A little rant about Keen Footwear Customer Service

[C_Claycomb]

A pair of Keen's Voyageur mid-boots have been my go-to every day footwear since 2010. I am on my third pair of boots and had one pair of their walking shoes. They fit me well but most important, they have no waterproof membrane, so my feet stay cooler and drier in warm weather. I tend to love my Voyageurs to the point that they are held together with contact cement. My last pair isn't quite at that point, but I like to have a replacement set waiting in the wings before I get to the gluing phase.

I thought I would try ordering direct from Keen's website, since they have that facility. However, a full search of https://www.keenfootwear.com/en-gb/ failed to show the shoes I wanted. A check of https://www.keenfootwear.com showed that they were still for sale in the US. Didn't really want to order all the way from the US, so used the contact form at https://www.keenfootwear.com/en-gb/contact-us/ and wrote the following, bear in mind one is character limited, on the form:

Mar 28, 2021, 3:51 PDT
Hello, I live in Britain and your Voyageur mid boots (and shoes) have been my go-to every day footwear for the last 10 years. I am on my last pair and looked to order replacements and am dismayed to find the don't appear to be sold in the UK any more. Please tell me this isn't so! Where can I go to buy my next pair? Best regards Chris

Got a very fast response, given it was a Sunday (didn't expect that), by email from Erica (KEEN EU) info.europe@keenfootwear.com

Mar 28, 2021, 4:05 PDT
Hi Chris,
Thank you for reaching out to KEEN! I have looked into this for you. So sorry to say..
If you don’t see a particular style on our site, there’s a good chance it’s been discontinued. I'm so sorry your favorite style was discontinued! I will pass this information along to the product development team.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful day, Chris!
Thanks,
Erica
KEEN Fan Services

So, not all that helpful since it shows as available in the US but not on the GB site, so not "discontinued", and no help with sourcing a pair. Follow up:

Mar 28, 2021, 15:26 PDT
Hi Erica,
Thank you for the reply. Is Keen (EU) related to Keen (USA), or are they separate businesses that just share the name, like Ford? When you say "there's a good chance it's been discontinued", do you mean no longer made, or no longer imported? The Voyageur boots and shoes are available in the US from Keen USA.

The reason I love the Voyageurs so much, apart from their fit, is that they do not have a waterproof membrane, they breath well and are not too hot. I have tried, and failed, to see anything similar on your site. Can you make any suggestions of alternatives?

I can understand a little why a non-waterproof, well vented boot might not be a big seller in the stereotypically wet British Isles, but surely there is a market in mainland Europe?

Best regards
Chris

To which the reply was:

Mar 28, 2021, 15:48 PDT
Hi Chris,
Thank you for reaching out to KEEN! I hope you are having a great day.
If you don’t see a particular style on our site, there’s a good chance it’s been discontinued. I'm so sorry your favorite style was discontinued! I will pass this information along to the product development team.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Erica
KEEN Fan Services

Seriously? A copy/paste of almost the exact same the saccharine-smile platitudes. No answer to any question and no suggestions of other Keen shoes that I should look at.

So, looks like I will be ordering from the US. Oh, wait, Keen USA website does not allow shipping outside the USA. Hmm...okay, lets try REI...nope, specific block (by Keen) on shipping those shoes outside the US.

Decided to drop a message to the US customer service, just to see if they could be more helpful than the rather useless European branch.

Mar 29, 2021, 7:20 PDT
Hello, I am trying to buy a pair or two of Voyageur mids / shoes and am having trouble figuring out how to get them. I live in Britain (the UK), Keen EU say that since the Voyageur does not appear on their site it has probably been discontinued. It is still on Keen USA's site. Can you suggest a way that I can get them? Thanks Chris

Imagine my amazement when the reply was signed off with the same name as the previous messages.

Mar 29, 2021, 8:17 PDT
Hi Chris,
Thank you for contacting KEEN! I'm happy to assist you with your search for the Voyageur shoes.
I do apologize, but at this time we do not ship outside of the United States. We do partner with international dealers that may be able to assist further in finding our product locally! In order to view our global dealer list follow the link below:
www.keenfootwear.com/stores/dealers/
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day!
Thanks,
Erica
KEEN Fan Services

No mention of the previous emails. The link shows there are no global dealers in the UK, nor France, nor Germany...Eastern Europe has one per country, but that isn't much use.

I am left thinking that either Keen use AI to answer customers, or they have a pool of people all of whom use the same "Erica" handle to sound like they are a cheerful, smiley woman. I was willing to go a long way to get another pair of the shoes that I like, but after this "conversation" with who or whatever Keen use for customer relations, I don't feel like I want to give them any more of my money.

Chris

 

[nigelp]

You could try using a mail forwarding service to order from the US?

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Oh wow round the houses there Chris. You never know though, it might be a different Erica!

In all honesty though I feel your pain there

 

[dwardo]

That sounds very much like a bot/template response is thwarting your attempts to raise a query. I would pop them an email on another address and ask them to look into it. They either are not understanding the role of such a service or don't care. Hope its the former.

 

[C_Claycomb]

You could try using a mail forwarding service to order from the US?

I actually know a few people in the US who I might be able to hit on to re-post. My own research turned up another very similar shoe, a Targhee Vent, also not available in the EU. That said, I really do feel disinclined to give them more money. I may try a phone call and see if that will circumvent the Erica-bot.

Cheers chaps!
and well done for wading through all my venting! It did make me feel better to share!!!

 

[Dougster]

Chris,
I was in Trekitt in Hereford last year and tried on Acu Pilgrim boots. I am mightily impressed with the breathability of the GTX versions and the non gtx version is reputed to be ridiculously fast drying. Worth a look.

 

[MrEd]

That’s definitely AI - I had a most frustrating ‘interaction’ with the fedex customer service recently and the AI on that.
Real person everyday for me!

post forwarder, or see if you can ring them?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Chris,
I was in Trekitt in Hereford last year and tried on Acu Pilgrim boots. I am mightily impressed with the breathability of the GTX versions and the non gtx version is reputed to be ridiculously fast drying. Worth a look.

Cheers! They look good, definite possible.