Until today I have only chosen to spend the time and effort of writing Google reviews to give out 5 star ratings to a few businesses. Until today, when a high ranking manager of Schuler Shoes literally threw shoes and an open box at me in anger. ***Intentionally.*** Several witnessed it, including 2 other employees. They as well as a customer told me I hadn’t done anything to deserve the manager’s anger, much less this projectile expression of said anger.
Allegedly this manager’s name is Neil Mason (I’ve guessed the spelling). He threw the stuff at me after we politely debated each other for about 3 to 5 minutes during which time I never personally attacked, name-called, swore, or made any other Ugly Customer statement or act. I can’t say he intended the stuff (the shoes within their open box and its contents like stuffing & insoles) to hit me, but he certainly threw them in my direction as he stomped away like a tantruming child as he snapped, “Take them!”
This was apparently his way of yielding to our debate on whether I should be allowed to keep the defective pair for free when my initial request had been to do an exchange. See attached pics; they started to fall apart within a few months of my purchase last year, and although they immediately agreed to replace them — hence 2, not 1, star — they couldn’t until recently due to supply chain issues.
My previous pair had lasted 5 years, so I knew these were defective. Upon learning, however, from another employee today that the supply chain issue meant the estimated time for new availability is circa December 2022, I asked to also keep this defective pair (for grungy house and basement chores) since they’d already said they were too flawed to even fix and resell (the words “straight into the trash” were said at one point). These are the only activity shoes I can wear with my orthotic brace, and moreover they’d forgotten to call me in February and it took my finally calling this April to ask if they’d arrived yet.
I politely persisted in my side of the debate when the manager’s only offer had been to let me have both pairs at a discount at best because this is their rule. I repeated that they weren’t going to be fixable anyway, so I hated to waste the flawed pair to an arbitrary rule. If he hadn’t snapped and thrown them toward me, I would’ve added as my last point that I live on an income not far above the poverty line.
As I conclude I’ll also add in fairness that I acted childishly as he angrily walked away, raising my voice to those in the store to describe what he’d just done. Perhaps this is why it took more than one request for me to obtain the manager’s alleged name, but as explanation, not excuse, his little tantrum left me feeling shaken. Whatever, first world problems, right? Generally this store is decent but this experience shook me enough to share here. ~Bella
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