THis kind of gets to something I've been rattling around in my brain.

Sure, I can find it cheaper on the 'net, but is it worth it? Does establishing a face-to-face "realtionship" with a retailer make up for the extra $30 (or whatever) you pay? For the most part, I would rather pay the extra and develop a long-term retail relationship.

That being said, I've had really negative customer service experiences with retailers with whom I am attempting to do business with face-to-face. These are generally smaller retailers that haven't seemed to learn that good customer service=happy customer=good referrals=more business. (Aside: I expect bad service from large/big box retailers, which is why I generally--not always--try to avoid doing business with them at all.) Granted, my experince with these smaller retailers was in the small town within which I previously lived and those retailers knew my only other option was to get into a car and drive for 45 minutes...so I guess they've decided to take the chance and treat me like garbage because they know I'm trying to do business "locally".

But I digress. Return the shoes (but they are hard to find....ugh). Buy them somewhere else (if you can). Don't give the original outfit you bought them from any more business. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for shabby customer service!