Ahhh Fleet Feet reminds me of my younger days when we were eagerly training for races, getting…read morefitted with new Brooks running shoes, stocking up on Honey Stinger Chews, discussing Gu flavors, and buying fancy running socks. Now I don't think I can even run a block so it's a little bittersweet...
But alas, Fleet Feet has stayed consistently awesome all these decades later. Today we stopped by to inquire about new work shoes for my husband. He's been experiencing some foot discomfort so we thought maybe he needed new insoles and now maybe new shoes. Thought we'd also have him reevaluated for fit, to make sure his shoes were a good fit for his feet.
When we walked in on Sunday early afternoon, we were greeted by around 6 employees and an empty store. Wow...Fleet Feet definitely wants to make sure they have enough employees for their customers' needs, which I respect.
Brooke greeted us with a friendly smile and then made a big wave across the store and said, "You have the whole store to yourselves today!" :) For the next 15-20 minutes or so, we got to try on several pairs of running shoes, including ones by Brooks, Hoka, On Cloud and Altra. For each pair, Brooke would patiently take the shoe out of the box, loosen the shoelaces, place them on my husband's feet and then tie the shoelaces. I admired her patience. :)
Brooke was so upbeat and knowledgeable about feet differences and knew the different features of the shoes. After stacking several boxes all around us, we had a couple pairs that we really liked, but they weren't available in the color we wanted. Brooke cheerfully said that she could help us order them or we could order them on our own online. We also learned that they don't earn commissions for sales, so I was even more amazed at how she remained so friendly and cheerful throughout the entire interaction. (I think I might have grumbled about taking all these boxes out, having to fix the shoelaces and put all the shoes back in boxes, then have to take them to the back of the store and reorganize them, hehe).
We were totally impressed by Brooke and the professionalism she exhibited for Fleet Feet. They are definitely lucky to have an employee like her!
If you've never been to a running store and had your feet/gait evaluated so you can find out if you overpronate, underpronate or have flat feet, you definitely need to stop by Fleet Feet to get a proper shoe fitting, especially if you're doing a lot of walking or running. (My Ironman coworker had instructed me to go to Fleet Feet and Running Warehouse/Zone back when I first started training for races and I'm so glad she pointed me in that direction!)
Thanks again, Fleet Feet, for being in the area and being so knowledgeable about feet, shoes and running/walking!