When I do blog I try to keep posts barefoot related. Shoes are not bare feet to me, but I feel the need to vent today on the internet. So this is my post to vent my frustrations.....
Soft Star web site
Some general info on my experience -
I actually had a chance to visit this store in person in mid July 2011. It is in a town like I visit for a event that I enjoy. It is about a 6 hour drive to that area from where I live. I was impressed on my visit. I emailed them saying I would be biking to store, and they gave me some good biking directions. Upon arrival at the store one of the owners was out front watching the children. They liked my silly trike that I arrived on.
You first enter the door, and have to walk up a bunch of steps. Lots of wood on the interior so it has a nice natural look. A bunch of kids running around inside, and they have a day care center. I think it is just for the owners children. Tesla helped me on my visit. The same person who responded to me email about coming to visit. Tesla is very adorable so that made the experience pleasant, and Tesla seemed up on all the product details. The rest of the staff seemed nice. Tricia the one owner I met seemed cool as well.
In conversation I learned that they don't really get very many walk in customers. That most of the sales are done via the internet. The main sales floor has the products they sell. They have a counter with the office happenings, and they have what looks to be a very large area of elves working away on mocs. To my eye they seemed to employee a fairly large number of elves.
My past experience -
What brought me to the store in person was failed attempts to buy mocs from them via the internet. I believe I made two purchases online before I visited the store in person. The first issue was sizing was incorrect. The second issue I was not happy with the toe area of the moc. I wanted a moc to wear at home for a chilly winter day. As each purchase did not work out they made other suggestions on how to get something that I would like, and would fit my feet. Then I sort of got to a point where I was sick of all these shipping costs. All these troubles even up to today, and they never offered any brake on shipping to attempt to keep me as a customer. I always kind of figured that was a poor decision. In less of course this is a common problem they have with customers in which case helping out on shipping costs would be expensive for them. I assume I'm not the only one that had issues like this. I decided it was time to share my story.
The final result of my in store visit -
First off since I was stubborn, and gave up on paying more shipping to find the right moc. I ended up just making my feet tough it out. So now I have no need for a moc around the house.
When I visit the store I was interested in seeing the Moc 3. I was interested in a alternative shoe that I could wear a limited amount that provided some protection. For everyday use when needed, and for biking at times on my trike. This shoe would have been fine for me to wear at work. I wanted to see if it fit my feet properly, and if I liked the looks of it in person at the store. It turned out I liked the look, and we found a size that fit my foot. The moc I felt had a athletic look, and it allowed my foot to be very flexible. Probably more flexible then any other shoe I have tried on. Normally when I would wear a shoe size 10.5 or 11. In VFF 43 or 44 back in the day when I wore those silly shoes. With the moc 3 I was a surprising size 12.
Though the downer was they would not sell me the shoes I tried on in the store. At the time they were out of stock of all the common sizes. It seems they can't hold stock very well on this shoe. For whatever reason they would not sell me the shoes I had on. Which at the time I was frustrated about cause the whole reason I went into the store was to find something that fit, and buy it at that moment. I really liked the pair I had on my feet in the store.
So they tell me I can place a order now at the store, and they would charge my credit card, or wait and order myself some other time at home. I opted to place the order while I was at the store. That way I could be at a better place in the back order line.
Well 5 weeks or so later I get the order in the mail. Dreadfully another problem exists. It is the size I ordered. However one toe box looks different then the other toe box. The left fits just dandy. The right had a extra point by the big toe, and toe next to it. So it made the shoe look too big, and it allowed a lot of folding of the material. It looked really crappy on my right foot. Basically each shoe was not symmetrical.
Obviously if I would have left the store with the shoes I liked. I would have never of had this problem. My visit was wasted in this regards in getting a product in the store. I reached my limit with this Moc 3 delivery. Now I'm back at square one sending it back. Again spending more money on additional shipping. However this time was my last mistake. As I decided on a refund, and to never use this company again. I forwarded the info on my Moc 3 problem, and below was the response I got.
I am very sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your shoes. We are happy to issue you a refund. Please know that we do appreciate your feedback. Since our shoes are made by hand there is always a chance for some slight irregularities, but our production elves have high standards for quality. We will examine your shoes when they arrive and see if it is a problem we can prevent in the future.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.
In closing -
Why can't they inspect each shoe before it goes out for sale ? Maybe they need a master elf to do a final inspection. I tried really, really hard to give this company a chance. Every chance I gave was a failed attempt. I have patience, and my patience was just never rewarded. So I just wanted to warn folks of my experience. Since these products are crafted by hand it comes with some unique circumstances. Combo that with your foot shape, selection of materials, selection of looks, pricing, shipping costs, etc. You are presented with many options, and variables that may have to be dealt with.
At this point I don't want anything from soft star. I just want to share my story, and close this chapter. It was a shipping money pit to USPS benefit. In the end USPS was the only winner.
Shop at your own risk !
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