The customer experience of new shoes

As a man a new pair of shoes is not a happy event nor one that I look forward to. I know you can tell a great deal about a person from their shoes ao happy to keep mine clean and in one piece but I will happily stall as long as possible getting new ones. A hole in the bottom needs to get to the point of saturated toes before it deeply worries me but on a regular basis the realities are I will need to buy new shoes. My approach to this is similar to that of any other pain I may face in life with trying to maximise the degree of pain in as short a space of time as possible. With this in mind rather than just a single pair at any given point in time I will get two or three or maybe even four if I know it buys me more time in the future not having to buy shoes again. The customer experience around buying shoes is drifting increasingly to an online experience prepared to return unwanted items if it meets my buying criteria. 

Top woes of buying new shoes 

1) New shoes hurt. I know my shoe size but no amount of trying to seems to make any difference. New ones are like strapping on two iron maidens to my feet. 

2) I want shoes that look smart and "almost" trendy but certainly not like I am getting ready to go to school or have borrowed my Dads. This is a tricky line to straddle. Too trendy and you look like your trying too hard and too dull and you look like you have stepped back in time and preparing for your first day at school.

3) When did shoes start costing over £100?  I am a man and shoes should cost less than £50 unless they are coming with a free suit that I have previously missed in the promotion.  

4) Trying on shoes is a ridiculous affair. Walk up and down a shop floor. Have some disinterested teenager squeeze the sides to check for fitting.  All pointless and painful. Give me a pair of size 9's and if they don't fit be prepared for a lawsuit should be the way forward. 

5) I miss my old shoes. The ones that fit. The ones that made my feet look a normal size and complimented my wardrobe. 

6) The shoe shops are filled with a multitude of styles and types of shoes. Good luck finding a plain black pair for work without crystal heels and cross stitching. 

7) People will notice your new shoes and no doubt make some comment. This is not helping me forget about the mind numbing pain I am in from my new shoes and had managed to briefly forget about. 

New shoes. Epic fail.