Clarks shoe fiasco

[ApolloRain]

I just went into Clarks as the sole had begun to come away from the front of my daughter’s school shoes. I purchased them late Aug and obvs she didn’t start wearing them until term began. Well I just be naive because I expected them to be really helpful, I have only ever bought them Clarks for school and never had another other than great service and shoes. Well the lady was vile! She said I hadn’t looked after them and it’s normal wear and tear, she was referring to the bottom being dirty and inside where the sole had come away having some dust inside. It is her first year of secondary so not running around on a playground and school is a short walk away. I said as much and that they had been properly polished weekly and have never had issues before. She was really rude and in front of my 11year old, I am truly baffled. I said they have been worn for 35 days total, surely for £50 they shouldn’t fall apart after that? However she totally disagreed. I went in fully thinking it would be a helpful/polite process as it was when I made the purchase and have walked out utterly shocked?

That’s completely crap, op, you may have got the shoes changed but the staff attitude is appalling.
I believe a lot of Clarks shops are now franchises, and they probably don’t want to lose money on returns. They are selling rubbish.
I haven’t bought Clarks since before the first lockdown, when I had to get some shoes for dd at very short notice and Clarks is the only shoe shop in town. They were awful, so thin and crappy. She wore them for all of a week or so but they looked a state, and then had grown by the time they went back to school in September 2020. I threw them out, they were garbage. For £50 I absolutely expect better.
Secondary school allows trainers and I am so glad, never going near Clarks ever again.

I have nothing constructive to add other than to echo that after so many disappointing experiences in Clarks with bith my children I have now learnt my lesson and will NEVER go back !

Yes weekly full proper polish and buff with water resistant polish and spray. My husband is police so makes a big to do of doing their shoes every Sunday.

I think Clarks are hit and miss. My daughters last shoes,was leather ones from Lidl that lasted as well as her previous clarks. It made me rethink where I get school shoes from now

They are trading on their past history. I have more than one pair of their shoes where the inner is actually crumbling and is sticky, so the materials and production is not fit for purpose. I remember my school shoes getting scuffed / bashed, but never the shoe divorcing the upper from the sole!! Even my brother, a nightmare with his clothing (always climbing and testing his clothing to the limit) did not, to my recollection, have shoes that fell apart, more wore away! Were they made in China by any chance?

Had exactly the same three times with those exact shoes. She gets Kickers now!

They are their own worst enemies.
13 years between my eldest and youngest. By the time the youngest got to secondary all the girls ( and many boys) wore either black kickers or black doc martens. I think I bought youngest 2 pairs of shoes in Secondary( OK it was covid as well). She walked several miles to school each day.

Our local cobblers will glue shoes for free, he's fixed so many soles for me over the years. We do offer to pay but he's happy to do it. He does charge for all other services but gluing soles is on the house.

I used to buy Clarks shoes for two children until one time I had their feet measured, the assistant helped them pick out shoes and then felt their toes, heel space etc. Got to the till and she wrote a sentence at the bottom of the receipt. I asked what it meant and she'd written that I'd fit the school schools myself and Clarks took no responsibility if they didn't fit. Complete fabrication of events, I asked to speak to the manager and had a new receipt printed off.
I think she must have been covering herself for some reason.

Well I think those words are a bit strong. She aggressively pushed the new box across the desk, didn’t launch them across the room. She snatched the old shoe out of my hand. She implied the wear and tear and I was silly to think anything other than that. I’m not a pushover, I told her she was being rude and and that I was baffled that a company with the standing Clark’s have and the price of the shoes themselves would consider 35days an acceptable amount of time to own a shoe. I may also have said ‘wow’ when I asked to speak who the manager was and she said her.

Don't use Clarks. I lost all trust in their ability to measure feet some years ago. I asked them to check my child's Clarks shoes and measure his feet. The assistant did so. The assistant claimed:

• that his feet were 2 and a half sizes smaller than they had been 4 weeks previously (measured by Clarks)
• that the current shoes, 2 and a half sizes bigger than she said he needed, fitted perfectly (Clarks shoes)
• that she would expect shoes to fit differently because they were different styles. (Bearing in mind that the shoes were the same actual shoes, never mind the style!)

At that point my conclusion was that if a firm are happy to employ people who

• can't measure feet
• doesn't get that one shoe can't shrink 2 and a half sizes

then I will not ever let them measure my child's feet or buy shoes from them again!

That's awful they hardly look worn apart from the sole coming away!
I would email a complaint with photos and the name of the store you went to.

That was unintentional, I garble posted full of adrenaline and said that she gave a replacement in pretty much the next reply. Tbh the customer service and low quality product is my issue because considering the other replies I feel like it is going to happen again,

She may well have been my old boss from when I worked at Clarks! Was it a store in Kent?

Yes it was. She said her name was Claire but didn’t have a name badge on

Hmm not my old boss, her name wasn't Clare, she's probably in her 50s now but used to piss off customers every single day!

That’s exactly the age this woman was. Looking online I can see that the branch manager is called carol so either this lady just said she was the manager/was a shift leader, or she gave me a false name,

Look up the CEO of Clarks and their email address on google. Write a very concise account of what you put here. I guarantee you will get a response very quickly.
Clarks are unfortunately not what they used to be, a shoe repair shop commented that they are no more than average in their opinion now even though prices are high.