To return Clark's shoes

[rasberryandlime]

Went to Clark's today to get my little boy (14 months) measured for his first 'proper' pair of shoes now he is walking confidently. He has had pre-walkers from there with no problems but these are no longer suitable as he's properly running around outside.
The shoes (leather Velcro trainer type) were fitted by a sales assistant and I commented they looked a little narrow but she double checked and said they were fine. Anyway I got home and took Ds out for a short walk outside (only 5-10 mins as didn't want to do any longer in brand new shoes). Came back and on taking his shoes off to check his feet was so upset to see they had caused him a blister (bright red and broken the skin). AIBU to return the shoes? I am really upset his first pair of shoes have done this, and they cost £35! DH says blisters are to be expected with new shoes, and he just needs to break them in over time, so they won't take them back as they've been worn outside and are muddy and it's normal to get blisters when you wear new shoes. What do you think and any experiences of Clark's?

They've not been fitted properly so definately take them back!

I have always bought Clarks for my 2 kids, the older is now 7 the younger will turn 2 in 2 weeks, both have a h width, and none of them have had any blisters.
There were occassions when they gave me a funny measurement, I thanked them and I said I would order online to see the whole range. We went to another branch where they were measured and fitted correctly.
We have had minor issues, both kids and adult shoes, Clarks is good with refunds.
If you think they are the wrong size, take them back. Mums know best!

I would- he's probably missing them.

Break in shoes? Get blisters while doing it? .normal? For a toddler?? What planet does your partner come from
Go back to the store and demand your money back. And next time : go with your gut!

Yes, the measuring can be well dodgy. I was once told dd2 was an H+ width, despite having always been an F or sometimes a G previously 🤔. She was an F when she was remeasured at a different shop....

If DH gets blisters with all new shoes then it’s possible your DS might be like that too. I’d still go back to Clark’s, but maybe have it at the back of your mind for the next pair.

It's worth establishing where your nearest independent children's shoe shop is. I found ours tho be consistently reliable and have all the main brands in as well as clarks.

Take them back. As a student I worked in Clarks and we would have absolutely taken back a pair that did that to a child. Some fitters are better than others. Our shop was really good for training and people used to come to us instead of the bigger branches because of it.

Sometimes you can tell immediately if you’ve got someone a bit rubbish. My little girl has wide feet and one lady measured her as an E. I left immediately as I knew she was wrong and wouldn’t fit her properly.

I would take them back. Kids shoes are made of softer material, DD has never had blisters from any Clarke’s shoes and she has had nearly every pair from there for 3 years

Return them and get refitted. Tbh, once they were properly running around we always had Startrite which fitted better ( all kids are different)

last week tidying my wardrobe I found my DDs first pair of proper shoes. Navy blue with buckles. They were from Clark's. Made me cry. ( she's 20 now)

My DC have been in shoes for 5 years - never had a blister. Dropping 2 widths in 3 weeks can’t be right. Definitely take them back.

Take them back, get a refund and go to a decent shop.

I tried Clarkes with DC1 when she started walking, I had to return the shoes because the design they had suggested actually dug in to her ankles and she had red blister lines around the ankles. I returned them after about 3 weeks (it took me that long to realise it was the shoes)

Only tried them once more since then and would never use them again with any of my 3 young children.

This happened to my son with some school shoes recently. They were very good - I showed them pictures and they could see the wounds. Some one else measured him again and recommended another size which were perfect and the shoes were swapped.

I did this, the shoes were swapped but it took a while for the assistant to believe that I really wasn’t going to be fobbed off.

I stopped shopping at Clarks when my kids were an E as measured a number of times and confirmed by the assistant but when she came back from the back room and said there were no E left, insisted that an F would be absolutely fine. I tried to explain to her that it wasn't especially as they were a smaller side of an E, but then acted like I was insulting her intelligence.

I never rated Clarks shoes, the quality was poor and they always stretched within a couple of months. I think they care more to sale as much as they can than insuring they fit the shoes properly.

I have returned a pair of Clarks shoes for rubbing my child’s heels raw. They’d been worn outside and you could tell, and I couldn’t get back there until two weeks after I’d bought them. Still accepted them no quibbles.

I do agree though that the last two measures we’ve had done have been off and I’m not impressed with the current training.

This reminds me of buying a pair of shoes for DD when she was little.
Measured & fitted at Clark's.
DD kept them on & wore them out of the shop.
We walked around town for an hour or so and DD's heels rubbed so much they bled! We returned to the shop and returned the brand new blood stained shoes!!
The staff were horrified!

I will add that they were summer sandals not school shoes so no, not worn with socks!

I lost faith in Clarks when they did exactly the same thing with my DS apparantly the narrower shoes would fit him fine (he had proper chubby little feet) when he takes his weight off him & sits down. ie when he wasn’t walking on them - daft cow.

Thanks All, I am just back from Clark's. Arrived for when it opened and asked to speak to the manager who apologised and got him remeasured (as a H this time!). Refitted him with some different shoes, which I feel much happier with (should have trusted my instinct yesterday) and asked her most experienced fitter to double check them for my piece of mind. They exchanged them for the old ones and promised retraining for the member of staff who fitted him yesterday. Although annoyed it happened in the first place, at the least the service on getting it resolved was ok.

I got fed up of Clarks fitting and their shoes. Changed to Clinkard and they are brilliant. Wider fit, comfortable and last month's, compared to too narrow, poor quality Clarks that used to split after a few months

good news, I found Clarks usually quite good if they make a mistake.

Hi. I had the same problem with my son a couple of months ago. I contacted Clarks head office and attached photos of my 16 month olds feet, also photos with the shoes on to show they didn't even do up properly. (velcrow) I received an apology and a £15 evoucher to spend on line or in store. I returned to the branch I had purchased from. My sons feet were measured again, this time by the manager. Originally measured at 5f. Remeasure 5.5g. Free replacement and £15 off a second pair for him. Definitely return, go through head office first!