I've been thinking that I might need to replace my shoes soon. I've done about 460Kms and the sole is looking a bit worn. But, with one thing and another I haven't had time to go to my nearest Sweatshop about 45 minutes away.
So, yesterday I was in Bath shopping with a friend and I took my shoes with me and headed for Running Bath, a small independent shop that I'd heard of. I walked in, it was quiet. Two (yes two!) young men immediately approached me and I said, "do you think I need new shoes?" taking said shoes from a bag. I must say they looked a bit pitiful, worn and muddy (the shoes not the young men) especially amongst all the lovely new, shiny ones around the shop!
One young man (they looked soooo young) looked at them carefully, asked me a few questions about mileage etc and said to my utter surprise, " no not yet".
He then took the time to tell me what to watch out for, yes the soles were starting to wear but they still had some mileage in them but I had to watch for the wearing down of the cushioning at the sides. Ok.
I was very impressed with the reaction here. I had walked in from the street, I'd never been before, it could have been a very easy sell (except I didn't have time as I had a non running friend with me but he didn't know that) and he might not see me again. But he will.
I'm going away next week for a little holiday and when I get back I'm heading straight to Running Bath for new shoes. Can't wait!
There is a catch though. When I asked him if he could check my gait and did they have a treadmill, he replied,
" no we don't have a treadmill here. We look at you running outside in the street".
Oh.
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Irishprincess
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Na, I think they have great customer service, they couldn't be sure you'd be back but the right customer service and not only are you going back but you've mentioned it on here.......the power of word of mouth I think some shops have cottoned on to better customer service, especially when you can't stack 'em high and sell them cheap like the biggies (mind you I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, it's my mum that's the big cynic )
You're right LF customer service is getting better in most cases although some still leave a lot to be desired! Many moons ago I use to train customer service so I'm a very demanding customer myself!
Running Bath are brilliant. They dont have a treadmill but they do have a pad which you run across which does analyses how your foot lands, and they watch you running. They never do the hard sell and are really knowledgeable and helpful. My husband and sister who are both proper runners (not like me ...) have had great advice and shoes from them.
To be able to keep their jobs as saleman and, in fact, keep the business alive - they should have told you the truth - as they did - but then ask you some kind of question like "What is your favorite shoe colour anyway??" and THEN politely introduce you to their brand new all singing all dancing lovely sparkly red shoes that just happen to be "on special" this week!!!! Deep inside - you know that you want them!!!
I hope for their sakes that their boss didn't see them turn a potential customer away !!
Brilliant service, and nice to see they apparently take the long view rather than focusing on instant profit. I hope you will give them your business, even when it turns out that you can get the exact same shoes online for a bit less - service like this is worth paying for.
I used to walk past a running shop in London on my lunchbreaks, and there were always people outside running up and down the pavement. At the time I was very much a non-runner, so it didn't even cross my mind that they might have had their gait analysed. But thinking about it, it actually makes sense to look at your gait when you run on the street, as this is where you will be doing your actual running, rather assessing you on a treadmill where the impact is very different.
I absolutely agree Tomas about running on the pavement versus the treadmill as you run differently on these surfaces. And yes I will give them my business. The sales assistant seemed to know what he was talking about.
The first is that I initially thought you had awarded yourself a gold star for running yourself a bath It's the sort of thing I would do, after all. So I was pleased about that, and then pleased-er to find that it was about new shoes
So the shoes - great customer service. I hope you do go back. But the point I wanted to make was about running outside. I have had to take three different pairs of shoes back to the shop over the last few months, and all credit to them, they have kept replacing them. I've finally found some that are okay, but my point is that all of them seemed fine on the treadmill - it's just that I don't run on a treadmill! When I got them out onto the uneven pavements and the paths, they weren't right for me at all. So I think that's a good idea. I agree it's scary though Hope you find some beautiful shiny new shoes!
Ha ha! That's so funny Annie! I hadn't even thought about that possible meaning. Sorry to hear you had a lot of bother with your shoes but glad you finally got it sorted. Yes I agree with your point about treadmill running versus pavement running. I'm kinda looking forward to it now!
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I think some shops have cottoned on to better customer service, especially when you can't stack 'em high and sell them cheap like the biggies (mind you I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, it's my mum that's the big cynic 
)
Hope you find some beautiful shiny new shoes!
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