They are having a tent sale in the parking lot. It's 8:15am, they appear to be open with employees standing around.
I walk up with zero knowledge of what's going on or what specifically I'm after other than a comfortable shoe for standing and walking in all day.
The lady tells me that all shoes are slightly used "lightly loved" is their term. She says they have a liberal return policy and many shoes get returned. Strange to me, but whatever.
I tell her what I'm looking for. She has no suggestions. I ask her if anything on the table grabs her attention that might be what I'm looking for. Keep in mind, there are 30 pairs of shoes, all different brands and styles. She says everyone is different. Some like Nike, some like blah blah blah. I ask her in her expert opinion, is there something she would recommend for me based on what I've told her. She responds by telling me she likes Nike and Asics for herself.
She then left and pretended to be busy. Meanwhile there are 3 employees standing around and only 1 other customer.
Oh, and while you can look... You can't buy until 9am.
So my guess is there are probably a lot of returns because they are zero help in recommending shoes.
I would think an employee at a high end running and walking shoe company would be knowledgeable in what types of shoes would be best for different people. Ex: flat foot, standing 8 hours a day on hard floors, etc etc.
I was gonna bring my wife back to look at some workout attire they also had but this store is above me I guess.