Etiquette when trying on shoes

[grimani]

Hi All,

Long time lurker. First time poster.

Today I went to Allen Edmonds to buy a pair of dress shoes. When I entered, there were no other customers there, and the salesman said "hello" when I walked in but was otherwise pretty inattentive.

After browsing for a few minutes I asked if I could try on a pair (at one point before then I said "I think I may have narrowed things down," and he said "ok" without looking over, let alone coming over to give advice). He said sure, let's measure first. So he measured me and then looked for the shoe (they didn't have the exact color I was looking for, so he brought out the closest thing).

I tried it on. It fit well, but since it wasn't the exact color I wanted, I asked to try on another. He said okay, but seemed a bit impatient (mind you, there was nobody else in the store at that point).

After that, I asked if I could try on a third pair (this time, in the actual color I initially asked for, but a different style). This time he didn't say yes--he said "well, we do try to keep the shoes unopened so that when people come in they are buying a new shoe, as well." I said fair enough--I don't have to try the shoe on, but can I at least "see" the shoe (he had said himself a few minutes earlier that it looks different on the shelves than out of the box).

He said fine, but seemed visibly angry at this point, and very loudly closed the boxes of the shoes I had tried on ("you are done with this pair, right?" He fumed).

Feeling uncomfortable at this point, I decided on a different pair and quickly bought it. While he rang me up, I asked if I could buy some polish, and he obliged but seemed annoyed (curtly responding "quite awhile" when I asked how long it would last before I had to buy a new bottle).

This whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth, though since I am not the most seasoned veteran when it comes to buying shoes in person, I was wondering if this was normal / typical behavior (the curtness, inattentiveness, and in particular the reluctance to let me try on a 3rd pair of shoes)?

Part of me considered simply leaving after he became more curt and ordering online (since at that point I had already gotten my size) but ended up buying, mainly because I needed the shoes ASAP, but in small part also to avoid confirming the bias I thought he might have (I'm younger looking and was casually dressed, so I figured he might assume I wasnt a 'serious buyer'). And I was also uncertain whether I might have been in the wrong for asking to try on the 3rd pair.

Any tips for future interactions like this? Thanks in advance

 

[mhip]

Any tips for future interactions like this? Thanks in advance

Confront them, "seems like I'm keeping you from something?"
Walk out
Tell the SA" thanks for the try ons, I'll go finish my purchase online"
Ask for a manager.
I would have opted for the first one, and worked my way down from there, but unless you needed those shoes right away, no way would I have given him the sale.

 

[Farmgate]

I buy 5-6 pairs of shoes a year and would never tolerate that kind of treatment. I know that everyone is entitled to a bad day now and then (did his wife kick him out of the house the day before? Or maybe his dog died that morning) but this is not the case here. A true professional "catches" himself and apologizes for off putting behavior. They'll do anything to make things right. This guy did absolutely nothing but go through the motions.

 

[grimani]

Thanks so much for the responses

Glad to hear this wasn't just me.

As an update, I went back in a couple days later to potentially exchange the shoes with a different pair. A different SA was there, who was about 10 times more helpful than the one I mentioned in the original post. I ended up keeping the shoes, thanks to his advice, and bought some more polish for another pair of shoes.

Upon leaving, I thanked the SA for the help, and mentioned the poor experience I had had a couple days prior. He apologized on behalf of his colleague, and said it may have had to do with the fact that he was "all alone" that day "when he shouldn't have been." Which I guess means they were short-staffed and he had to do both his job and another person's job, which apparently may have led to the disgruntled, unhelpful behavior.

Anyway, that all led me to feel better about the situation, while your responses also have led me to feel more confident dealing with similar situations in the future.

 

[podz]

This has nothing to do with shoes, he was simply being an asshole to you. In the future, do not tolerate any sort of behavior from salespeople that violates social decorum. Since you are here asking, I am guessing that you don't come from a family where social decorum has been taught during your entire upbringing. Neither do I. In which case, you need to find ways to come up to speed on the topic, so to speak. It is never appropriate for a salesperson to show disappointment to a potential customer regardless how much of their time you consume. It doesn't matter if you spilled a starbucks coffee on their showroom floor, they should just clean it up and get back to helping you with the potential sale. Now, don't get me wrong: the customer is not always right, especially if he is acting out of malice or manipulation. The appropriate response to your salesperson's behaviour would be to look him straight in the eye and ask bluntly but gently: "Do we have a problem here? It seems to me like we might have an attitude problem here. Just verifying..." and see how he responds. If he chills then de-escalate and be friendly, continue with the potential sale. If he is stubborn about it and refuses to stand down, then immediately stop communicating 100% and just walk out even if he is following you and yapping his mouth or apologising or whatever. Just walk out. And then contact the owner with a detailed description of the entire affair.