Kintec

(Added material about the second and third visits, and President Mark's reaction to the initial review, 20220321)

Some years back, one of Gloria's doctors wanted her to do more walking, for "activation" after a surgery.  She'd always had trouble with corns and bunions on her feet, and it was difficult to find shoes that were comfortable enough for the length of walking required.  Somebody suggested Kintec (in North Vancouver) to address my wife's particular needs for walking shoes.  We went, and were very pleased with the service and the final choice of shoe.  Kintec prices are higher than you would pay elsewhere, but the service was definitely worth it.

Since Gloria died, I've been walking a lot.  So much so, that after a recent eleven kilometre walk (involving the Alex Fraser bridge, which has particularly dirty sidewalks with a lot of gravel on them), I found that the walking shoes I had bought only six months ago at Mark's Work Warehouse were close to giving out.  the sole has cracked, and there is a fine wire protruding from the break, which I found odd.  Mark's had nothing in my size, and SportChek didn't have anything rugged enough.

So, despite the higher cost, I bethought me of Kintec, and went there.  I was extremely disappointed.

The "team member" clearly indicated that I was an unwanted intrusion into her day.  She showed absolutely no interest in my issues or needs.  I was simply directed to make a choice from the shoes on the wall.  No attempt was made to take any foot measurements: I was simply asked for my size.  They didn't have my size in any of the shoes that I requested.  No sizes could be ordered, no sizes could be shipped from other stores.  She could (and it was made clear that this was obviously an imposition) look up and see if any other stores had specific shoes in my sizes, but I was simply given a verbal list of other stores, and it was up to me to go to them.  No attempt was made to list what I had looked at, so that I'd even know what to ask for in the other stores.  No attempt was made to contact other stores and put those shoes on hold: it was up to me to get to the stores before shoes in stock were sold.

I rather doubt that I have ever had a worse customer experience anywhere.

If I didn't like what they had in the store, I could order from the Web.  However, given the lack of service in the store, I'm not sure that I want to risk ordering from the company Website.  Who knows what would arrive, or whether any problems would be rectified.  In any case, the Website seems to be simply a clearance bin for odd lots and end-of-line items.  It doesn't have more stock than was available in the store, but, seemingly, rather less.  A number of the items were listed as "final sale," specifically forbidding exchanges or returns.

So I guess it's back to getting cheap shoes at Walmart, and replacing them every few months.

I hate shopping.

However, and possibly because I hadn't known about Kintec's "One2One" appointment system (reasonable enough, given the pandemic), I decided to give them a second chance.  I made an appointment through the "One2One."  In fact, I made two, one for Surrey, which is closer, and one in North Van, since some of those that I had told about my experience suggested that maybe the stores were different.  (I had to hack the system, since it didn't want to allow me to make a second appointment, but I'm not an information security specialist for nothing.)

The second visit (and first One2One appointment) was in Surrey.  This time I had Alicia, and the experience was much different from the first visit.  She measured me, and suggested a number of options.  Unfortunately, she didn't take my warning about laces being difficult seriously, and kept presenting shoes with laces.  I did try them on, but the experience left me pretty much exhausted.  There was nothing in stock in the store that fit, but she did search for one particular style (without laces), found it at other stores, and made arrangements for them to be shipped to the Surrey store, and said they would call me.

Some time after this, Mark McColman, Founder and President of Kintec, became aware of my initial review (probably via Google Reviews).  (How *do* you access Google Reviews, anyway?)  He replied to the review, and Alex, manager of the Surrey store (among other things) contacted me.  There seems to have been some confusion, because they seemed to think I was reporting on my second visit to the store.  However, they were obviously willing to make an effort to make things right.  (Although Mark seemed to be primarily upset about my comments over the pricing.)

But I had already made the appointment to visit the North Van store, and I kept it.  And I was very glad that I did.  Once again (and I don't know if it is just that the North Van store is better), the North Van location came through.  This time I had Sajan.  He took my requirements about laces seriously.  He also presented options that nobody else at Kintec had.  His command of the particulars of their stock is impressive.  He had, in stock in the North Van location, a pair, in my size, whose name, "On Cloud," is very appropriate: they were beautifully soft and comfortable from the moment I put them on.  He also had some suggestions which weren't in my size at the North Van location, but he offered to bring them either to the North Van store, or have them shipped to the Surrey location.  (Due to the vagaries of supply chain and inventory issues, when he searched for them, they were already at the Surrey location  :-)  I bought the shoes (sorry, Mark, but they *are* the most expensive shoes I've ever bought) on the understanding that, as long as I don't mess them up by wearing them digging in the mud in the garden, I can try on the stuff in Surrey, and return the ones I bought if I like the others better.  He booked an appointment for me to try them on, and I'll be going there in a couple of days.  (Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion to this review!  :-)