I purchased the entire package in the Tyler, Texas, store. I've had problem feet for many years,…read moreand the knowledgeable manager who helped me did pull out all the stops to figure out how their orthotics could help. I can't fault her for how she worked with me, and followed up after I went home with TWO BAGS full of products, plus a vibrating machine to help increase circulation to my feet if only I would use it. Not that I had any circulation issues at all.
All that said, and with thanks for the attention and the follow-up, I now want to add a word of caution for those people who might get swept off their feet by the delightful sales pitch and the professionalism of the staff. You could spend your hard-earned money - in my case thousands of dollars ($2,500 to be exact) - on many, many products that you probably do not need, none of them overseen or implemented by an actual doctor who specializes in feet.
I have a very bad case of "buyer's remorse," an enormous credit card bill to pay off, and a solid sense of what I've gotten myself into. Maybe my feet will thank me in the end. But just now, a couple days before the two-week break-in period of FOUR (count them, FOUR) orthotics which must be changed out on a carefully-scheduled rotation, every single day, I am pretty unhappy. There's one orthotic to wake up my feet, worn 30 minutes the minute I get up. There is one to further strengthen my feet. There's one to maintain what I've just done to them so that I can walk my three miles or more a day. There's one to let the poor little buggers relax after all that abuse. I could use four different pairs of shoes and just leave them in there, but I didn't have four pairs of shoes they'd fit in, so I have one pair that I struggle with every hour to every five hours, depending on that day's schedule, getting the orthotic and the padding I must wear on top to to be able to endure the pain, into the shoe and laced up. And that process takes more time out of my now very busy schedule, changing orthotics.
Figuring out which was which and paying attention to the time and how to fit these events into an already-busy life and schedule that did NOT include my staying home and paying attention to the change-out times, was a brain exercise and an exercise in dealing with confusion I have not had since I had to memorize French ballet terms just to be able to dance. My brain might thank me later, but what an expensive lesson!
And did I mention having to find the time to sit with my feet on that dang machine? I gave that up after one day, put it back into the box in the closet and said I was done with it. I wonder how much money I could have saved by not adding that to my "package?"
By Day Three, I was in tears, but there's another aspect of the delightful sales pitch: You sign on the dotted line that they do not do returns or refunds. You do not get your money back. You have to keep the five pairs of extra socks, the heavy-duty houseshoes you can only wear safely in mid-winter, when you're freezing, the special athletic shoes you will eventually only wear on your walks because they're the only ones the orthodics actually fit in, despite the promises that they'll fit in any shoe. They won't. Not well, not comfortably.
I had to promise never to go barefot again the rest of my natural life. Now, nobody is enforcing this; they're not watching me from afar. But how am I supposed to get from the first pair to the next pair when I forget to bring my special little bag with me when I sit down for The Event (the change of orthotics in my special shoes)? How about when I am so hot I feel like my feet, with all the socks, shoes and heavy-duty orthotics, feel like they're on fire and need just a moment of freedom? It takes ten minutes to get my shoes off and more than that to get them on. But I need a break.
So, buyers, beware. If you're easily swayed, as I was, you're going to spend a lot of money. (I am taking full responsibility for my own gullibility here.) A professional podiatrist can build you a personalized orthotic for your feet alone if you really need one for less than a quarter of what I put on my now maxed out credit card. Changing out five or six times or MORE every day grows wearisome and I have another few days to go before I can just wear one of them for, say, eight hours. If I want to spend those eight hours wearing those clunky special shoes to church, for instance. If I had paid attention to my lifestyle, my real needs, I would have smiled at the nice lady and not let her go through her entire routine until I thought I was sure I needed to hand over $2,500 on many items I did not need. I would have walked out the door and called a doctor. I'm pretty sure that only maybe $300 of that ridiculous sum will turn out to be money well spent. The up side for me? I think I have learned a valuable lesson in controlling myself. An expensive, valuable lesson. It's my own fault. Don't make it yours.
