Shoe-Shopping Advice From a Shoe Store Assistant Manager

In a time where large, corporate and discount shoe stores seem to have pushed customer service to the wayside, smaller, independent retailers are thriving with individualized customer attention and highly-trained service personnel. Finding the perfect pair can be daunting nightmare for customers, but with the expertise of a knowledgeable sales associate, one can discover dreamy shoes to melt the heart and soles.

Most sales clerks are trained, either through extensive and cheesy 80s videos or through quality experiences, to ask ‘probing questions’ in order to best serve the customer’s needs. But what if the customer stumbles upon a trainee or otherwise inexperienced associate, and still wants the most bang for the proverbial buck during the shoe-finding experience? From start to finish, a few tips that will keep a shoe quest from becoming a shoe epic journey:

Give the clerk a heads up. Many shoe-hunting customers answer the existential “Is there something I could help you find?” with the witty response, “Shoes!” To be sure, in a shoe store, the customer is not making an unreasonable demand here.
However humorous the response may seem at first, it indicates to an associate that the customer is not ready for assistance. If a customer believes s/he may eventually need help, it’s best to give an idea of the ultimate shoe in mind to the salesperson so that s/he can be thinking it over. Chances are, when the customer and clerk reunite after the customer’s browsing, the clerk will be much better prepared to suggest valuable recommendations and ideas.

Be specific, but relevant. It’s tempting to describe a shoe by the activity one will engage in while wearing it, and for the most part, such a description can be immensely helpful. A “wedding shoe” and a “basketball shoe” can clearly be vastly different pairs. Yet, a “work shoe” can mean anything between a “wedding shoe” and a “basketball shoe,” all depending on the customer’s place of employment.