Badly fitted shoes at Clarks,Reading Berkshire,,,,,,,,,,,

elaine373

I was with my sister today who happened to be getting her daughters feet measured and to buy some new shoes. She was served by a lady who put on some nice smart shoes, watched her daughter walk in them and said` oh they are fine`. My sister remarked on what a quick find it was and was going to proceed with buying them. I said that i had noticed that the left one was slipping and that my neice was holding her foot funny, The assistant was most put out and said `Excuse me i am a trained shoe fitter blah blah blah.` I said i have had 7 children, have bought many many pairs of shoes from them and could probably fit as good if not better than them!My sister got her daughter to walk again and could see that the shoe on the left did indeed not fit as it should.The shop assistant showed her another pair which were fine, but was quite rude to me and obviously not doing her job properly.I told her that clarks are usually ok but not infallible. this was clarks in broad st, Reading, Berks.IMHO, This is not good enough and i shouldnt have been made to feel so embarrassed just for pointing out their incompetence!!

Horasio

Don't listen to the arrogent so and so - even if she had 27 children, a bad fit is a bad fit.

Did you tell her to get further training in customer service and civility - she clearly needs it. I didn't realise that bullying customers was part of customer shoe fitting training.

I hope you didn't buy them - your neice deserves better. Clarks ain't cheap either.

Go elsewhere and report the sow to head office.

muffinhead

elaine373 wrote:

`Excuse me i am a trained shoe fitter blah blah blah.`

Did you get her name? Write a letter of complaint to head office and highlight the fact that this particular member of staff was obviously more concerned about getting a sale than getting shoes that fitted the customer. You may get a few quid in vouchers !

P.S. I haven't been in Clarkes since I was in primary school - ah the memories!

Horasio

The staff when I used to go in with my son and when I was young - cared and could trust their judgement, that is why we paid the prices, for quality shoes and service.

She failed on both counts.

new_leaf_6

My sister took my niece back to a Clarks shop because she felt that she had been given shoes that were too small for her. She got her daughter's feet measured by an assistant who produced a pair of shoes a full size bigger than the ones she had bought 2 weeks previously. When my sister produced the shoes and the receipt and said that she wanted a bigger pair because it was obvious that they had been wrongly fitted. The shop assistant said that " measuring is only a guide"...!!! My sister(who works in customer service dealing with complaints) politely but firmly (in the middle of a VERY busy shop) insisted on speaking to the manager who eventually gave her a new pair "as a good will gesture". Clarks don't deserve custom if they don't care about children's feet anymore, just sales.

ted_ted

Elaine
I never go to that Clarks shoeshoe in Reading AVOID their service is so poor I always take my children to John Lewis or their is a FANTASTIC shoeshoe in Crowthorne "Newmans" excellent with children a small family business my mother took me there as a child and the service is best ever.

£Ronnie

I have experienced nothing but probelems with clarks and thier shoe fitting for my DD. It really sickens me that i have this built in belief, (from my parents) that clarks are best, for fitting and quality. They cost a fortune and out of 6 different pairs of shoes I have only found that 2 didn't require a return visit to clarks to sort out a problem,including:

1) Blisters on her baby toes,
excuse:"patent shoes have less give in them compared to leather, and should be in a bigger width size than leather ones.
Response: Eh, isn't it your job to know that, why did you sell them to me as properly fitting shoes then?


2)Recurring trips and falls, only when wearing new shoes(caused her to break her two front teeth:mad:)
Excuse: shoes are too big!
Response: why did you sell them to me as properly fitting shoes then?

3)Tongues in boots constantly slipping down
Excuse: She has a funny shaped foot and can't wear this style boot!
Response: why did you sell them to me as properly fitting shoes then?

Cant remember the 4th problem but you get the drift...
What makes me cross is the apathy from the staff (Is it me or do they all look like they should be in school?). They obviously have no idea the problems that badly fitted shoes cause including the inconvience of taking a young child and trying to get them to be cooperative after waiting sooo long to get served in the first place.

And ironically i still take her to clarks to get her shoes, why i don't know as i could probably buy them from tesco and fit them myself for a fraction of the cost, but its this trained thing from being a little girl. Maybe clarks were actually better back then...

Dreading my 11mth old son getting to the point where he needs shoes too...

Katyag

Ive had problems with Clarks too. Once took my son, then a small toddler, to get his feet measured, went back around 6-8 weeks later just before we went on holiday to make sure his shoes were still fitting ok for going away and he was measure a size smaller than he was at the previous visit!!!

There isnt much choice up here for kids shoes, the one place i did like stopped doing kids shoes last January.

mad_bad_spender

I buy both my daughters shoes in clarks. Been back with problems twice. First time my daughter wore the shoes out the shop and after ten minutes walking was crying with blisters on both heels. I was not happy and they gave me a full refund and a new pair of shoes in the correct size. Second time they sold me shoes that were the wrong style and were rubbing the bone on my daughters ankle.

macaddict_3

I was searching the forums to see if anyone else had experienced problems with Clarks and came across this thread. I have been really unhappy with the quality of the shoes lately. I don't think they are as well made as they used to be. My son's school shoes hardly seem to last any time at all before the soles are coming adrift from the leather. Their sizes are also often inaccurate. The fitter measures the child's feet eg. a G width, then produces some shoes in this width and invariably they are all different fits - some too wide, some too tight. I like the idea that the children appear to be having an accurate fit, but the reality is often far from this and the quality not worth the high price. Sorry for the rant, but just noticed son's shoes starting to fall apart again and still 7 weeks of term time left!!

Hermia

macaddict wrote:

The fitter measures the child's feet eg. a G width, then produces some shoes in this width and invariably they are all different fits - some too wide, some too tight.

I think this a problem in all shoe shops and it's down to where companies are buying their shoes from. I'm a size 5 and have never had a problem buying shoes, but in the last couple of years I frequently try on 5's and find that they are either far too small/big for me. A couple of people in shoe shops told me that many shoe companies are now having their shoes made in various countries (China, Thailand etc) and each factory tends to make shoes a slightly different size. In one shop the assistant says she now regularly has to get shoes in three different sizes for the customer to try on.