Sunday, April 29, 2007

FeetFirst sucks!

Here are my two experiences with FeetFirst. The first was good, the second one made me so angry that I almost cried in the store.

Experience 1: Buying a pair of shoes at Yorkdale (I think)

Me: Can I get these in a 7?
Salesperson 1: Sure thing. Actually, these may be on sale, let me check for you.
Me: Great!
[S1 comes back with the shoes]
S1: Actually, these are on sale for $75.99
Me: Awesome
[I try them on]
Me: These are a little tight in the front, can I try them in 7.5?
S1: We don't carry half sizes. Would you like to try them in an 8?
Me: Sure
S1: Sorry again about not putting a sales sign on the shoes.
Me: No problem
[S1 comesback with the shoes and I try them on]
Me: These are great but now they're too long. The 7's are just right in terms of length but they pinch in the front.
S1: Well, it is near the end of the day. Sometimes, feet swell near the end of the day.
Me: Well, I'm not sure, they are pinching a lot.
S1: The leather is really soft so the shoes will stretch.
Me: I don't know...alright fine.
[I buy the shoes and bring them home. I tried them on a few days later and they still pinched. I tried again a few more times a few days apart but they're still too tight. I brought them back a few weeks later to return because I knew I had 30 days to do it.]

Experience 2: Returning the shoes at Vaughan Mills

Me: I would like to make a return.
Salesperson 2: Sure.
[She takes a look at the bottom of the shoes and they're a little dusty so she shows them to salesperson 3. Salesperson 3 comes to the counter and takes over. S2 whispers to S3 to let S3 know that the purchase was made at a different store.]
S3: These shoes look like they've been worn outdoors.
Me: Well I only wore them in the store and put them on at home a few times.
S3: These look like they've been worn outdoors. I'll be happy to give you a gift receipt but I can't give you a return.
Me: I only walked around at home to make sure they fit.
S3: I hear what you're saying, but these look like they've been worn outdoors.
Me: Well then someone must have worn them before they sold them to me.
[S3 looks at the receipt]
S3: Well Audrey sold these to you and I know she would have marked that the soles were worn before she sold them to you.
Me: Well, she SHOULD have marked them then.
S3: No, she WOULD have marked them.
Me: She SHOULD have marked them.
S3: No, she WOULD have marked them.
Me: Can you please get Audrey on the phone.
S3: No, she's not working today. I'll be happy to give you a gift receipt.
Me: No, I want to return them.
S3: But you have to return them in the original condition for a return.
Me: I am. These are in the exact same condition as when I first bought them.
S3: These shoes have been worn outdoors.
Me: Not by me.
[Steve comes over at this point. He takes a look at the shoes.]
Steve: Look at this heel, it's completely unworn. You can even see the gloss on it still.
S3: Well some people wear one shoe more than the other.
Me: This is ridiculous.
S3: Well you waited so long to return them, anything could have happened in the past month.
Me: What do you mean, I'm allowed to take 30 days to return them.
S3: Well anything could have happened in a month.
Me: I can't believe this is happening. I am returning them because they are too small for me and pinch my feet. I couldn't wear them outside because I can't even take two steps in them indoors. If I could wear them outside, I would just KEEP them.
S3: Well, in the end, you'll get what you want, but anything could have happened in a month.
Steve: Wait a minute, she never wore these out.
Me: I don't care at this point, if she gives me my money back, that's fine. I'm never shopping here again.
Steve: No, she still doesn't believe you.
Me: I really don't care. The first salesperson told me that my feet were probably swollen when I was trying them on. I didn't even what to buy them in the first place. I was coerced into it.
S3: You're an adult. You can make your own decisions.
[At this point, I was insanely pissed off at her for implying that I'm a liar and an irresponsible adult when it was her precious Audrey who convinced me to buy the shoes in the first place.]
Me: When I went to the store, a shoe expert told me that my feet size may change depending on time of day, so I took the chance in respecting her advice. I took them home hoping that the fit will be different during different days at different times.
[She finished processing the return and I leave]
Steve: Saying "whatever" and antagonizing your customers is bad customer service.
S3: I never said "whatever".
Me: Forget it, lets go. I'm never shopping here again.

That's my story of why I will never ever shop at FeetFirst again. I went home and filled out a customer survey, giving them a detailed explanation of what happened. I informed them that the rude salesperson lost the company at least one customer because I'm going to tell my friends and family what happened to me. And now I've done my part.