches and instep:o

One comfort is it does get easier as they get older though and can tell you how shoes are fitting. If my DD says the shoes are slipping and the Clarks lady says no they are not I believe my daughter (I know instinctively when it's a wheeze because she doesn't like the shoes:rolleyes: ). They check slipping by pulling on the heel whereas walking in shoes has a different effect.

Quackers

bargainaholic wrote:

Straight away the now two women involved asked if he'd been measured on one of the machines. I said yes, & they looked at each other shaking their heads. "They don't measure them properly do they?" one said to the other. "No, it all depends how they stand on it" came the reply. :mad:

It also depends on how the foot is positioned on the manual footguage. You could still get 4 different measurements from the manual footguage on the same day with the same child but measured by different people.

If the store you visited did not have a machine to measure feet then it was not a Clarks store. It will be an independant store that stocks clarks shoes or a Franchise store. All Clarks stores have the electronic foot guages to measure childrens feet. Of course they are going to measure differently one is a weight on and one is weight off measurement.

As Jay Jay says the measure is only a guide - it is the fit of the shoes that count.

Staff in Clarks stores are trained to offer a 'free fit check' to every customer. We recommend that you return in the current school shoes to get them checked before you purchase a new pair. We say this to every customer but it is very rare that the child returns in their school shoes as they often come in their trainers!! I imagine (and know:rolleyes: !) that this isn't carried out 100% of the time - but it should be.

Quackers

divadee wrote:

The old ones where they came at you from all sides were scary. I wonder if you could buy one on ebay :rotfl: great to scare little miss divadee with

:rotfl: How evil are you!!! :rotfl:

nice idea - that would be soooooo much fun

Quasar

This is one case where I think going high tech is a load of balls. A foot can be measured by hand and with common sense. It worked in the past, so why shouldn't it now? Are children's feet nowadays different from children's feet 20 or 30 years ago?

All these unnecessary machines are just to show the hapless public that it's all so "scientific" and that they get something they could not otherwise.

Again, balls!

dastephens

I have used Clarks for shoes for 12 years now and yes my 2 children have different foot measurements depending which form of foot measurement is used.
I have found that the manual foot guage gives a foot measurement of half to 1 size less than the 'Hi-tech standing up foot measuring machine'. I have concluded that this is because you are standing upright when having your feet measursed, thus your body weight increases the size as opposed to sitting down. This is surely the correct size as when you are wearing the shoes, you will also be standing/walking!.
You are measursed with the manual foot guage sitting down, thus your feet are automatically smaller as your weight is not on them.