In early June, I bought these shoes at the The Shoe Company at Yonge / Charles St:

They were perfect for my Summer days at work, while matching my Summer wardrobe which is a little bit more sporty than my formal Winter one, they would also be perfect for all the running around I do in a day.

It has become a custom for us to buy our shoes at that particular store, we go in the Spring and again in the Fall… and also before going on a trip. Our rule is one pair in, one pair out. For sporty wear, not gym wear, I prefer Skechers, they’re comfy and have the look I’m usually searching for. This store carries the whole line.

Last Thursday, while getting dressed for work, DR noticed that my fairly new Skechers were looking a bit sketchy… one seam on the left foot had totally disintegrated and was ripping open… I know I’m a bit rough on my shoes, I walk everyday to and from work, 25 min each way. I also walk a lot while at work, but not enough to ruin a pair of shoes in only 2 months. Regardless of all this, I needed a new pair of shoes pronto.

On Sunday, after meeting DR’s brother for brunch, we decided to go to our shoe store and look for a replacement pair. I spotted these right away:

Same sort of general look I needed, but this time no laces and no seams on the side where the other ones had split. As I get to the cashier, I ask if she can check exactly what date I was there last (they have a point system where you have to give a phone number everytime you purchase items), she explains that their system doesn’t record that type of information, just the purchase themselves to convert into points. I tell her that a couple of months ago, I bought these Skechers and they are now ruined and could she maybe see if a discount is possible. She calls the manager who’s now gone for lunch, so another person comes in and hears the story, takes a look at the ripped shoes (I was wearing them to show and also just to leave behind after purchasing the new ones). He goes into some mumbo-jumbo shoe talk and she starts tapping on the key board, a box of shoes gets scanned, a gift card comes out of the drawer, it gets scanned as well, more tapping on the keyboard, another box gets scanned and boom, the total on the cash registers shoes $5.80…

I’m a bit stunned, I’m happy, but I have no clue what the hell just happened. All I know is I have a new pair of shoes, I had to pay $5.80 for and I have to leave my old ones there. They apologize for the inconvenience and give me a $10 coupon I can use on my next purchase. DR and I look at each other, incredulous, but both smiling.

As we leave the store, I’m looking around to see if we were somehow being filmed for a Candid Camera type show.

Oh and just in case you haven’t seen it in a long time, here is that Shoes video:

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