I had an absolutely strange, demeaning and wildly unprofessional experience with the General Manager, Mecque Turner. Coming from a hospitality background, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt, but I was absolutely floored with her complete lack of professionalism and frankly odd behavior. I see from a number of other reviews, that my experience is unfortunately common with her.
I had purchased shoes from their San Anselmo location just over a month ago -- receiving fantastic help by the way at that location. Fast forward 37 days and I noticed extreme wear to the outsoles of my shoes and they were separating in places. I found this very odd for such a short period of usage and I called the San Anselmo shop and they recommended I go to the Mill Valley location for help, which is where the alternate universe service started.
Mecque looked at the shoes, aware that they had been used for just over a month, and replied this is not a fault with the shoe, it is a problem with how I walk...something to the effect of 'you do not pick your heel up enough and walk too flat'. Wait, what? Her first response was telling me that the shoe is fine and that I do not walk correctly!
My intention was to first just show the shoes to ask if they were defective or if this was just an easily wearing shoe, not to demand a refund or anything like that. Instead, I was told my walking style was defective! But wait, there is more....
I had thought they would maybe exchange the pair for a new one, or perhaps help me find a shoe that might be a more durable one. When I started to inquire about this, Mecque abruptly stated that she was providing a full refund (again, I had not asked for this) and then she stated multiple times that I would be better served going to another store, because, get this, she told me she had limited time to help customers and that I was not the type of customer that she wanted to help. I was absolutely taken completely off-guard and stunned by her statement, but was able to keep my composure and ask if she meant that their store did not cater to walkers? She reiterated that I should find another store and listed off a few stores that I should go to instead.
Really super bizarre behavior. With her declaring a refund as my only option, I even asked if the shoe company would reimburse them, and she confirmed they would, as the last thing I would want is to hurt a local business.
Anyway, I would like to reiterate that I was super calm and friendly throughout and asked for nothing when I arrived, only asking their opinion on if it was normal for a shoe to wear out after just 37 days. I am writing this note as a word of caution and to reinforce the myriad similar interactions others have had with this manager.
It was pretty deflating to have this experience with a business that I specifically sought out to locally support with a purchase that I really could use personalized, friendly help with.
Anyway, hopefully she will at some point understand just how shocking and offensive her service is, and really aim to help all customers, not just the ones that meet her specific customer profile. read more