Tell me if you think this is right for a business to do

[Dave]

I bought a pair of shoes on Monday at a chain store while in Muskegon. Wore the shoes to work on Tues and Wed, by the time I got home Wed night and my feet hurting even more then they did the night before it became clear that I was going to need to return the shoes. I'd returned a pair of shoes a few years back at one of the other locations within the same chain and had no problems getting my money back.

Today, I head down to Muskegon to do a few things which included returning the shoes. Get to the store I bought them at and went to the counter and told the 2 cashiers standing there that I wanted to return the shoes. As I was getting the receipt out of the box, one of the girls asked if I had worn the shoes outside to which I said yes. She then informed me that they don't take back shoes that have been worn outside because they can't be resold then but said she would check with the manager. She took the shoes over to him and he said no, they couldn't take them back.

I wouldn't have a problem with this except for the fact that nowhere does it state anything about this policy... no where.. not on the receipt which list the returns information nor does it say anything on the website about such a rule. I've never heard of such a rule as it is. I could see their point if the there was some obvious wear and tear on the shoes but just simply these shoes don't have that.

And really, how is someone to know that shoes are going to be comfortable or not until they have actually been able to wear them for a few days?

[XLFD]

All I know, is that I see a lot of people going bowling who rent shoes at the alley that have possibly been worn by hundreds of people beforehand-- whose sole (pun not initially intended) preparation was to be sprayed by the alley manager with some disinfectant/deodorizer. If you recoil at that imagery and need to go to the bathroom to wash your hands, you probably think the store was right.

Dave, your feet probably do stink, and are probably malformed, but if there is no written company policy saying otherwise, I think you should at least be able to exchange the shoes without the grief you experienced. If not, you know better next time to buy your shoes elsewhere, like at that Wall-Mart place you mentioned.

[Edie Lindsey]

"If the shoes don't fit, you must acquit."

Dave, I could go either way on this, but I see you're getting kicked around by both sides. I do hope you get your cash back or some shoes that fit. The stores rules do seem to be a bit fuzzy. X, you're a toe-tal heel.

[Sweater Cows!]

You have no idea how many times a day I wash my hands. lol.

And the DH picks on me for my strange ways of getting through public doors, whether it be waiting for someone to come out and grabbing the door with my foot, knee , leg, back or sliding my hand in the handle to use the back of my wrist and then grabbing my fingers with my other hand to get the strngth to pull the door open. And the kid and I have a system in place for using public restroom bathrooms which takes both of us to shut of the h2o and get out the door. One of us get towel out then after drying shuts of water with paper, then other uses their hand drying paper to open door, then other holds door while other tosses paper. If DH seen that he would really think I was a germophobe, he thinks the entrance door thing is bad enough that he now opens the door(as he gave up on that because I am always 10 feet ahead when moving).

[Willy]

Sheila
Did you ever think about the pens at the doctors office that everyone uses to sign in with or the pen and clip board at some drug store drive in windows that all the sick folks use to sign for prescription or the pens at banks. I'm sure those pens help in spreading infectious diseases which in turn helps in keeping the doctors and drug stores busy.

[Mary A.]

This could be a whole new exciting discussion for those of us who use any means possible to avoid catching illness from others. Sheila, you'd be surprised at how many people agree with you on the "ick" factor of public restrooms. Pens, too, RJE.

[Dave]

In the end, all I want are a pair of shoes that fit. I've had to go around here for the last week in shoes that are worn, old and just don't fit the way they use to which is why I stopped wearing them in the first place... in their heyday so to speak, they were a comfortable pair of Reeboks.. now, not so much. As long as the store had a pair of shoes on hand that fit, i'd be fine with even doing an exchange.

I do appreciate the different points of view on the subject, some of the points that have been made I honestly hadn't thought of. At the end of it all though, I think what it comes down too is having a posted return policy in any given store. I would tend to say that ma & pa shoe stores and online shoe sellers that don't have regular retail outlets tend to be the stores that will not do any refunds/exchanges. Your chain stores/big box stores are generally pretty good about having any and all return information clearly posted at the least in the stores and in some cases on the receipts.

[Dave]

Well, the great shoe debacle has come to a conclusion.

I've been putting it off for the last few weeks, mostly just to get to where I wasn't so bothered by the situation. Tonight I stopped at the Ludington store of the chain, went up to the counter and said I would like to either return or exchange the shoes. The young lady at the register was very helpful, asked me to go and check to see if there was anything available that I would want, otherwise she would refund my money, no problem. I was able to find a pair that I think will work, went back to the counter and she did the exchange and sent me on my way. Never asked me if I wore the shoes outside or anything. I was thankful in that I didn't have to debate on having to tell a little lie or not in case she had asked me about wearing the shoes outside.

Needless to say, this was a learning experience and I will file it away in my mind the next time I purchase shoes. I think because of the way that the young lady was able to help me tonight that I will still do business with the chain but will just skip going to their Muskegon store.

[AQUAMAN]

I do think that the Chinese and other third world countries are not making the shoes the right American standard inch size, per our/their specs., and other regulation sizes per the American math. Therefore, I have to buy the next size up since the last 3 years, making me a 13 instead of 12 now. So, go figure. And, I gotta tell ya, I aint that happy about that. It aint that popular a size to find nowadays.

[XLFD]

Glad to see you got yourself a solution, Dave. But don't be so sure the shoe saga is over; you just may find these shoes are designed to self-destruct like the previous ones.

This episode does remind us that the return policy of most chain stores are not necessarily consistent, and you may be able to do returns at one, but be stymied by another, particularly when there is not a written policy for the situation.

[Dave]

I did notice tonight that the store did have signs up both at the check out area and over by where the shoes are displayed that did mention about wearing shoes in the house. When I stopped down at the Muskegon store last week just to see if I could see any signs regarding returns, I don't recall seeing anything.

I just wish I didn't have such big feet so I didn't have to get shoes from only a select few stores. I should be glad though I don't have the feet that apparently one kid has. When I was checking out, the young lady that helped me mentioned about a kid that was only like 14 or so that came in looking for size 23 shoes. My feet are big enough but I can't imagine how big the kids feet are going to be when he's done growing. Size 23 is like Shaquille O'Neil size feet and he's 7' tall.