The Good Feet Store

On [protected] I visited the Good Feet Store in Reno, NV and purchased some products. I explained to the salesperson that I was a only visiting the Reno area and was hesitant to purchase anything so far from home. He repeatedly told me that there were some one hundred plus Good Feet stores and the exchange and store credit were good anywhere in the United States.

Unfortunately the Good Feet products did not work for me. As I was leaving Reno, I returned the products to the Reno store. On 9-9-2011, around 2 o’clock, I returned to the Good Feet store in Reno. As I entered the woman working at the desk, asked me to wait as she was on the telephone. I overheard a rather loud and strained telephone call. Apparently a female customer had come into the Reno store, just before I arrived, to return some products from a Good Feet from a store in Las Vegas, and to use her store credit. That customer was under the impression that she could have a store credit / exchange at any Good Feet store in the US. From what I heard, the customer was so upset that she left the products, with her name and telephone number, and walked out of the store. It sounded like the woman working in the Reno store that day was talking on the telephone to someone at Good Feet headquarters, and explaining her frustration about not knowing how to handle the situation that occurred just before I arrived.

I did not make the woman working that day in the store in Reno any happier than the previous customer, as I walked in expecting a store credit to be used in at a San Francisco Bay area store (anywhere in the US as I had been promised upon purchasing the products). I told the woman working at the store that day that I had been told exactly the same thing: i.e. that the store credit was good at any of some one hundred plus stores nationwide.

I now have a $540 gift card that I am told is good only at the Reno store. As I spend maybe six days a year in Reno, and some years I am not in Reno at all, this card is worthless to me. I was lead to believe (told emphatically actually) that the credit was good in any store, and I am apparently not the only customer to be given that misinformation. Your records likely show the call from the Reno store to someone Good Feet on 9-9-2011, reflecting the customer from Las Vegas expecting to use her credit in Reno.

Before I made the purchase in the Reno store, under the impression that the credit was good nationwide, I asked the salesperson looked up the stores to see if there was one near me. I was told there was a store in Pleasanton Hill, CA.

I was told that the plastic inserts had a lifetime warranty. After leaving the store I found the 6-month limited warranty. I went back into the store and the salesperson that the warranty didn’t mean anything and said that I could come in whenever and wherever I needed.

I would like to add that I was given many reasons to buy the Good Feet products [protected]. One among many, I was told by the salesman that he was able to walk in his flip-flops with the “relaxers” across Reno to home (about 6 miles) without a problem. I found this to be a pretty compelling reason to buy the Good Feet products. I was told I could us them in any shoes; and on and on with promises of comfort that were untrue. Ironically, I had come into the store to by shoes (not inserts). My feet didn’t hurt before I tried Good Feet products (I have ankle problems). But, my feet did hurt after the few days I tried to use the plastic inserts, and my ankle became problematic once again.

As my feet now did hurt, I went to a pedorthist for advice and he shared with me that the salespeople at Good Feet have a lot of sales training but have little to no training in the biomechanics of the feet. He measured my feet for shoes and said the recommended shoe size from the Good Feet store salesperson was incorrect. (I am glad I did not buy shoes as well as inserts.) Now, wanting to clarify the situation, I went to a second pedorthist and was told the same thing. I had been a victim of a sales pitch, and not even gotten my feet measured properly for a shoe size. The salesperson I encountered in Reno certainly presented himself as an expert in feet and footwear. I have a mild case of “hammertoes” (according to a podiatrist seen some time ago). When I shared this with the salesman he was adamant that I did not have that condition and showed me a rather grotesque model of an advanced case of “hammertoes”. So I am left wondering why is a salesman prescribing orthotics unless he has training in foot biomechanics?

I have tried to work this out with the store. They do not respond to my letters. I filed a complaint with the Reno BBB and the Good Feet Store simply didn’t respond so BBB closed the case. I wrote the Good Feet Customer Service in Carlsbad CA. Again no response. .

would stay away from Good Feet Stores. I was given a great deal misleading and erroneous information, from store locations, to transferability to shoe size measurement, in addition to being told that I did not have a condition previously diagnosed.

The Good Feet Store
6629 S Virginia St. Reno, NV 89511
[protected] | www.goodfeet.com

I spent nearly $600 on the support system and must admit: it was a complete waste of time and money. The system consists of three pairs of el-cheapo plastic inserts, a couple of foam shoe cushions, and some velcro.

I was told the products were guaranteed... GUARANTEED... to help improve my plantar fascitis.

I had to return to the store several times for different supports. Every time, the clerk gave me some song and dance about how the supports I'd been given were too big, too wide, too stiff (etc) and the previous clerk should have known better. One clerk would tell me to wear them for X-amount of time. The next clerk would say “no, that's wrong, they should be worn for Y-amount of time. The next clerk said they should be worn every other day. They didn't have a clue what they were talking about and they all contradicted each other. Not only did the supports NOT help my plantar fascitis, they caused me quite a bit of foot/leg pain and I had to get chiropractic adjustments while wearing them.

Now, this is the gross part. All of the inserts that I was given had dirt marks, velcro backing adhesive, scratches, and scuffs of color from being worn in OTHER PEOPLE'S SHOES before being given to me! Every single pair was dirty. I have pictures to prove it. GoodFeet insists they clean the inserts between customers, but obviously this is either a complete lie or a complete fantasy on their part. If you've ever seen them, you'd agree the inserts probably cost about $2 each to fabricate. The fact that they're re-used between customers is a testament to GoodFeet's ultracheap business practices and complete disregard for basic product quality.

After months of dealing with sales clerks that couldn't give me the right inserts or tell me how to properly wear them, I gave up and asked to return the system. The store clerk very icily told me “we don't do returns" then she turned her back and walked away from me. I followed her to the counter and informed her that they DID do them. It was very clearly noted when I was told they were guaranteed to work. She actually had to call a store manager at another location to check. Then she made me talk to that manager on the phone, who informed me they would not take back any of the cushions for hygienic reasons even though they were still sealed in their original packaging. She also informed me that there is a 30% standard “restocking fee" on returned inserts. She said this was consistent with places like Best Buy and Circuit City (she didn't seem to understand that consumers have the opportunity to research electronics before buying them and they're standardized by model... hardly the case with shoe inserts). So, do the math... 30% on $600 = $180 to take six dirty pieces of plastic back to the stock room before giving them to the next poor schmuck that walks through the door.

It took several weeks, three managers, numerous unreturned phone calls, and one special permission from the franchise owner to get the restock fee lowered to 15%. Better than nothing, I guess. It was the most frustrating customer service experience EVER! Of course, even with the adjustment, the refund could only be given in the form of a store credit. Great... $500 worth of really ugly and overpriced shoes... just what I needed.

What concerns me most about this company is their use of a trusted sports figure spokesman and their blatant targeting of senior citizens in their marketing. Every time I went in the store, there were senior citizens waiting to try the product, many of whom were on fixed incomes. PLEASE – if you read this, know that I am taking the time to write my experience so that you can protect yourselves and your loved ones from this horrible company. There is no way to know if the system will work for you until after you try it. And you have to buy it before you can try it. Once you buy it, it's yours. I was told by one store manager that the inserts only work well for about 1 out of every 3 customers. It's an expensive gamble and the odds are not in the consumer's favor.