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walkitoutI was doing catalog shopping before online shopping was really a thing. Lots of people were — JC Penney, Sears, but also Chadwicks, Land’s End when it was still independent, were some of the ones I specifically remember. Shoe shopping I usually did in person, because I grew up just north of the Seattle city limits and lived for over a decade in the city proper, and so Nordstroms was an option even before it metastasized and, like Starbucks became ubiquitous. Zappo’s convinced me to shop for shoes online, and I did that for a long time.
However, on my most recent Zappos order, the wrong size of one item was delivered (a 40 instead of a 41, when I was on the fence between a 41 and a 42, and the regular, rather than the wide, when I really needed a wide). That happens; I returned it and specified why. I also returned another pair which was the correct size, because it did not quite fit in a way that made me absolutely certain that switching sizes would not work out for me. Again, completely understandable and Zappos/Amazon makes the return process very straightforward. I chose the Whole Foods option, and they were very kind. While I was at Whole Foods, I bought some kosher parve cinnamon rugelach, two bars of chocolate, organic cilantro and a jalapeno. Which says mildly hilarious things about what I do when I am impulse shopping in a Whole Foods.
I have been trying to buy a good pari of walking AND look-nice-enough sandals for travel. The SAS Arias I bought in 10 extra wide last August I probably should have bought in just a wide, but honestly, it’s just not clear that the straps would have worked out correctly on those anyway. So I figured it was time to try actual in person shoe shopping.
I was going to drive to Burlington and go to a Nordstroms and possibly the Nordstrom Rack as well, however, there is an independent shoe store in town that changed owners a few years ago and I had not been back since it became Anita’s Shoe Boutique. When it was Michael’s, the selection of larger / widths was poor. However, as Anita’s Shoe Boutique, their size selection online looked good enough to bother at least checking them out.
There was a woman returning a pair of shoes when I arrived. I looked at the shelves and eavesdropped, because I’m me, and an opportunity for data collection isn’t something I walk by lightly. The woman was reluctant to give her name to the cashier, which strikes me as kinda wild, especially when trying to return something purchased two months earlier. Since it was store credit only, kinda have to give your name. The “customer” was the amount older than me to firmly place her in Boomer and thus Karen territory, right down to the I Won’t Be Recommending You to My Friends remark. Which she then weakly conceded well, okay, since you are giving me store credit. Obviously, I felt bad for the woman running the store; she handled it well, but it was a very unpleasant experience to have as an eavesdropping bystander, never mind having to be polite to an extremely unreasonable customer.
When it was complete, the woman running the store offered me help and I explained I was looking for 10ish or 41, wide, sandal no significant heel, highly adjustable, looks nice enough to wear into a restaurant but could be walked in, as for travel. She came back with many options, including several I had already identified on the store’s website as one’s I wanted to try and which they appeared to have in stock in my size. I cranked up my already effusive in store shopping personality to help compensate for the Karen, and the woman acknowledged that she was still feeling pretty upset and noted that the returned shoes and box smelled like cigarette smoke. But the service she provided to me was impeccable and cheerful and knowledgeable. She said that the current owner really did specialize in exactly the type of walkable but looks nice enough footwear in broad range of sizes (including larger) and widths. Such an improvement for me over the previous shoe store in this location! I bought four pairs. They have a frequent flyer program, they limit emails about sales and so forth to once a month. There was a 15% off sale on sandals.
In between selecting what to buy and actually being rung up, another woman came in with a return. She was also within the range of Boomer, but was definitely not a Karen! She had bought a pair of sandals recently and was returning them. She was friendly, recognized by the woman running the store, acknowledged that she probably should have chosen something with a backstrap. Like me, she had been shopping for walkable sandals for upcoming travel. The tone of the exchange was entirely different.
When I got home, I tried on all the sandals again and jogged in a circle in the house. They still feel great — sometimes, in the store, when I’m being all Hey What a Great Customer I Am, I will overlook something that becomes apparent when I get home. Not so here! It helps that I went in with an extremely clear list of What Does Not Work For Me as well as What I Am Looking For. I’ve got a while before my next trip, so I can take them out for walks on the 1 mile loop to make absolutely certain these are workable for the trip (obviously, I would not attempt a return if the loop exposes a problem! But it would influence what I pack, vs. what I wear when going out on date night, which is also a great use for my choices today).
If you are in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, especially if you are near Acton, I _highly_ recommend Anita’s Shoe Boutique, especially if you are looking for attractive shoes that you can walk comfortably in. Their curated selection of brands is broad within this category — I came home with Wolky, Revere, Taos and SAS, but they also had Ecco, Naot, Birkenstock, Born and numerous other brands. The woman I worked with was knowledgeable and patient.
However, on my most recent Zappos order, the wrong size of one item was delivered (a 40 instead of a 41, when I was on the fence between a 41 and a 42, and the regular, rather than the wide, when I really needed a wide). That happens; I returned it and specified why. I also returned another pair which was the correct size, because it did not quite fit in a way that made me absolutely certain that switching sizes would not work out for me. Again, completely understandable and Zappos/Amazon makes the return process very straightforward. I chose the Whole Foods option, and they were very kind. While I was at Whole Foods, I bought some kosher parve cinnamon rugelach, two bars of chocolate, organic cilantro and a jalapeno. Which says mildly hilarious things about what I do when I am impulse shopping in a Whole Foods.
I have been trying to buy a good pari of walking AND look-nice-enough sandals for travel. The SAS Arias I bought in 10 extra wide last August I probably should have bought in just a wide, but honestly, it’s just not clear that the straps would have worked out correctly on those anyway. So I figured it was time to try actual in person shoe shopping.
I was going to drive to Burlington and go to a Nordstroms and possibly the Nordstrom Rack as well, however, there is an independent shoe store in town that changed owners a few years ago and I had not been back since it became Anita’s Shoe Boutique. When it was Michael’s, the selection of larger / widths was poor. However, as Anita’s Shoe Boutique, their size selection online looked good enough to bother at least checking them out.
There was a woman returning a pair of shoes when I arrived. I looked at the shelves and eavesdropped, because I’m me, and an opportunity for data collection isn’t something I walk by lightly. The woman was reluctant to give her name to the cashier, which strikes me as kinda wild, especially when trying to return something purchased two months earlier. Since it was store credit only, kinda have to give your name. The “customer” was the amount older than me to firmly place her in Boomer and thus Karen territory, right down to the I Won’t Be Recommending You to My Friends remark. Which she then weakly conceded well, okay, since you are giving me store credit. Obviously, I felt bad for the woman running the store; she handled it well, but it was a very unpleasant experience to have as an eavesdropping bystander, never mind having to be polite to an extremely unreasonable customer.
When it was complete, the woman running the store offered me help and I explained I was looking for 10ish or 41, wide, sandal no significant heel, highly adjustable, looks nice enough to wear into a restaurant but could be walked in, as for travel. She came back with many options, including several I had already identified on the store’s website as one’s I wanted to try and which they appeared to have in stock in my size. I cranked up my already effusive in store shopping personality to help compensate for the Karen, and the woman acknowledged that she was still feeling pretty upset and noted that the returned shoes and box smelled like cigarette smoke. But the service she provided to me was impeccable and cheerful and knowledgeable. She said that the current owner really did specialize in exactly the type of walkable but looks nice enough footwear in broad range of sizes (including larger) and widths. Such an improvement for me over the previous shoe store in this location! I bought four pairs. They have a frequent flyer program, they limit emails about sales and so forth to once a month. There was a 15% off sale on sandals.
In between selecting what to buy and actually being rung up, another woman came in with a return. She was also within the range of Boomer, but was definitely not a Karen! She had bought a pair of sandals recently and was returning them. She was friendly, recognized by the woman running the store, acknowledged that she probably should have chosen something with a backstrap. Like me, she had been shopping for walkable sandals for upcoming travel. The tone of the exchange was entirely different.
When I got home, I tried on all the sandals again and jogged in a circle in the house. They still feel great — sometimes, in the store, when I’m being all Hey What a Great Customer I Am, I will overlook something that becomes apparent when I get home. Not so here! It helps that I went in with an extremely clear list of What Does Not Work For Me as well as What I Am Looking For. I’ve got a while before my next trip, so I can take them out for walks on the 1 mile loop to make absolutely certain these are workable for the trip (obviously, I would not attempt a return if the loop exposes a problem! But it would influence what I pack, vs. what I wear when going out on date night, which is also a great use for my choices today).
If you are in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, especially if you are near Acton, I _highly_ recommend Anita’s Shoe Boutique, especially if you are looking for attractive shoes that you can walk comfortably in. Their curated selection of brands is broad within this category — I came home with Wolky, Revere, Taos and SAS, but they also had Ecco, Naot, Birkenstock, Born and numerous other brands. The woman I worked with was knowledgeable and patient.