I REALLY REALLY wanted to love my pair of boots from The Walking Company. I heard great things about their orthodics, and I loved the brands they carried and their ankle support.
But their returns and exchange policy is SHIT.
It turns out I'm allergic to the boots I bought (Tara M. Harlows, which turn out to be only sold at The Walking Company) and because I had worn them, they would not accept them as a return or exchange. How the fuck am I supposed to know I'm allergic to something without wearing it? And it turns out there was zero support with how to treat or condition the leather- just a condescending salesperson asking whether I've ever worn leather shoes before. Uh, yeah. But never yours again. It's like once they have the commission from your sale they don't care about you- which is short sighted given how customers talk, and repeat customers are a thing.
And corporate is similarly unhelpful. I tried working with the local store because I know that if something escalates to corporate it typically has consequences for the employees. But apparently since I didn't escalate to corporate within 30 days (90 days was too late), there's again nothing they can do. So I guess I shouldn't be too angry with the "not my problem" attitude in the store, it's probably trained.
More than half the brands carried here are at The Boston Store, literally right across the hallway. Shop there instead.