Clarks..

heather38

i prefer startrite shoes as well, but i notice that clarks and startrite don't measure the same, dd has some tbar sr shoes in a 4 and clarks sandels in a 41/2 and they both fit. i think that startrite have a better selection of styles.
i always take my DD to an independant shop in our local town, they sell clarks startrite and a few other brands as well, the clarks shop are pushy and always try and sell extras as well

misspenny

had my 2 year old feet measured recently in brantano who sell clarks and they mesured him at a 5 1/2 e which i thought was funny as he had always been quite wide footed, they didnt have anything other than an ugly pair of sandals in that size, went across the retail park (a 5 min walk) and into mothercare who also have a clarks and he was suddenly a 5 1/2 h on one foot and a 6g on the other. i'd like to know exactly what training these people get.

Carmina_Piranha_3

my 2 year old's last pair were 10 and a half, so he's okay on the machine :rotfl:

clarks and startrite measure differently, the staff in startrite told me. so it doesn't mean clarks have measured them wrong, just that they use slightly different sizes.

Fidget21

Clarks and Startrite do measure differently, I think it is about a size to a size and a half difference.

i'd like to know exactly what training these people get

When I trained it was 6 weeks on the job (just to be a children's fitter) I had already been with Clarks 2 months before I could even be considered to be trained as a Children's fitter. This started with shadowing a senior team member, leading to being allowed to fit as long as the shoes were double checked by my trainer. Then I attended a course which covered everything from what bones etc the foot is made up of, foot hygiene, the construction of the shoe and how this can affect the foot either positively or negatively and then how to achieve the ideal fit of shoe, including how to overcome things such as very wide feet, very wide feet and so on.

Incidentally, when I was a fitter we weren't allowed to sell a pair of shoes unless the fit had been double checked by a senior member of staff. I'm not sure if this is the practice now, but if you are unsure with what your fitter has given you don't hesitate to ask for it to be double checked.

I will stress agian that the machines are only a guide. I can remember now, especially as I was very young when I worked for Clarks, the number of parents who insisted that because the machine said x then it must be x, and obviously because I was only a young girl I must be stupid and obviously didn't know what I was doing. The mechanical machines can lose calibration, especially when they are experiencing heavy usage during Back to School and the manual machines can also lose alignment and if they are the ones which have the tape over the top, the tape can sometimes get stretched. It actually got to a point when I was fitting shoes that I could almost tell the exact size without the machine, but I'm pretty sure people would have had even less faith in me doing it that way!!;)

Fidget21

We took our DS in to be measured for hisfirst pair of shoes

Aaah! First Shoes! I remember it well...

In all fairness, it can be a bit hit and miss measuring them because the whole procedure is so alien to little one (and they have quite sensitive/ticklish little feet) that they tend to scrunch them up into a ball, making them very difficult to measure, which also very often results in the first pair brought out being to small. However (and again this might be indicative of how things have changed over the years) we always used to try and make first shoes buying a special experience by giving a lot of attention and time (obviously this isn't always possible if first shoe buyers turn up at the same time as back to school hoards!):eek: and I know some stores would even do a polaroid of the moment. So I'm really sorry that the occasion wasn't made special for you.

There's also a very crafty nack to getting a first shoe onto a scrunched up baby foot....but I really don't think I should go into that on here!!!!:D

Carmina_Piranha_3

yes, my baby's first pair was during the back-to-school stampede, because it was for his first birthday. they didn't make it special at all, but never mind. the shoes fit, which was great because at size 5 and a half there were no baby shoes for him, and we had to wait until he was steady enough on his feet for the big clumpy kids shoes.

i remember them making a fuss when my nephew got his first shoes

sticher

I have always bought Clarks for my 3 sons but am now reconsidering. I went in to buy their new school shoes and had their feet measured. Not once did the girl check that the shoes fit my boys - even leaving laces undone when asking them to walk around.

I had to actually say to her - do they fit and then she still didnt seem to have much of an idea. Considering that for two pairs I paid £72 i do feel i didnt get very good service at all.

Also I have never had any choice in shoe in Clarks being that my boys all have wide feet.

Savvy_Sue

Fidget21 wrote: »

There could be two reasons for asking this question, the first is that when measuring said child they might measure as a 12F but currently be wearing a 12G or measure at just over a 12 when they are wearing a 12 shoe already. It kind of gives you a starting point. In both those examples I have given you could go to the stock room and fit them with a new pair of expensive shoes, but if I knew from mum that they were already wearing a size close to what they were measuring I would ask if she wanted me to check the fit of the existing pair to see if there was still life in them, thus saving her some money.

I gave up asking for their feet to be measured, I'd just go in and ask for the fit of their current shoes to be checked. There was usually "only about another 2 weeks left", which I stopped believing after we'd made the umpteenth fortnightly visit.

And I would always check what size there were currently in, and would not buy new shoes the same size! :eek:

Fidget21

I would never sell a new pair of shoes the same size unless the old pair were beyond adequate support. However, I also wouldn't sell a pair unless they were necessary. You always say a couple of weeks because you don't know if the child is on the verge of a growth spurt or not. This is why sometimes the shoes can last 8 wks, sometimes 6 months.

luxor4t

madsmum wrote: »

It annoys me that Clarks is the biggest shoe chain in the UK yet they do not provide for those who have very wide feet? Are they saying that my dd is the only child to have this problem?

MM

They were totally unable to meet DD's needs from the age of 10 onwards, and made her feel so awful we went elsewhere.