Blacks on the blacklist

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,120
68
Florida
Sounds like the "principle of the thing" is more important than the "actual thing" in this case.

Wearing the shoes to the shop
Claiming not to have any other shoes.
Not being satisfied with them being sent off.
Being satisfied with them being sent off but not with a standard 2 week turnaround.

It was daft wearing them into the shop - you wouldn't do that with defective trousers or any other item of clothing. Even a hat.

I don't believe you don't have any other shoes.

You probably won't want the same boots back so send them off and get a refund and in the meantime buy other boots then you can carry on as per usual.

I'm sympathetic that your shoes wore out too quickly, but you sure don't make it easy for yourself.

Plus 1 to this.

I'd be being pretentious if I claimed I'd never taken a similar attitude; I certainly have. But nonetheless it's not the right attitude. The only one you're actually hurting is yourself.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,609
1,405
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
If they had said "we'll send them away and let you know within 24-48 hours", I might have been happier with them sending them to the warehouse. But 2 weeks is IMHO, taking the ****. What if your car dealership said they would send your car off somewhere for 2 weeks and not give you a courtesy car?

I am awaiting email from blacks.

Julia

Er, but wouldn't you have been shoeless for 24-48 hours?!
 

Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
4,041
66
51
Saudi Arabia
I'm sorry Juliah, you're being entirely unreasonable here.
The shop offered to take them back and gave a quite reasonable time frame for repair or replacement.
The fact that you showed up at the shop wearing the shoes did absolutely nothing for your case.
You have the right to repair or replacement, certainly, but the important thing here is repair or replacement.
Blacks are quite entitled to send the shoes off for repair, and then if not practicable, replace or refund.
Two weeks turn round from a centralised facility is perfectly reasonable, It takes that long to get one of my diving watches turned round from a battery change.
The problem here isn't Blacks customer service, it's your unrealistic expectations.
 

GGTBod

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 28, 2014
3,209
26
1
Definitely not the recommended process for returning an item for refund or replacement, i would not have expected the desired result going about it that way
 

rancid badger

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sounds like the "principle of the thing" is more important than the "actual thing" in this case.

Wearing the shoes to the shop
Claiming not to have any other shoes.
Not being satisfied with them being sent off.
Being satisfied with them being sent off but not with a standard 2 week turnaround.

It was daft wearing them into the shop - you wouldn't do that with defective trousers or any other item of clothing. Even a hat.

I don't believe you don't have any other shoes.

You probably won't want the same boots back so send them off and get a refund and in the meantime buy other boots then you can carry on as per usual.

I'm sympathetic that your shoes wore out too quickly, but you sure don't make it easy for yourself.


Much more diplomatically put than I would put it, but summed up quite nicely.
 

ADz-1983

Native
Oct 4, 2012
1,603
11
Hull / East Yorkshire
Sounds like the "principle of the thing" is more important than the "actual thing" in this case.

Wearing the shoes to the shop
Claiming not to have any other shoes.
Not being satisfied with them being sent off.
Being satisfied with them being sent off but not with a standard 2 week turnaround.

It was daft wearing them into the shop - you wouldn't do that with defective trousers or any other item of clothing. Even a hat.

I don't believe you don't have any other shoes.

You probably won't want the same boots back so send them off and get a refund and in the meantime buy other boots then you can carry on as per usual.

I'm sympathetic that your shoes wore out too quickly, but you sure don't make it easy for yourself.


+1


I quite frankly find it hilarious that somebody would be silly enough to go into a shop wearing the items they wanted to return and expected a replacement there and then. If I was in the queue behind them or in shop and heard what was going on I would have been in hysterics.
 

eddieb

Tenderfoot
Jan 17, 2014
50
6
Essex
Yeah I hate situations like this as working in retail I hear it all and yeah if they had some more in store same size they could have just offered an exchange and signed the faulty ones off as faulty which every retailer can do which then the company takes up the problem with the manufacturer as they sent faulty products to the company. But I don't get what blacks problem was as I don't know their policies but either they didn't think.about just doing a straight swap or what but situations like this are very awkward for both parties.
The trick to retail is to never get angry and to attempt to out smart anyone as we are all human and as a customer you could have rang in an enquired about what's going to happen as alot of company polices cover verbal contracts on the phone.so what's said usually has to happen. And them as a company could have thought of options like exchanges which is a simple.solution.
I hope you you get your way as it seems.as though everything could have been handled so much easier
 

eddieb

Tenderfoot
Jan 17, 2014
50
6
Essex
And as I said being human we make mistakes You shouldn't pick out.faults like him walking to the store in those shoes as things could.have been solved with an.exchange even if it was with different shoes.they could of been good sales people. It just one of those situations in life
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,404
1,695
Cumbria
So many posts, so many points made. My view is the op set themselves up for failure wearing them back to the store. The retail assistant has doubts because of that so it is a simple safety measure to send the shoes away to cover themselves. If you'd taken them in a bag, blacks bag, with the receipt and even tags if you've still got them, they might have replaced them.
These are shoes with a medium durability sole compound. They are walking shoes and I'd expect about a year from them. They can wear irregularly and even if differently between left and right. Everyone has their own unique gait which is capable of causing a lot of localised wear. Not that this has happened here, I think you have a good case for faulty shoe. BTW my fell and trail shoes lasted 3 months and I was happy with that. Their softer compound was the reason. The TNF hedgehog shoes have a lot more durable sole hence the year.
I've had tents sent away because of faults. All took a month or so. Once the retailer was sorry for me and lent me a brand new lightweight tent to use on my trip free of charge. I got my replacement a month after my camping trip and 3 after I took it back. It was all about filling in the right forms so the manufacturer can accept the return for assessment. Good old Vango got their in the end.
TNF also tends to renew popular models and it is not unknown to ruin a shoe in the process. You said it was a new version of this model and you'd had them before. Perhaps the older version which was better for you and your unique gait. Perhaps a refund and a different make of shoe is your best outcome.
Whatever is best you'll get nowhere without playing by blacks rules now. Find other shoe options while they're sent away. Might say 2 weeks but that is likely just a cover and it's quicker than 2 weeks. Otherwise you've really only got the option of keeping the faulty shoes. At the end of the day do whatever gets it all resolved one way or another. Emailing customer service isn't really resolving it just putting another delay on it. Being indignant and stamping your irregularly worn heels telling them what you want isn't resolving it. You'll have to play within their rules eventually.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,404
1,695
Cumbria
BTW a friend went to one blacks to ask about how to return faulty boots that leaked after a few months. They said they'd send it off. Didn't have the boots there so took them to a local blacks when back home. That store looked at them and replaced them straight away. She learnt from the first shop and worked it better with the second. She got good service by approaching it right. Not demanding nor expecting a certain result. If it had been send them off for 2 weeks she'd accept it, you have to live with their return rules.
 

cbr6fs

Native
Mar 30, 2011
1,620
0
Athens, Greece
And as I said being human we make mistakes You shouldn't pick out.faults like him walking to the store in those shoes as things could.have been solved with an.exchange even if it was with different shoes.they could of been good sales people. It just one of those situations in life

So if someone walked into your shop, took off their dirty, smelly, and still damp from sweat shoes and handed them to you you'd have no problem with that?

If it was me and someone took off their dirty, smelly, damp from sweat shoes and handed them to me i'd likely escort them out of the shop.

Returns is one thing common decency and ignorant, rude behaviour is another.
 

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