I had a wonderful experience buying new Rockport shoes from Brown Brothers Shoes in Alameda a couple of months ago, to the point that I wrote a gushing Yelp review and told all my friends to go there.

Oops.

My two-month-old Rockport shoes (which I wear only to work at my desk job) already need to be re-soled. The hard rubber heels have worn through so that now I’m walking on the soft foam cushion, and that can’t possibly last too long. I took them back to the same store and found that they’re a lot better at selling shoes than at helping customers.

First, the salesman said that it was probably because I wear arch supports in them. That would seem ridiculous even if they weren’t the insoles that I bought from their own store at their own suggestion. Next, he recommended a local shoe shop and sent me packing. I asked if they sold other, more durable walking shoes, like some I could wear from my bus stop to the office and still have them last more than two months. The salesman said that no, these are the best.

My shoes are in the shop now and I should have an estimate for fixing them by Monday. Hopefully it’ll be cheap enough that I can have them to wear for a few weeks while I shop for replacements. I don’t know what they will be, but they won’t be Rockports and I won’t be getting them at Brown Brothers.