On Friday August 19th I had taken my two children into Lil' Friends Footwear to be fitted for shoes. Since it was a Friday night the two sales people that were working that evening were both busy when I got there so I patiently waited my turn looking at shoes for my son...
When it was my turn to be helped, the sales lady asked what she could for me and I explained that I needed to get my kids fitted for shoes. As she was doing the fittings she mentioned that she saw me looking at shoes and asked if she could show me any of them. I explained that my two year old needed tennis shoes and that I was going to go to Foot Locker or Finish Line (Lil' Friends does not carry brands like Nike or Adidas) but that my son needed his first pair of walkers and that I would be back in a month or two after the weather cooled down to purchase them.
After she realized that I wasn't going to be making a purchase that evening her attitude towards me changed and the service I recieved from that point on was the worst I have ever experienced. She proceeded to tell me that she rushed through her "paying" customers to help me because she thought I was going to be buying something and that if I was going to buy something from Foot Locker to have them fit my kids because she couldn't follow me around from store to store helping me.
I had purchased two pair of shoes from Lil' Friends in 2004 for my daughter and with this they sent our reminder cards about coming in for another fitting... When I asked her if they still did this her reply was "For our paying customers, we can't just do it for everyone!" At this point I was boiling mad so I load my children up and walk out.
When I got home I called the store and asked to speak to the manager. The lady that answered the phone said that she was the owner... This is also the lady that helped me. I explained to her that the customer service I recieved from her was the worst ever and because of it she had lost a customer. She remembered me and said that I had only came in to use her, that I had no intention of buying anyting from her. I explained-like I had earlier when I was in the store-that I HAD planned on buying shoes from her store for my son, just not the night that I had him fitted. I continued by explaining that I didn't purchase anything that evening because it was the middle of August and I didn't want to put heaving walking shoes on a 10 month old while it's hot out, BUT I had every intention of coming back in the fall to buy them. She didn't hear this because as soon as I told her that I was making a purchase that evening her entire attitude changed! She then went on to ask me if I wasn't buying anything why I had them fitted. I explained that I wanted to make sure that the one pair of shoes (sandals) that my son did have were the right size and that I trusted them to fit my daughter. I even went on to complement the quality of shoes that they sell and how I was impressed with the service that I recieved from my previous purchases that were made for my daughter. The owner, who wouldn't give me her name, then stated that she has to have an attitude because people always use her to have their kids fitted and then go somewhere else to buy shoes and that her sales numbers were down 30%-this may mean she'll have to closer her doors on her business. HMMMM, could this have anything to do with the customer service she gives? This was the point that I explained to her: Lil Friends is a shoe store and their job is to service customers, paying or not. The way I was treated was wrong and will not be tolerated. I had made previous purchases and did have every intention of coming back to make purchases in the future. Her numbers may increase if she stops getting an attitude with people that don't buy.
I really wasn't "ripped off" by Lil' Friends but I just wanted to warn others of what to expect if you shop at this store.
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