A Church's store experience

[IndianaGeo]

I purchased a pair of Church's Ryder IIIs at a London store about 10 days ago and was sold a pair of size 9's (unbeknownst to me). I'm normally a size 9 1/2 (UK). I suppose I didn't know any better because they felt reasonably sized when I tried them in the store and, as I found out later, the sizing is difficult to assess from amongst all the numbers printed on the inside of the shoes. But over the 10 days or so that I had them, I knew something was wrong as I had some pain from rubbing on the front left side of my left foot. I happend upon a different Church's store yesterday as I was walking around London and mentioned that I'd had this problem and if they could stretch the shoe somehow on the problem side. In the meantime, I was checking out some other shoes in the store and the salesman asked my size. I replied "9 1/2". And he replied back, "Oh, these Ryder III's are a 9." I was surprised and taken aback and rather ticked off that I'd been given a 9 the previous week. Long story short, the store manager looked me up in the system, confirmed that I'd indeed purchased the shoes at a Church's store, and let me swap out my slightly worn shoes for a new 9 1/2. I was quite glad that they did the right thing. Granted, I paid good money for those shoes and would have expected such, but it's always nice to know when things work out.
IndianaGeo

 

[cimabue]

Good service should come with higher end shoe purchases. Church's is well known for giving excellent service. And their shoes are the best, in my opinion. I have a happy feet story or two like yours.

 

[GasparddeColigny]

Good service! All too tempting for stores to chalk it up to 'consumer nonchalance' and be done with it. Good service like this is what binds customers.

 

[MarquisMagic]

Unfortunately, most of the Church's shoe stores here in the US are now closed!

 

[cimabue]

Thank the disastrous 100 last: working stiff klompers from the 1940s? The shoes looked bad from across the street.

The new 173 last is much better.

 

[luk-cha]

wow you can fault them for customer service, as they did not have to make it right +1 for churches

 

[IndianaGeo]

Yes, I was a bit surprised because if they wanted to be jerks about it, they could have said, "Tough luck, you tried 'em on, you walked out of the store with 'em. You bought 'em." But of course, the story I would have told here on this forum would have been much different in that case because I really do feel that part of the service is getting the size right.

Part 2 of this story is that I appreciated their gesture of good service such that I went ahead and purchased another pair of shoes (brown Darwin loafers) that I'd been eyeing for awhile. It just goes to show, I think, that a firm that does right by its customers in the short run will win out in the long. A loyal customer is the most profitable bread and butter a company can have and it seems to me they're aware of this. I'm not schilling for Church's by any means... I'm just a happy customer because they could have screwed me but didn't. In a way, it's sad that I even have to feel good about being treated right because so many companies do oftentimes do a hit and run with their customers for short term gain in cases like mine.
IndianaGeo

 

[GBer]

That was nice of them. But depending on the last, my shoe size can easily vary by +/- 1, much less a half-size.

 

[deveandepot1]

Originally Posted by GasparddeColigny

Good service!
+1