The Emperor's New Shoes

OK, so I’m not really an emperor (king, prince, or knight for that matter – maybe squire…) but the new shoes sure make me feel different. But so did my purchasing experience…

I have had a pair of Nike’s for about 5 years and they have seen me through many a mile. They say running shoes should be replaced at roughly 500 miles, I think I exceeded that a bit. They were with me when I started my dissention from 275 down to my current 206. I have some emotion tied into them. But after a run that included a good bit of dirt path, I came to the conclusion that my shoes indeed had worn too thin. Every pebble could be felt in the ball of my foot. I don’t know how Shaka Zulu ever convinced his warriors to live and fight completely shoeless… Maybe he was a bit better emperor than me…?

Anyway, with the amount of running I am doing now I decided it was time to get new (and better) running shoes. Nothing against my Nike’s but they were the absolute bottom end of the running shoes - purchased on sale for about $35 bucks if I remember correctly. They were also not designed for my stride or foot mechanics. These are issues that really don’t matter to the fat guy just jogging to get in shape but really do matter to the runner wanting to improve his personal bests or extending his runs from 3 miles up to 6, 10, or more miles.

A friend of mine recommended a runner’s store, Fleet Feet, as a good resource for getting a proper shoe. I had been reading about shoe types, reviews of various shoes, and had a basic knowledge of what to consider. However, I will definitely say that the sales force of this store were far more knowledgeable than your average shoe salesperson (and me) when it comes to running shoes as they were all experienced runners as well. They took a seated foot size then a standing foot size, from this they determined that I have a fairly stiff arch that doesn’t collapse very far with each stride. While this is biomechanically a bit more efficient, it tends to place more shock and stress on the knees and requires more cushion in the foot. Typically people’s arches collapse a bit more and act as natural shock absorbers for the stride. They then had me run on a treadmill with a video camera on my feet to show the amount of pronation (foot rotation related to the collapsing arch) in my stride. There are different shoes for various levels of pronation. Once the saleswoman had my foot particulars she brought out 7, yes 7, pairs of shoes. As a guy, I have never gone beyond 2-3 pairs before saying "good enough for me". She had me try on and run a short distance in each pair of shoes (lacing and tying 14 shoes) with a smile the whole time. Eventually I selected the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 which set me back more than I would like to admit (certainly more than I have ever paid for a pair of shoes) but with absolutely no buyer’s remorse.

I know you think this whole entry was about my new "toys" but what really prompted me to write this entry was my shoe buying experience. Whether out of necessity, complacency, or ignorance, I think we as consumers have, as a culture, allowed ourselves to value price over ALL else. When was the last time you went to a specialty shop and paid a little more for what you really wanted instead of just grabbing what was available during your last run to Wal-Mart? I’m not one of those people that think that Wal-Mart is the evil empire as I have NOTHING against Wal-Mart and we do probably 80% of all of our weekly shopping there. But would I have been as satisfied or gotten what I really needed if I bowed to convenience? I believe customer service is undervalued in the retail world today. I genuinely think that my saleswoman wanted me to have a more enjoyable running experience. The subject of price or price range never even came up. I didn’t even know what they were going to cost until I got to the register but I knew that the selected shoe was the most appropriate shoe for me and so I didn’t flinch, wince, or bat an eye when the price rang up. I’m realistic enough to know that this was also due to the financial stability that the Lord has blessed me with but that same exact shoe WOULD NOT have come with the same peace without the confidence provided by my experience in the store. I think buyer’s remorse is the result of poor customer service and not convincing the shopper that they truly have made the right choice.

Have any of you recently made a purchase that was a particularly good (or bad) experience?