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Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - Page 514

post #7696 of 21982
7/25/12 at 12:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BackInTheJox View Post

 

Also, had a quick question.  I tend to be sort of "between" a 9EEE and a 9.5E on the 5 last.  I think the 9EEE tends to fit a little bit better, if I had to choose.  I'm planning on getting a pair of Walnut strands; however, I understand they are sort of meant to be a "sleek" streamlined shoe.  I'm a little hesitant to go for the extra wide EEE width, which I feel might detract from the shoe's overall aesthetics (vs. a slightly longer but less wide shoe).  Is this a stupid thing to worry about?  Does anyone have any good input, or better yet some pictures of Strands in EEE width?

Go with which fits better. I got my walnut strands from the nordy anniv sale. i wear 9EEE. they don't look clunky, fat, or wide at all. no photos right now, but will post if i take some later. so, yes, it's a stupid thing to worry about. the strands are a ridiculously good-looking shoe (better-looking than the somewhat-comparable half-brogues from alden, which i saw in person and was not impressed with), and it still looks great even in 9EEE.

 

plus, nobody looking at your shoes will be seeing a 9.5e side-by-side with a 9eee, and even if they were, they'd have to be looking for a difference to notice one.

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post #7697 of 21982
7/25/12 at 1:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by allaboutshoes View Post

Its actually funny, but I KNOW for fact that they are.

Interesting conversation here. I have sold shoes at Nordstrom on the women's floor for four years and am moving into a corporate position next week so I have a better than average understanding of how this company operates especially when it comes to shoes.

First for allaboutshoes to "confirm" Nordstrom is selling is absolutely ridiculous. Just because you say you "confirm" does not mean you are correct. Nordstrom doesn't buy seconds so they can mark them on sale. Pretty low thing to say to help your own sales at the cost of someone else reputation. I can assure you Nordstrom has a better standing reputation than that of yours, especially after your comments.

Nordstrom does more volume during the Anniversary sale than during Christmas to put in perspective how busy this time is. As shoes are shipped to the store or loading docks to be ran into the stock room there are generally employees who work in the stock room to help shift in new merchandise and keep the backroom organized. Nordstrom generally does not individually check each shoe that has been sent from the manufacture as they are sent into the store, and to be honest they shouldn't have to be. QC is the responsibility of the manufacture for brand new shoes being sent to a retailer and unfortunately there are some that do indeed slip by. I have many times over my career been helping customers and brought out a brand new pair of shoes only to find a small blemish or defect on a pair. Not only is this embarrassing in front of the customer, more often than not it is the only pair I have at my store. The point being behind this, is that most of the time the shoes are not even looked at by anyone since the manufacture sent them out until the customer is trying them on. There is the occasional shoe that slips past QC sadly... Within the past week, I was talking with the mens shoe manager at my store only to find out a certain brand had sent a full run of defective shoes to the store. The sizes were also mis marked where the size on the box and shoes were different. They were immediately sent back. Nordstrom strives only to sell the highest quality of clothing and shoes in BRAND NEW condition. QC within Nordstrom is very straight forward and simple. If it is not in brand new condition or has any defects we will not sell it (I am very sorry for those who have been brought out less than perfect shoes and had bad experiences, this is not how employees should be acting). We NQC these items which are from there sent to the rack. It is only in that direction. I laughed when I read that someone said that Nordstrom is taking back pairs from the rack to meet demand of the sale... To also clarify, the rack and the Full line stores FLS operate completely separate from one another. That is why you cannot return anything from the rack to a FLS.

Also, the crazy idea that the sticker we put on the box is meant to mark them as seconds is false. It is simply to mark the box to show which pair or right shoe is put onto display. Any second is marked with a little shoe imprint on the sole of the shoes by AE. I urge others to read this discussion on the blog and also note the times associated with the comments. After a brief reading, it seems that most of the negativity is coming from a select few who others have jumped on the train about Nordstrom selling not seconds but thirds! Please also note that some of those are also arguing that these shoes are seconds because one pair they purchased only had one felt bag. I guarantee from experience that the other felt bag was accidentally left on the sales floor when they were being tried on or mixed in with other pairs that were being tried on. Nordstrom generally has a bin dedicated in the back to extra felt bags for those that have fallen out or for pairs that are brand new as extras. Also another claimed that the wood on his Allen Edmonds were chipped. We all know that there is no wood on AE's, but soles can scuff after being tried on, even in the store on the tile.

Here is a post from Paul the CEO of AE within the past day:

Greetings MFA Members:

Thank you very much for your loyalty to Nordstrom and for your recent purchases of Allen Edmonds Strands. The Strand is our second bestselling shoe over the past 18 months and we're very proud of it. Actually, it's my personal favorite style, especially in walnut which is very versatile. It can be worn with blue flannel suits, to khakis, to jeans. Some (mainly in New York) will wear them sockless with shorts in the summer. Customers regularly tell me that they receive unexpected compliments on the Strands.

Allen Edmonds is completely supportive of Nordstrom, their famous and longstanding dedication both to superior customer service and to providing the highest quality products to their customers. I assure you fully -- we never sell factory seconds to Nordstrom's full line stores! To do so would imperil our decades old superb relationship with our largest wholesale customer. We're not wreckless and neither are they. Both of us value our superb reputations at the highest level. We sell seconds to the Rack on occasion, yes, but not to their Nordstrom full line stores. And we have not sold the Rack Strands, so there's no way these shoes came through the Rack.

I'll also vouch for the personal integrity of our partners at Nordstrom. These are people who would never sell seconds as firsts, never.

We all take your feedback very seriously, and I become personally involved when I see complaints like yours that seem well beyond the norm. We are incredibly focused on quality here at Allen Edmonds and we have been taking our quality control processes to an even higher level the past few years. As evidence of our success in doing so, last September our head of Quality Control met in Seattle with the head of the Nordstrom Quality Center (NQC), who proudly told us that Allen Edmonds scored the best ranking of any shoe company. Our percentage of shipped defects and returns was the lowest they had ever seen. Nordstrom sells thousands of shoes every year and their NQC is considered the best in the retailing industry.

All of this doesn’t mean much to a disappointed customer, however. As is mentioned in other posts in this thread, our shoes are handcrafted and, although we strive for perfection, our human processes don't always get there. Please accept our apologies. I am very pleased Nordstrom took care of your needs. In addition, you have my word that Allen Edmonds strives to produce the highest quality men’s shoes while remaining an exemplary U.S. manufacturer. As you may know, less than 2% of the shoes sold in the U.S. are manufactured here. The other 98+% are imported. We're proud of our continued commitment to U.S. manufacturing, and we've added over 120 new manufacturing jobs in just the past two years.

Please let me know if I can be of further help. Thanks again for your support, loyalty and your important feedback.

Best regards,

Paul Grangaard,
President & CEO,
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation

http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/wwdi2/caveat_emptor_latin_for_check_yo_strands/
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post #7698 of 21982
7/25/12 at 4:25am
I think we can move on to more AE in the wild pics now...
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post #7699 of 21982
7/25/12 at 4:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by allaboutshoes View Post


Its actually funny, but I KNOW for fact that they are.

 

No, it's not funny.  It's kind of sad, actually.  I'm glad that Iloveshoes could set the record straight.

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post #7700 of 21982
7/25/12 at 4:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JubeiSpiegel View Post

I think we can move on to more AE in the wild pics now...

 

+1.  Also, when are the new styles coming out for the Fall?  I'm curious to see some new styles on the 3 last.

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post #7701 of 21982
7/25/12 at 5:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by New Shoes1 View Post

+1.  Also, when are the new styles coming out for the Fall?  I'm curious to see some new styles on the 3 last.

I'm crossing my fingers for the Malverns in dark chocolate suede biggrin.gif

No info on fall styles from my SA yet...
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post #7702 of 21982
7/25/12 at 6:25am

just a quick thank you to iloveshoes!

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post #7703 of 21982
7/25/12 at 6:37am

Quote:  Regarding this post:  At the risk of sounding paranoid, I will take exception to any implication that my post had some nefarious intent towards Nordstroms or to claim they have some hidden agenda to sell seconds ars firsts.  I simply relayed, as factually as possible, my experience attempting to purchase the same shoe from three different branches of the same retailer ( including the shoes that were shipped to me), all of which were clearly defective.  If I had a problem with Nordstrom's sales practices, it was the last sales person trying to convince me to take the last pair despite my pointing out to him the problems with the shoe ( we went back and forth on this for five minutes), and then their ridiculous insistence on taking my drivers licence information, when I had a receipt andI  was in their computer already.

 

I chose to post this in order to help others be aware that, at a minimum, there were shoes for sale at Nordstrom at a very attractive price, but  nonetheless, warranted careful inspection to make certain you get a first quality product.  Whether or not the shoes I saw were labeled seconds ( they were not as far as I could tell), they clearly would have been by Allen Edmonds if the defects had been noticed before leaving the factory. I have at least three pairs of seconds purchased through the Shoebank, and none exhibit defects even remotely approaching those seen by me at Nordstroms current sale.

 

I now own 18 pair of AE's and have worn their shoes for more than a decade.  I clealy like their product.  I plan to thoroughly enjoy my newest, first quality pair of Walnut  Strands ( purchased from the AE store).  I hope the poster who works at Nordstroms will appreciate this and understand my reasons for posting.

Originally Posted by iloveshoes View Post


Interesting conversation here. I have sold shoes at Nordstrom on the women's floor for four years and am moving into a corporate position next week so I have a better than average understanding of how this company operates especially when it comes to shoes.
First for allaboutshoes to "confirm" Nordstrom is selling is absolutely ridiculous. Just because you say you "confirm" does not mean you are correct. Nordstrom doesn't buy seconds so they can mark them on sale. Pretty low thing to say to help your own sales at the cost of someone else reputation. I can assure you Nordstrom has a better standing reputation than that of yours, especially after your comments.
Nordstrom does more volume during the Anniversary sale than during Christmas to put in perspective how busy this time is. As shoes are shipped to the store or loading docks to be ran into the stock room there are generally employees who work in the stock room to help shift in new merchandise and keep the backroom organized. Nordstrom generally does not individually check each shoe that has been sent from the manufacture as they are sent into the store, and to be honest they shouldn't have to be. QC is the responsibility of the manufacture for brand new shoes being sent to a retailer and unfortunately there are some that do indeed slip by. I have many times over my career been helping customers and brought out a brand new pair of shoes only to find a small blemish or defect on a pair. Not only is this embarrassing in front of the customer, more often than not it is the only pair I have at my store. The point being behind this, is that most of the time the shoes are not even looked at by anyone since the manufacture sent them out until the customer is trying them on. There is the occasional shoe that slips past QC sadly... Within the past week, I was talking with the mens shoe manager at my store only to find out a certain brand had sent a full run of defective shoes to the store. The sizes were also mis marked where the size on the box and shoes were different. They were immediately sent back. Nordstrom strives only to sell the highest quality of clothing and shoes in BRAND NEW condition. QC within Nordstrom is very straight forward and simple. If it is not in brand new condition or has any defects we will not sell it (I am very sorry for those who have been brought out less than perfect shoes and had bad experiences, this is not how employees should be acting). We NQC these items which are from there sent to the rack. It is only in that direction. I laughed when I read that someone said that Nordstrom is taking back pairs from the rack to meet demand of the sale... To also clarify, the rack and the Full line stores FLS operate completely separate from one another. That is why you cannot return anything from the rack to a FLS.
Also, the crazy idea that the sticker we put on the box is meant to mark them as seconds is false. It is simply to mark the box to show which pair or right shoe is put onto display. Any second is marked with a little shoe imprint on the sole of the shoes by AE. I urge others to read this discussion on the blog and also note the times associated with the comments. After a brief reading, it seems that most of the negativity is coming from a select few who others have jumped on the train about Nordstrom selling not seconds but thirds! Please also note that some of those are also arguing that these shoes are seconds because one pair they purchased only had one felt bag. I guarantee from experience that the other felt bag was accidentally left on the sales floor when they were being tried on or mixed in with other pairs that were being tried on. Nordstrom generally has a bin dedicated in the back to extra felt bags for those that have fallen out or for pairs that are brand new as extras. Also another claimed that the wood on his Allen Edmonds were chipped. We all know that there is no wood on AE's, but soles can scuff after being tried on, even in the store on the tile.
Here is a post from Paul the CEO of AE within the past day:
Greetings MFA Members:
Thank you very much for your loyalty to Nordstrom and for your recent purchases of Allen Edmonds Strands. The Strand is our second bestselling shoe over the past 18 months and we're very proud of it. Actually, it's my personal favorite style, especially in walnut which is very versatile. It can be worn with blue flannel suits, to khakis, to jeans. Some (mainly in New York) will wear them sockless with shorts in the summer. Customers regularly tell me that they receive unexpected compliments on the Strands.
Allen Edmonds is completely supportive of Nordstrom, their famous and longstanding dedication both to superior customer service and to providing the highest quality products to their customers. I assure you fully -- we never sell factory seconds to Nordstrom's full line stores! To do so would imperil our decades old superb relationship with our largest wholesale customer. We're not wreckless and neither are they. Both of us value our superb reputations at the highest level. We sell seconds to the Rack on occasion, yes, but not to their Nordstrom full line stores. And we have not sold the Rack Strands, so there's no way these shoes came through the Rack.
I'll also vouch for the personal integrity of our partners at Nordstrom. These are people who would never sell seconds as firsts, never.
We all take your feedback very seriously, and I become personally involved when I see complaints like yours that seem well beyond the norm. We are incredibly focused on quality here at Allen Edmonds and we have been taking our quality control processes to an even higher level the past few years. As evidence of our success in doing so, last September our head of Quality Control met in Seattle with the head of the Nordstrom Quality Center (NQC), who proudly told us that Allen Edmonds scored the best ranking of any shoe company. Our percentage of shipped defects and returns was the lowest they had ever seen. Nordstrom sells thousands of shoes every year and their NQC is considered the best in the retailing industry.
All of this doesn’t mean much to a disappointed customer, however. As is mentioned in other posts in this thread, our shoes are handcrafted and, although we strive for perfection, our human processes don't always get there. Please accept our apologies. I am very pleased Nordstrom took care of your needs. In addition, you have my word that Allen Edmonds strives to produce the highest quality men’s shoes while remaining an exemplary U.S. manufacturer. As you may know, less than 2% of the shoes sold in the U.S. are manufactured here. The other 98+% are imported. We're proud of our continued commitment to U.S. manufacturing, and we've added over 120 new manufacturing jobs in just the past two years.
Please let me know if I can be of further help. Thanks again for your support, loyalty and your important feedback.
Best regards,
Paul Grangaard,
President & CEO,
Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation
http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/wwdi2/caveat_emptor_latin_for_check_yo_strands/
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post #7704 of 21982
7/25/12 at 6:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by f800gs View Post

just a quick thank you to iloveshoes!

+1.
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post #7705 of 21982
7/25/12 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JubeiSpiegel View Post

I think we can move on to more AE in the wild pics now...

OK then:  Black Park Avenue today...

 

 

700

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post #7706 of 21982
7/25/12 at 8:04am
You guys certainly enjoy your dandy socks smile.gif

Nice PAs...
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post #7707 of 21982
7/25/12 at 8:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JubeiSpiegel View Post

You guys certainly enjoy your dandy socks smile.gif
Nice PAs...

 

Guilty pleasures  .  .  .

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post #7708 of 21982
7/25/12 at 8:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by New Shoes1 View Post

 

+1.  Also, when are the new styles coming out for the Fall?  I'm curious to see some new styles on the 3 last.

+1.  I am anxious to see a loafer on the new 3 last.  The store manager here told me that his trip to corporate for the fall roll out is in 3 weeks.  

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post #7709 of 21982
7/25/12 at 8:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhiPsi32 View Post

 

Guilty pleasures  .  .  .

Yup.  I figure if I spend my days in navy and grey wool, I can at least wear fun socks.  

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post #7710 of 21982
7/25/12 at 9:56am

Does anyone have a picture of the "white sticker" I should be looking for that identifies the shoe as first-quality instead of second-quality?

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