It was about day three or four that I stopped thinking I had an aggressively sharp big toe.
Seriously, surely not all of my socks can have a hole in exactly the same place?
Slightly holding back from vomiting, I put my hand into my warm, sweaty Doc Martens, and had a feel around. There, right where my big toe usually rests, was a bobbly roughness.
(If you’re still reading, well done. I probably would have moved on by now.)
As soon as I felt it, I had that familiar sinking feeling. Another trip to the Pit of Despair incoming, trying to triangulate between various companies to get my money back. Take a deep breath, gather my strength, and in we go…
Except this time, I needn’t have worried. Because this time, it was absolutely brilliant, a perfect demonstrations of how to have a seamless experience across digital and in-person. And this was despite me being a less-than-helpful customer.
You see, I couldn’t actually remember where I’d bought the boots from. Was it direct? Online? In person? I tend to buy shoes on a whim, and tend not to keep the receipts. Not great ingredients to solve the problem quickly.
So my first point of call was Dr Martens themselves. A visit to the website, a form filled in, and within a few hours, a helpful reply with some ideas on what to do:
‘We don’t have a record of your order with us, so your first step is to contact the customer service team of the company you bought them through to enquire about the solution they can provide. If you have already tried this option without success, please let us know.’
Given the only shoe shop in town is Schuh, I figured they were probably the next best bet. To contact them, I went through Twitter. They replied quickly, and let me know what to do - take them into store, or send them back for an inspection. But I would need my proof of purchase.
Making it clear exactly how useless I was, I admitted to having no idea when or where I’d bought them.
Now at this point, most companies would have proverbially hung up. But not Schuh, not Alana. Instead, she went out of her way to find the order and give me the details I needed.
Two days later, I head into town with a pair of broken boots in a bag and a pair of two small children in either hand. Despite the excellent service on Twitter, in my mind, I was already rehearsing my complaint as they inevitably refused my request ‘Your online team said you could help’; ‘I know I don’t have a receipt, but you can see I bought them from here’; I’ve wasted an hour coming into town when I could have been at home playing with the kids’
(Emotional blackmail is always my last - but strongest - resort).
But this time, it wasn’t needed.
‘Hi, how can we help?’
‘My shoes have a hole in, the Twitter team said you could help?’
‘No problem, let me feel’
(Reader, at this point she put her hand into my shoes without a second thought, which I found both disgusting and impressive)
‘Oh yes, there’s a hole in there. I’m so sorry. Would you like a refund or a replacement?’
‘Erm… (surprised at how easy this is)… well I love the boots, so a replacement if you have them, please’
‘No worries. We don’t have any in stock, but I can get a pair sent to you, for free, to arrive in two days, if that’s ok?’
‘That’s more than ok’
‘Do you have your order number?’
I show my phone with the Twitter message
‘Perfect, I can see that here. Just confirm your address for me, and we’ll get those on the way’
And two days later…
Something else happened on that trip, though. Whilst we were there, my youngest - who’s five - wanted to spend a voucher he had.
This time, a different member of staff took charge. He sat on the floor with my lad, measured his feet, and gave fist bumps in return for compliance. He suggested some designs to try, got him to put on shoes quicker than I’ve ever managed, and encouraged him to make roaring noises in the mirror as he tried them on.
After the mild distress of my lad finding a pair he liked, only to find they didn’t have them in stock, he pulled up a series of photos of all the ones they did have in. He scrolled through, said which he thought were the coolest, and helped my son make the decision. He couldn’t have been more patient, more kind, or more fun in what can usually be a highly stressful situation.
Not only did every member of the Schuh team take ownership and make it really easy for me to solve my problem, they managed to make the whole thing a fun and enjoyable experience, too. Me and the kids both left with a spring in our step - partly due to the size of the heel on the trainers he bought - and a new found love for the folk at Schuh.
You should put yourself in there.