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Original poster

clark's shoes!

47 replies

2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 20:56

2 weeks ago i took my son to an outlet store while on holiday and got him measured for shoes and they said he was a 9g with plenty of growing room. I bought some pumps from a few days ago in size 9 which i had to return as i couldn't get them on his feet.
husband took him back to our local Clarks to get him some more pumps for and they measured him 10g! Is it possible to grow a shoe size in 2 weeks? He is just 4, I know they have growth spurts but this seems extreme. It also means i have a pair of shoes with very little wear and a pair of school shoes with no wear and can't return them as it was 5 hours away. Feel so annoyed as i feel i have wasted my money. Has anyone else had this experience? Would it be worth calling customer services or do they just deal with the main shops?

OP posts:
Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 20:57

Sorry for some typos, i'm on my phone and it has a mind of its own!

OP posts:
tobysmum77 · 26/08/2014 20:58

dd's school shoes are a size smaller than her trainers. Is it just how they come up?

Teddybeau1988 · 26/08/2014 20:59

I think different staff get different measurements. I had DDs feet measured in one store, they had none of the boots we wanted in her size so went to a different one. They measured her and she was wider and a larger size

FlipFlopWaddle · 26/08/2014 21:04

I no longer trust Clarks after similar experiences - I had a pair of doodles 'fitted' by the stupid time wasting ipad device and dd1 had blisters within a few days. The shoes I bought for dd2 at the same time are falling apart.

Regarding the outlet issue, I bought dd2's first shoes from one of their outlets and within a few days she had a cut on her foot from where a seam hadn't been trimmed properly. I was livid and took them back to our local, regular store and the assistant refused to exchange them. I saw red and phoned head office from inside the shop and they spoke to the stroppy mare assistant and forced her to exchange them.

I won't shop in clark's again Angry

Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 21:05

The trainers i bought him feel slightly tight to get on but she assured me that there was plenty of growing room. His school shoes feel a bit more roomy but not as easy as i think they should be to get them on. I was probably daft to just trust her judgement and maybe should have checked them myself as well. Why do children's shoes have to be so expensive.

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LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 26/08/2014 21:15

I avoid Clark's as much as possible after I had a few issues with them incorrectly measuring both my children.
I had DD measured and bought a pair of shoes at one Clark's on the Monday, 3 days later she needed some other shoes so went to a different Clark's with more choice. They measured her a size smaller but wider. I even had the measuring card with me. The assistant measuring her was adamant she was right and that the other person was wrong. The shoes gaped horribly, and DDs toes were clearly squashed.
Then with DS they measured him a certain size, so we bought the shoes. We got him re-measured about 12 months later, assuming his feet must have grown. The assistant said he was half a size smaller than the shoes on his feet. She re-measured him 3 times to be sure. So basically he had been in a pair of shoes far too big for a year!
We now buy most of their shoes at Hush Puppies (who fit the shoe to the foot) or Sainsbury's ( DH is a dab hand at shoe fitting now and we have been pleased with the quality).

I am pretty sure you could take them back to your local store and explain the problem to the manager. I think they are able to do returns at any branch. If you don't get any joy ring customer services.

storminabuttercup · 26/08/2014 21:15

Can't you take the school ones back to another store? X

storminabuttercup · 26/08/2014 21:15

Why do I keep adding x's to my posts?

yummumto3girls · 26/08/2014 21:19

Have had the same this week, store 1 measured one size, across the road in Clarks (to check for other styles) measured a size bigger (same shoe) Went back to first shop and asked to recheck and they stood by first measurement!!

Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 21:22

Can you take outlet store shoes back to a regular store? We don't have an outlet store near us which is why i thought it was great going to the one when we were away, simple things must please me haha! Dont think i will go there to buy shoes anymore as i had an issue with my other son' shoes who is 2. They just never felt right to put on. Your supposed to trust their judgement. Think i will trust mine from now on.

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Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 21:24

Yummum- its crazy isn't it? You would think they would have the same measurements if they are using the same equipment.

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SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 26/08/2014 21:25

I learned how to fit children's shoes when DS was small because he was so hard to fit and would have trouble with ones we had bought.

Did you shop on a cold day or in the morning? Feet are smaller then.

FlipFlopWaddle · 26/08/2014 21:25

I'd phone head office first after my experience, I could understand her refusing to exchange if I'd just changed my mind but the shoes were faulty and they had damaged my baby daughter's foot Angry

lotsofcheese · 26/08/2014 21:28

I bought shoes from the outlet store & needed to return them. I phoned to check their policy & was told I could only return them to an outlet, not a normal store. Grrrr.

Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 21:30

That's terrible Fliflopwaddle, they always seem in a rush to me but the one today my husband said was thorough and showed my husband the measurement.

It was a cold rainy day that we went and we got there about midday. Today he went about 4.00 but it hasn't really been warm today. Good point though and one i hadn't thought about.

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StetsonsAreCool · 26/08/2014 21:32

I have had DD's feet measured 3 different sizes at 3 different Clarks in the same day - and they went up and down, not the general spread of feet you'd expect throughout a long day if you're walking a lot (we were in the car most of the day). Each shop measured her because the previous shop hadn't had the shoes in the right size, and I was curious. Drove me mad.

However, I normally get her shoes from an independent shop. We bought a pair last autumn, which had plenty of growing room for a couple of weeks, and then she was curling her toes up in them. So I think their feet can suddenly have an unexpected growth spurt. The shop I bought them from swapped them free of charge for the new correct size, after remeasuring her. No questions asked. I was so impressed.

SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 26/08/2014 21:38

Don't get me wrong, I'd be pissed that a pair of shoes I bought a fortnight ago could be outgrown already..

About the quickest my kids ever grew out of shoes was four weeks. One time and they were expensive leather ones and I knew they fit because I checked them too. Thinking if you went in the morning when feet were smaller and cold and then massive growth spurt it is possible...although just as likely is shop assistant measured incorrectly.

ladybirdandsnails · 26/08/2014 21:43

I would insist they take them back at regular store. The shoes are the same half the time anyway. Clarks are pants

Original poster
2boysandcounting1 · 26/08/2014 21:48

I think i will phone them tomorrow and ask them if in their opinion a child can go up a size in just 2 weeks and see their response. True, it is possible but have a feeling it was how they were fitted. Wish i had checked them now just to be sure.

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jamtoast12 · 26/08/2014 21:59

If you bought in Clark's originally they usually swap for free even if worn? They've done that with my kids after even a month of wear! I do insist on at least a half size bigger though anyway and feel the fit myself.

ladybirdandsnails · 26/08/2014 22:04

I was told in a Clarks shop recently that they take them back if they fall apart within 3 months. In our case it was just over 3 months and the stitching had all come undone on trainers. I have a pair of boys school shoes that have done the same. I would just tell them they were wrong

DustyCropHopper · 26/08/2014 22:19

Dd measured a 10 in Clark's on the new ipad thing, but is wearing size 8 at the moment which her toes are at the end of, but certainly not 2 sizes to small. She also measured an F fitting, but they were far too wide. I normally have no problem with them, we will see what size she actually us once they get some non school shoes in in her size!

nicky2512 · 26/08/2014 22:27

DD (who is 12) was measured as a 5 last year on the I pad thing. I said she couldn't be as she was only wearing a 3. The person who measured her said to me real smugly "you would be amazed at how many parents think their childrens feet are a different size than they actually are". They brought me some 5's which were enormous on her. I went elsewhere and bought Ricosta instead.

Andrewofgg · 26/08/2014 22:31

What are they like for adult women's shoes? I have been wearing their shoes for years and have never been disappointed.

Thenapoleonofcrime · 26/08/2014 22:36

The new pad thingy is notoriously unreliable, a trainee measured my girls feet wrongly and I asked them to redo it and it was completely different! They didn't seem embarrassed by this. I still buy the shoes though but after a good fitting which doesn't rely on the measurement thingy which is terrible and takes much longer than the old system.