clark's shoes!

[2boysandcounting1]

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?

Andrewofgg I also wear their adult shoes, I have strappy ones and boots which are really nice and not too high, most of the shoes are hideous but the odd ones are really nice and last a long time although I do usually have them reheeled or soles added as their boot soles slip.

To be fair I wear Clarks myself for work (on feet all day). I have a guage so I measure my DC and then get shoes in line etc - worth buying one and doing it yourself

I used to work for clarks, and I was a trained fitter. I take my kids there but always check the fit before I buy, what my kids measure is usually the size I end up with. All makes are different, ie clarks sizes are different to start rite, nike different to Adidas etc. my advise if you are unsure is to make sure there is roughly the width if your thumb growing room in front of their big toe or longest toe, and if you run your fingers down the side of the shoes you shouldn't be able to feel their toes as though they are trying to burst out, in the same respect you shouldn't have to squeeze the shoes to find your child's toes as the shoes are too wide. And main clarks shops are not supposed to take shoes back from outlet shops as these don't go through their till system as they are last years etc stock, and outlet shops don't take back main shops stock either. I think this is the same for any retail store!

Clark's will measure manually if you ask though as I always do.

My 2 yo was measured a 6 whilst in a 4. She has been tripping more than usual and hasnt outgrown these over 3mths later.
Its difficult with trainers to feel the toe.
dD came back from nursery with shoes a size bigger. The other girl must have had to cram her feet in

As I said upthread, DS is hard to fit so the gauge was always a starting point and rarely right for length.

We had check everything that hugebag said, plus make sure there was room to pinch shoe over the instep (he has high insteps) and make sure the shoes didn't slop around on his narrow heel. In contrast my younger kid is an off-the-shelf average fit kid. TG for that as he is a complete and utter pain about buying shoes and it is an ordeal.

Well i contacted Clarks via their Facebook page and they replied that they will send a pre paid postage label and i can send them back and if possible may refund them. Does this sound like they will or won't? Im not sure what they mean by saying they may be able to? I did ask them but they have not got back to me yet.

They also said that the fitting service is only a guide for the fitter.

I live near Clark's village which has a factory shop and a 'proper' shop. I realised quickly that the measurements in the factory shop were dodgy, so now I get the dc's feet measured in the other shop, say thanks very much, then go to the outlet to buy their shoes in the size the other shop measured them as.

Thanks for that tip Beavie, i never realised before this that so many people had problems with Clarks. I thought they were meant to be reliable.

This happened to a friend of mine. 3 different stores within a week, 3 different sizes, the exact same shoes every time and each place adamant that they were right. The sizes ranged from 5 to 7.5 (on a 20 month old so that's a massive difference ). The sizes didn't go up linearly too, so apparently dcs feet shrunk at some point.She complained and was repeatedly told that it's not just about measuring, it's about the fitting. Even when she was asking them how 3 different sizes of exactly the same shoe could all be a perfect fit. Eventually they apologised and sent her a voucher but she's none the wise about which if any store measured and fitted properly, nor what his real current size is

We had a similar experience with clarks. We got DS measured in one shop and bought a pair of shoes. A few days later I noticed that his little toes looked sore and red. Took him to a different shop and they measured him wider. Got the exact same shoes and they turned out to be fine.

They're ok for adult shoes. Like all shoes, it's pot luck whether or not your size will actually fit. They are overpriced, but I look out for the sales.

DS16 has bespoke insoles for his funny flat feet & until two years ago could buy Clarks shoes with removable insoles, so he could fit his own. Last year & this year there were no styles with this facility at all even though the size 9½ was available.

He ended up with proper expensive men's shoes which were great, but cost about 50% more

Look for a shoe shop with the Society of Shoe Fitters mark... They have had specialist training, usually independent shops...

My son is a nightmare - sensory issues, wide feet... But last shoes no sensory issues at all...

Shoes weren't much more than Clark's and lasted better too.

Ds2 was an early walker and clarks tried to get his first shoes on him by thumping the bottom of them onto his feet. I've never been back!

I always thought the measuring bit was just to send the fitter roughly in the right direction. Then the actual fitting bit happened when they felt around the shoe on the foot.

We've never had any problems with Clarks shoes. However, they've nearly always been bought from an independent shop. Not a single one near where we live now though, unfortunately.

A lad fitted dd with the ipad, came up as an 8f, I knew it wasnt right so asked him to check with the manual one, he gave me the speil about the ilad beingmore accurate, I asked him to humour me and double check, he did, 9g, apparently that never happens while I was stood there with a face

Not only is the measuring dodgy, the girls school shoes are poor quality and dull designs. They are pretty much exactly the same styles for the last few years with thin flimsy soles. I think Clarks forget that kids do actually wear these shoes everyday outdoors, in the playground, skipping, playing football, walking to school and in all weather. The 12 year old sales assistant looked completely baffled when I said my DD couldn't wear the little slip on pumps she suggested because they might fly off while playing football at lunch time and wouldn't last more than a few weeks.

Agree SheBird once they get past size 12 the designs are too teenage for 7/8 year olds. Ricosta, Hush puppy & startrite all have much more sturdy designs of Mary Janes

my granparents always send shoe vouchers for clarks for my children. last week, 3 pairs of shoes, £110

yesterday took older child to get school shoes. i wanted something that covered her foot. clarks had several pairs on display at £40+ but (using the ipad) measured dd as 3h+. none in her size.

went two doors down to new look got an almost identical shoe for £13!