Is anyone else fed up with Clarks?

Quackers

mrcow wrote: »

Do you work for Clarks Quackers?! :rotfl:

If you do, have a word with the blond haired manager at the Bluewater store if you're ever on a company jolly......twice (yes, twice!) she's sent me out the shop with the wrong box of shoes after I'd paid for them. (I'm talking bright pink girls shoes for my 6 year old son here!)

The second time, she tried to imply that it was my fault (yes right - she handed me the bag over the counter.......totally my fault! :rolleyes:)

The last time I went in there to get shoes, I saw her lurking near the doorway and just swerved out the shop in time :cool: Not been back since.

Yes, I do

Yes, totally your fault for being given the wrong shoes :rotfl:;)

I've worked for them for 12 years for my sins.....was a store manager up until last year when I stepped down from the position.

Thankfully, I am not blonde....and have never worked at Bluewater :cool:

Tink82

I did like Clarks up until recently, all the shoes seem to have those bloody stupid dolls in the bottom and the insole slips if you remove them, when I took my daughter to buy a new pair of school shoes we came out with exactly the same style that she already had and she was in floods of tears (at the age of 6 these things are very important!) They also never seem to have a G fitting and send me to the other store.

Counting_Pennies_2

Tink82 wrote: »

I did like Clarks up until recently, all the shoes seem to have those bloody stupid dolls in the bottom and the insole slips if you remove them, when I took my daughter to buy a new pair of school shoes we came out with exactly the same style that she already had and she was in floods of tears (at the age of 6 these things are very important!) They also never seem to have a G fitting and send me to the other store.

Funny you should say that, only yesterday I was speaking with a friend and we joked how every child in the baby groups have the same shoes, always from Clarks and always a nightmare tale to go with them!

Tink82

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

Funny you should say that, only yesterday I was speaking with a friend and we joked how every child in the baby groups have the same shoes, always from Clarks and always a nightmare tale to go with them!

Yes there are lots of girls at the school with the same shoes, she came home with two different sized shoes after P.E a few months ago :rolleyes:

chumbasmum

It has been great to read all of these posts to realise that it is not just me. I have always shopped at clarks for my two little ones but recently their shoes haven't been lasting, I'm not over impressed by some of the styles and really fed up with the little toys in the soles. It means that I can't get my DS to say if it fits, he just wants to have the cheap toy.
They also have started to increase the size to make them fit. The last time I went there this particular member of staff tried to say that a pair fitted my son until I started to question the gaps and she then started to ask my opinion and agreed with me - she would have been quite happy for me to walk out with them. They also didn't have any covered over sandles for my 3 year old who can fall over his own feet - even though a different fitter agreed (under her breath whilst looking out for the manager) that the Clarks ones wouldn't be the best for us but she shouldn't really say that and would get into trouble. Under her breath she suggested that we went elsewhere - nice woman.
We ended up travelling to the next town and buying start rite shoes. What a difference. The fitting, choice etc. I had always thought that they would be too expensive for me but it does seem worth it. The shop worker did say that start rite only make childrens shoes and things like the leather is dyed through the whole leather.
If clarks is disappointing you - vote with your feet. It is a real power that we have.

Counting_Pennies_2

Something else that is worrying me, now I am speaking to more people about it.

The staff, I generalise, (not always long in the position, and often of an age where they don't appreciate the importance of good fitting children's shoes) rely on the equipment to tell them the size and width of the child's feet and then rely on this as the only form of fitting for the shoes. If they don't have the size in stock they then say the next size up is fine.

This I am afraid is such a poor way of fitting. I have never had a member of staff put a shoe on and tell me it doesn't fit, regardless of how much pushing and shoving they take to put it on.

There is so much propaganda about needing widths in shoes, but actually all they need is an experienced fitter with a variety of different makes of shoes to know which suits each child that comes in.

I have found a fantastic independant store round the corner from me, and I will now only go with that company, the lady is fantastic at fitting, instantly knew what my children's individual features were of their feet and the makes that would suit them. I couldn't be happier.

Funnily enough, when I got my son's latest school shoes from Clarks back in April (the straw that broke the camels back!) they fell apart within a couple of weeks, no chance of getting them changed!!

jellyhead

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

The staff, I generalise, (not always long in the position, and often of an age where they don't appreciate the importance of good fitting children's shoes) rely on the equipment to tell them the size and width of the child's feet and then rely on this as the only form of fitting for the shoes. If they don't have the size in stock they then say the next size up is fine.

This I am afraid is such a poor way of fitting. I have never had a member of staff put a shoe on and tell me it doesn't fit, regardless of how much pushing and shoving they take to put it on.

The next size up might be fine - my boys both end up with the size up from what the machine measures them, and both 2 widths wider too, even 3 for my eldest. Perhaps the extra width accommodates their high instep, I don't know, but seeing as they ALWAYS need H it would be nice if the staff had some kind of a record, so they wouldn't waste so much time trying on narrow shoes before finally realising that actually I was telling the truth when I mentioned the H fittings earlier. My children don't like shoe shopping so after the tenth pair they really just want to go home. I realise that their feet might narrow a bit as they get older, but from a H they are not going to be an E, not over the space of 2-3 months.

The independent shoe shop keeps a record card of the size, and which makes and styles fit best - perhaps that's why parents like them so much. They don't have to waste half an hour persuading the staff that their children have wide feet. Unfortunately the only pair I managed to get from the independent shop had to go back because he didn't like them.

jellyhead

My sister goes to the independent shop because clarkes always try to sell her shoes with the strap barely fastening, so they look undone, and they make her son's feet look like they're so fat they are bulging out of the shoes. Staff always say that as long as the velcro is touching it doesn't matter if most of it doesn't touch - but that's not the point, my sister wants the shoes to look good, and unfastened shoes look ugly.

Counting_Pennies_2

jellyhead wrote: »

My children don't like shoe shopping so after the tenth pair they really just want to go home. I realise that their feet might narrow a bit as they get older, but from a H they are not going to be an E, not over the space of 2-3 months.

This is my point though, they rely so heavily on the machine to tell them.

When I went to the independant shoe shop she said instantly just by touching my children's feet that they have very deep feet, due to their high instep.

This doesn't get picked up by the Clarks machine, and they are doing a huge diservice to these children.

I am so disappointed with them, now I have found the independant shoe shop and realised how poor Clarks is I feel I need to shout about it to say there is better out there, people don't need to deal with this company. I thought this was my only option, and it feels like a whole new world has opened up.

jellyhead

The staff in our independent shop have told me that clarkes are wider than startrite, so to go to clarkes until his feet narrow a bit. They didn't have anything for my youngest, but clarkes always have something - well, they have a style to suit wide high feet, but they don't always have it in stock on the day. It annoys me only having one style to choose from though, and only ever the plain school shoes with the stupid toy. He wants flashing lights, bless him!

The young staff annoyed me last time, suggesting that there's no call for flashing lights and spaceship logos in size 13, he's 3 years old !!!!!! - of course he wants flashing lights!