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AIBU?

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Original poster

to expect Clarks to actually stock some shoes?

46 replies

betterwhenthesunshines · 29/03/2012 19:08

I have been in, not once, but on 3 separate occasions to try and buy school shoes for DC. The first time they had nothing in either size in stock. I could order them into the shop, but they had no idea when they would come in, nor would they hold them for longer than 4 days Confused. As I was going to be unable to come back within that time period I couldn't do that. They told me I could order them online, but the whole point of a shoe shop is that they measure and fit the shoes surely? Often we can try on at least 4 different styles/ sizes until we find ones that fit properly. So that would be at least £120 upfront on an internet order.

Why can't they just hold a decent level of stock? We went in yesterday for summer shoes for DD. We choose 3 pairs to try - again NO stock on any of them. WTF?

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 29/03/2012 19:12

if you order online they get delivered to store to be fitted. they don't deliver to you

is it a particularly small shop?

Original poster
betterwhenthesunshines · 29/03/2012 19:15

Yes, but I don't want to have to order them online and then have to wait a week for the shop just to have something to try on. It seems a ridiculous system. ...but maybe it's just me?

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 29/03/2012 19:15

This is because children's shoe shops seem to think they can get away with pathetic standards of customer service. I snarl and walk out when they try that nonsense.

Northernlurker · 29/03/2012 19:16

And you're absolutely right about the ordering - why the hell should we have to do that? If they want my business they have to hold stock - you know like shops do.

MrsKittyFane · 29/03/2012 19:18

If you order Clarks shoes on-line for delivery to a shop, you don't pay upfront. It takes about a week. You have been in, have had DC's feet measured so go on- line and order a few styles in that size. If you can't get in on a specific day, phone the shop and ask them to hold them for you longer. They will.
Agree though, DD can never get shoes on first visit.

complexnumber · 29/03/2012 19:18

What a shame, we used to have pretty good customer service when we used Clarks a few years ago (We are no longer in the UK)

MrsKittyFane · 29/03/2012 19:20

Clarks is particularly bad at stock keeping (is there such thing?!) we live near a HUGE store and still have to order in!

thisisyesterday · 29/03/2012 19:22

it depends a lot on the shop and how much storage space they have though tbh

if you imagine how many different styles of shoe they stock, then imagine how much shelf space you need to stock just ONE shoe in each size. esp the kids when you have multiple widths

When I worked in clarks we used to get in one pair in every single size for each new style that we stocked, those would then get replaced as sold (we had a delivery every day)
the problem is that when youi get a sudden hot spell you would have a LOT of people descend on you for sandals or whatever.

Given that we could not predict the weather or the size feet of people coming in, and nor did we happen to have a tardis as a storage room it meant that we quite often didn't have what people wanted in the size they wanted.

v. frustrating for staff too as well as parents. I used to HATE it when I had to come out and say no sorry, we don't have any of the ones you like in your size.

reddaisy · 29/03/2012 19:23

Same here. Strangely we often end up getting our Clarks shoes at John Lewis because there is more in stock there.

Original poster
betterwhenthesunshines · 29/03/2012 19:25

But often with children's feet it's not even a few styles in that size. Sometimes you have to go half a size up or down from what you expect, or a width fitting wider or slimmer. Plus that effectively means it takes a week to buy a pair of shoes !! Do they actually want to go out of business. Or maybe it's a new business model thought up by an idiot ?

OP posts:
crypes · 29/03/2012 19:26

Same as J.D Sports, went in and said do you have this,this or this in this size. Assistant said 'Nah, sorry about that'.

MooncupandPizza · 29/03/2012 19:26

While we're ranting about Clarks....what bothers me is the hoo haa they make about having width fittings. They measure you child's foot and proclaim they are 6.5j...or whatever. You then say "hurrah, look, there is a nice pair in 6.5j on the sale rack". Try them on - they blatantly don't fit.
"Oh yes, that style comes up small" says the shop assistant expert shoe fitter.
Why the fuck have such specific sizing and measuring if all the shoes made by the same bloody company aren't going to have the same sizing despite being labelles as such?!
I know there's going to be a margin of error and different shaped feet but these shoes were coming nowhere near fitting my DD's feet despite being the exact size she had just been measured as.
Perhaps if they didn't faff about with all the width fittings, they'd actually have shoes in stock too as they wouldn't have so many variations of size to stock

(here in Canada, there doesn't seem to be such a fuss about child foot measuring and, having being brainwashed by Clarks, I found it rather threw me when I came to get a first pair of shoes for my DC no. 2)

thisisyesterday · 29/03/2012 19:26

i think you;ve just been unlucky tbh.
is it a particularly small store?

Original poster
betterwhenthesunshines · 29/03/2012 19:29

thisis yes, but that's always been the case re storeroom size etc and is the same in every other shoe shop I go into (ie the shop that sells StartRite round the corner which now gets all by business). Obviously having the occasional "out of stock" is to be expected, but I'm sure it never used to be this ridiculous bad.

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 29/03/2012 19:30

yeah i just think that if they can't hold a huge amount of stoclk anyway, and ytou then get a run of lovely weather then you just unfortunately went in on the day when lots of other kids with the same size feet had already been in!
just bad luck i guess

doesn't explain the school shoes though Hmm

but like you say, if there is another shop round the corner that's better you can just use that instead. problem solved :)

ballroomblitz · 29/03/2012 19:31

I go in with ds. Get his feet measured then ask the assistant to bring out whatever shoes she has in that size. Saves a lot of faffing about. I've never had any bother in my local Clarks and it's a small store.

Original poster
betterwhenthesunshines · 29/03/2012 19:33

thisis sorry x post with your previous reply!

It's average I think, not a huge one, but certainly seems to be plenty of space. Anyway if they're so short of store room space, why not have more space for stock and less for display. Otherwise they may as well have a sign up that says "Look at all the shoes you CAN'T buy here!"

Also I don't think the 'expert' fitting is great. The girl yesterday insisted on re-measuring my DDs feet in case they had changed from the previous week. And they had! Amazingly they had got a whole size samller possibly because she wasn't using the measure properly and hadn't flattened out her toes as you are supposed to

Hmm. I think I've rapidly gone off Clarks haven't I ?!

OP posts:
Mopswerver · 29/03/2012 19:50

For many years we simply went with the one pair that they had in stock that fit...then the scales fell from my eyes. All this foot measuring malarkey is nonsense. It is fairly easy to tell if a shoe fits a child. There are many shoe shops out there so vote with your feet!
Incidentally, a Clarks "fitter" once refused to sell me some "Timberland" style boots for my 4yr old daughter as apparently they were "for boys". Honestly...give em a uniform!

MrsKittyFane · 29/03/2012 19:54

Well, I agree with the expert Clarks fitting!
DD measures 2 and 1/2 H ( actually she's off the scale but they said H as they only go up to that width) she hasn't actually got wide feet just v high instep. H width shoes fall off her.
DD has a pair of boots from last year (1and 1/2 G) a pair of shoes (2 and 1/2 F) and a pair of trainers from the sale rack (3 and 1/2 F) and they all fit! The boots were huge last year and she's grown into them!!

Pandsbear · 29/03/2012 20:13

And I also really hate the fact that you can only order TWO pairs of the same style shoes online for children to try on in the store...and I have twins...and they might not actually fit them so I need a choice...Last time I lost the will to live in the store and they lost a sale.

DoubleGlazing · 29/03/2012 21:57

Start Rite are much better.

TaffyandTeenyTaffy · 29/03/2012 22:05

I have refused to buy Clarks shoes after the sales assistant told me I should look online when I went in and asked which walkers (as opposed to cruisers) shoes they did in a size 3 for DS. Lazy mare!

AKMD · 29/03/2012 22:15

DS has some rather awful dinosaur shoes this spring as I couldn't be bothered to go backwards and forwards getting him measured, finding they didn't have anything I liked (he's 2 so I pick Wink), ordering shoes online, going back, finding that they come up narrow, ordering again, going back in again etc. I just told the assistant to get whatever they had in the right size. I'm trying not to look at his feet.

igggi · 29/03/2012 22:18

I've had this problem too, decent sized store but no stock. Not so easy to explain to a disappointed toddler Sad

scarletfingernail · 29/03/2012 22:43

Mooncup your rant is the same as mine.

They tell you specifically what width size you should buy, you choose a shoe and then they tell you that on that particular shoe you need to buy a size smaller but wider than the measurement they've just given you. WTF is that about? Confused