Is anyone else fed up with Clarks?

fernliebee

withabix wrote: »

It isn't Clarks' fault that there aren't many other shoe shops.

It's the fault of the other shoe shops for being cr4p at running a business.

Clarks didn't make them all go bust, they did that all by themselves, with the help of you, the customer!

Well I'm sure they didn't help the smaller independant stores sales did they. I think it's slightly unfair to suggest it was the small shops fault they went bust, they would be no competition for such a large brand. You are right imo that it is up to us, the customer. I would support a small independant shoe shop over clarks any day, if we had one round here.

hbloomers

I used to work for Clarks. Yes, it is very important for kids to have shoes to fit, but I'd like to point out that in my experience, the average width fitting was a F or G, so accordingly shops will stock more of them. H widths are stocked, but with only a limited amount of storage in a stock room, there's only so much it can hold.

As an aside to the person saying that the same assistant had sold you the wrong sizes... the receipt gives you the name of the person who sold them. If it happens again, maybe ask to see the manager and point this fact out to them?

xmaslolly76

I refuse to shop at Clarks our local store is manned by spotty teenagers who havent got a real clue about fitting the shoes and many a time they have tried to sell me unsuitable shoes just to get a sale and that includes th amanger on one occasion. Its a shame as i was bought up on Clarks shoes and back in the day there service and quality was second to non which is probably why alot of the independant shoes shops did go out of business. We have a lovely independant shop near by and i have always gone to them for school shoes i must admit to buying trainers and sandles from where ever we find them though.

Counting_Pennies_2

hbloomers wrote: »

I used to work for Clarks. Yes, it is very important for kids to have shoes to fit, but I'd like to point out that in my experience, the average width fitting was a F or G, so accordingly shops will stock more of them. H widths are stocked, but with only a limited amount of storage in a stock room, there's only so much it can hold.

Thanks for an insiders perspective.

I guess the frustrating thing for me is that non stop campaigning over the last four or five years for more H sizes are met with a stone wall from head office.

I write to say there are never any H sizes. They write back and say if demand increases they would make more.

Which is where the deadlock comes. If they did a survey of their actual customers and found out how many people left their stores without the correct size or width of shoe, they would find out exactly where the demand is.

If they were savy, they would have all the shop assistants writing down each time there wasn't a shoe size or width and reporting back to HQ, likewise offering a comments card for frustrated customers leaving with nothing.

Only then will they comprehend the frustration there is out there.

Even more interesting is a recent response given from Clarks about H.

They stated in research based on school aged children there was 'x' percentage of H fitting, and that is why they only create 'x' amount of H fitting shoes.

This is their answer when writing in frustration over preschoolers shoes.

What they don't understand is that there are more preschoolers with H than there are school children. Childrens feet grow as they grow and as such a large percentage of childrens feet reduce to a G or F fitting. If they understood that, they would at least up the amount of shoes for preschoolers to at least make a start.

This also opens up a fascinating insight into HQs thinking. They rely on research of 2000 children to decide how many shoes they make and in what fitting. That surely can't be the way to run a business. Why aren't they listening to their customers.

The amount of stone walling I have had from HQ is frustrating and I intend to do my up most to buy independently from now on. They have had me a captive customer for six years with my children's feet. I can honestly say that their attempts at cramming my children into narrower or longer shoes has done more damage than their campaign for correctly fitting shoes implies!

SUESMITH_2

this was always a problem for my 2 kids - h fitting and high arches, after a frustrating trip where they tried to tell me that going up 2 sizes meant they fitted fine when they were falling off their feet i gave up and never went back

i used to go to this amazing shoe shop http://www.watkinsonsshoes.com/ where they had no problem fitting my ds with lovely german shoes, and jones the bootmakers too

funnily enough going back to clarkes, many years ago i was assured that they were going to sell I fitting shoes as kids feet were getting much wider

aliasojo

I've just had a similar problem. Daughter needed a 13G but they didn't have any in stock so they did the old 'go up half a size/reduce the width' thing an gave us a 13 1/2 F. Daughter reckoned they were ok in the shop but a few short weeks later she was coming in with red weals on her little toe and down the side of her foot, so she obviously had no growing room at all and wearing them for any more than a 5 minute burst was causing her problems.

Clarks changed them but after coming home with the new 13G pair, daughter is complaining that the shoe is rubbing where the strap is stitched to the side of the shoe. Closer inspection showed that the leather is kinda pointed there instead of rounded off like on the other shoe and the stitching has made it hard so it's digging into her skin. I cant face going back again so I'm killing the shoe by trying to rub the leather to soften it. :rolleyes:

My eldest is 26 and all 3 of mine have been in Clarks and Start-Rite from toddlers throughout school. I have noticed a definite change in the sevice provided and the shoe quality over the years, and not for the better unfortunately.

Start-Rite are much better imo.

Ishtar

I've stopped shopping at Clarks for shoes as they don't seem to measure properly in my local branch any more. DD (who's now 4) had been wearing Clarks shoes from the time she started walking until January this year when I was told the width of her foot had gone from a G to a D (within the space of less than 4 weeks) even though the shoe size hadn't changed. We were actually shopping for boots, but were told they started at an F and wouldn't fit at all....the assistant refused to even try them...

We came away from there with a pair of shoes that never really fitted properly, despite the assistant adding insoles to help with the fit.

Our local independent shoe shop sells Start-rite, and the service is excellent. I think we paid around £4 more for DDs shoes, but they fit much better, look smarter and don't have a gimmicky toy. Oh yes, and her width was measured as a G :rolleyes:.

D.

aimee21j

I have thought this about Clarks for a while (not child shoes related). They don't know their own products and were adamant that they didn't make a shoe in a certain size yet you could order that size from their website. They aren't very consistent with sizing either.

Quackers

aliasojo wrote: »

Clarks changed them but after coming home with the new 13G pair, daughter is complaining that the shoe is rubbing where the strap is stitched to the side of the shoe. Closer inspection showed that the leather is kinda pointed there instead of rounded off like on the other shoe and the stitching has made it hard so it's digging into her skin. I cant face going back again so I'm killing the shoe by trying to rub the leather to soften it. :rolleyes:
.

Go back.

If they have been fitted incorrectly/no longer fit after a short time then they will change them for you.

You shouldn't have to waste your money on buying more/trying to make them fit...

Quackers

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

Thanks for an insiders perspective.

I guess the frustrating thing for me is that non stop campaigning over the last four or five years for more H sizes are met with a stone wall from head office.

I write to say there are never any H sizes. They write back and say if demand increases they would make more.

Which is where the deadlock comes. If they did a survey of their actual customers and found out how many people left their stores without the correct size or width of shoe, they would find out exactly where the demand is.

If they were savy, they would have all the shop assistants writing down each time there wasn't a shoe size or width and reporting back to HQ, likewise offering a comments card for frustrated customers leaving with nothing.

Only then will they comprehend the frustration there is out there.

Even more interesting is a recent response given from Clarks about H.

They stated in research based on school aged children there was 'x' percentage of H fitting, and that is why they only create 'x' amount of H fitting shoes.

This is their answer when writing in frustration over preschoolers shoes.

What they don't understand is that there are more preschoolers with H than there are school children. Childrens feet grow as they grow and as such a large percentage of childrens feet reduce to a G or F fitting. If they understood that, they would at least up the amount of shoes for preschoolers to at least make a start.
........

As others have mentioned Clarks now have a facilty to order (long overdue). You can order on the internet and they will text/email you when the shoes are in for you to try.

Or you can go in, be measured & if no shoes in store the store can order for you too.

Also, this year during July/August its possible to make an appointment to go in and have your kids feet measured/fitted instead of having to take a ticket and wait. Just phone your local store to see if they are running the appointments system IF you are interested

There are more preschool shoes made in the H fitting than the older shoes...more styles too...but I guess they just sell out quickly.

And as someone else who works at Clarks has said...they are usually made...but they dont send them to all stores...dependant on stock room space & how well H fittings sell in the store....so many reasons

For the person who said that the staff saying 'a measure is only a guide' thats because it is Shoes, unfortunately, are just like clothes...they all fit differently...My adult shoes range from a size 5-6, my clothes range from a 10-14 depending on the store.

It would be great if every childs shoe in one size fitted the same but due to the style/designs/fastening etc this is just not possible which is why you sometimes need a different size to what you measure....oh, and not forgetting the machine is just that....a machine....it makes mistakes sometimes I guess...

Sometimes you think a shoe fits and it does. Sometimes if your child walks and puts more pressure on a specific part of the foot then it will rub/catch. This cant always be predicted in the store.

sometimes a sales assistant makes a mistake. Sometimes the sales assistant is just plain pants..not acceptable. Good and bad everywhere?

I am not condoning the bad Clarks assistants out there....its not good

But if you ever have a problem with a bad fit/poor customer service then it should be dealt with correctly.

If the store are not helpful then contact customer care....Clarks refund/return policy on childrens shoes is very generous (or am I biased ) and you should always be able to get it sorted out.