A man helped me; I believe it was Jack. He had terrible customer service and personality. He seemed…read moreso put out that I tried two pairs of shoes on with no luck that he went into the back room and never returned. He didn't speak, only grunted. I was in such a great mood after having a wonderful young man help me at Mitten Running; this put a damper on that visit. I'm not used to being treated this way because I am kind and positive to clerks at any store. My brother used to work at this store when it was downtown and the customer service was top-notch. While telling my friends at the dog park about this man, I heard other stories about his rudeness. While we would like to shop locally, this behavior sends us to online shopping or other stores. Needless to say, I won't return.

For nearly all of my adult life I have been wearing the wrong size shoe because I buy my shoes…read moreonline. In 2000 I found a pair of shoes that I believed fit really nicely and I just continued to purchase the same size in a variety of my favorite fancy brands (Dansko, New Balance, Keen, Bogs, etc), but what I did not know is that I was slowly ruining my feet one very expensive pair of shoes at a time. It recently got to the point where after spending only 30 minutes standing my shins, knees and hips and the balls of my feet would start hurting so badly I would need to rest for 45 minutes. Meal prep was starting to take an entire day. I visited V & A and the gentleman who helped me measured my feet and very calmly told me my feet measured exactly what I thought, but my arches measured nearly two sizes larger. Essentially, I've been wearing the wrong size shoe. He asked a lot of questions about pain and its location, about shoes I currently wear and why in the world I haven't gone to see my doctor and then he brought out the shoes. I tried on an endless parade of shoes. The popular style right now is the Mary Jane shoe, which is not really something I like. I should like it because it fits my foot beautifully and probably would help me, but I think they are pretty horrible. He never quit on me. We tried on clogs and dress sneakers (there is such a thing) and then finally we were all the way down to the sneakers. I ended up with a sneaker that I picked instead of a sneaker he recommended. I had to go back the next day and return my bad pick for his more appropriate pick because I never learn to listen to people who know more than I do. I'm now wearing my new sneakers which I can wear for a few hours at a time without having to sit and wait for my hips and knees and shins to stop burning and aching (I'm only 38!), which is an incredible improvement. V & A worked with my picky tastes and did not stop when I said no to nearly every shoe in the store. I paid $8 more than I would have paid online, BUT I got shoes that actually fit, amazing customer service and I got my shoes immediately. I would have paid $25 extra for that. My next pair of shoes will definitely be coming from V & A.