Those who have worked in a running store...

People who are making changes to their bodies and lives to be more comfortable in their own skin deserve respect inside and outside of your store! you need to check your biases and work WITH HER! just like employees at our local Fleet Feet work WITH me to find mens shoes to fit my wide womens feet without judgment!!!!

Here you go... wrote:

Try fitting a transvestite who refused to wear men's shoes. He was pushing about 225 and had wide feet.

Anyone who has worked in a running store has stories. Stuff you never imagine until you work there....

runshoeguy wrote:

Here's my favorite:

"Do you have anything not made in China?"

I prefer not to buy things made in China due to how workers are treated there. Even if a company claims they only use factories that engaged in ethical practices, China is a whole different story.

jamaicanmecrazy wrote:

Do you have the adidas supernovas?

I thought I was in the clear until I read this. What's wrong with asking this question?

This thread was linked on Runner's World Daily Update today. What now, Let's Run??

Whose running shoes ever last 2 years??? They must run what a mile a week?? I go through 2-3 pair a year!!

AnnaRayne wrote:

Whose running shoes ever last 2 years??? They must run what a mile a week?? I go through 2-3 pair a year!!

I was thinking the same thing. I was just telling a coworker the other day how from age 20 to 26 I went through 31 pairs of running shoes, but have only gone through 2 since then.

thats a pretty legitamate question don't you think

The one thing that gets to me is when I go into a running store and ask for a model of shoe I like and the worker brings out a pair from two or three years ago. Holy crap, that's older than what I'm wearing now. If you're not going to give me a discount on that, how about a new pair please.

apparently not wrote:

jamaicanmecrazy wrote:

Do you have the adidas supernovas?

I thought I was in the clear until I read this. What's wrong with asking this question?

Supernova is a series of shoes, not just one model. Asking for the Adidas Supernova is like asking for the Nike Air or the Mizuno Wave... not particularly helpful, especially when the different models in that line are all designed for different types of feet.

howxc wrote:We also sell the 5/finger,,first words out of my mouth.." it is not for everyone" we cannot keep them in stock!!

The more hype a product gets, the more people see it as a magic bullet.... and the more they'll insist on it, not only for themselves but for others.

A non-runner acquaintance read "Born to Run," and during a conversation the two of us were having with a woman who said she was just starting to run, I was saying what you did that they're not for everyone--or trying to... the non-runner gent interrupted me every time I tried to make that point and kept pushing her to get the "five finger" shoes. Whether she then went to a running store and asked for those shoes on the basis of that advice, I don't know. But I'm betting a lot of people hear such second- or third-hand advice from John Doe their neighbor down the street and won't listen to someone who has spent a lot of time running and learning about fitting running shoes.

But don't despair... there are still some of us who appreciate what you do.

latently homosexual teenager wrote:

Another lady wanted good shoes for skipping?????

What is a good pair of skippers these days? Are there good minimalist skippers?

"I walk a lot and I need a pair of walking shoes."

Answer: "Have you ever thought of a running shoe, they fit better have better support and cushioning and a better overall feel"

Response: "can you walk in a running shoe?"

Answer: "No. If you do the shoes take off and you end up with a lot of road rash and a concussion

r1r3r5 wrote:

People who are making changes to their bodies and lives to be more comfortable in their own skin deserve respect inside and outside of your store! you need to check your biases and work WITH HER! just like employees at our local Fleet Feet work WITH me to find mens shoes to fit my wide womens feet without judgment!!!!

I realize you're a troll, but in case you're not aware, that is not an example of bias, its an example of trying to get the right shoe. Like it or not, women's shoes and mens shoes are sized differently, and there are a paltry handful of womens shoes that come big enough to fit a large man's foot. If that person is any bigger than a men's size 12, that person is shit out of luck finding a running shoe in ANY running store.

Look at it this way- if the shoe fitter has 5 or 6 good options in the mens section and none in the womens section, how is that person supposed to help their customer if they refuse to even try on a mens shoe? Even if you found a women's shoe you could order in the proper size, how would you have any idea whether or not the shoe will actually fit?

Just about everything you said right there is wrong...Before you tell a customer what they need you really need to know about shoe construction, materials and human biomechanics. Yes running shoes will do fine in most cases but what you said is simply wrong. If someone is walking and not running they will do better in a walking shoe...as long as its the right kind of shoe for their biomechanics.

Dont just throwup the information that your asics rep told you about shoes. Do a little homework that way you can really help each customer.

jollyjoggingfart wrote:

not hard to believe at all. running shoes are big business in this country now...they are an inferior good.

Why are running shoes an inferior good?

Sounds like you got something personal against running shoes. Do YOUR homework and check out that many walking shoes are copying the structures and materials used in running shoes. Also talk to any good podiatrist for the good ones who see success with their patients will recommend a good running show over a walking shoe any day. The excellent podiatrist will recommend them before building an expensive orthotic to cure a foot problem.

All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. 

Nietzsche

I have to agree that even for walking, I prefer running shoes. I've bought walking shoes to wear to work since I'm on my feet a lot (it's casual enough to allow for something comfortable but not something that looks too much like what casual onlookers might describe as "sneakers"), and I CAN'T WAIT to get them off when I get home.

"Walking" shoes feel too heavy whereas I'm quite happy to walk around in retired running shoes or sandals. I often suggest to friends who walk that they're better off with running than walking shoes--but with the caution to try on different types of shoes to see what's right for them.

For a little twist on this:

I went into a Dick's Sporting Goods a few years back and asked if they had spikes (just the spikes, not the shoes) so I could have them for my XC kids when they needed to replace theirs.

The clerk, a short, overweight woman told me that they don't use spikes in XC. I told her that the kids I coach do and so does almost everyone we run against.

She argued and told me I was wrong and that SHE didn't use spikes when she ran XC.

I told the store manager who cringed and then ordered them online.

She still works there giving out wrong information.