Payless Shoesource

UPDATE!!! For all of you who have complained about the same exact RUDE manager, her name is DOLLY!!!
I TRIED this place again, since it’s the closest location to me. But I have been avoiding it for a very long time & going to a different location. (Btw, the location in Lincoln Square, has nice employees. No one has ever been rude to me there) Anyway, I went back hoping the horribly rude manager no longer worked there & sadly she still does. Which is surprising because I do not understand how someone can be a manager & treat customers with so much disrespect and for so long. My first review was 2 yrs ago & she is obviously still there being mean AND I HAVE complained before. So my guess is Payless just doesn’t care. Which is sad!
Have you read all of these reviews, about the same issue w/​the same manager???
For everyone that is a good person & doesn’t deserve to be treated this way, who no longer shops there because of this manager, call: 877−474−6379
I just called & spoke w/​a representative. My assumption is that nothing will be changed :(Considering this isn’t my first time calling. Hopefully I am wrong & the district manager will no longer allow her or anyone other employees to work there, if they can’t be nice to their customers.
Yelling, mean, rude, unfriendly, talks down to you, disrespectful. I can go on & on. Just read all of these reviews. How can she still work there & get away w/​this treatment? Let’s just hope that my call will actually go through to the district manager, & something will be done.
The number I called was: 877−474−6379
Hope you guys don’t have to be treated this way anymore.

I wonder if the same manager works here that is mentioned in other reviews. Ughhh… terrible experience. First, I wanted to try shoes on, but there was an employee literally a few feet from me stacking and re-​organizing boxes, so I couldn’t look around at the shoes in my size. There was a cart on my right too that was making me feel claustrophobic. I was getting stressed out by all of the noise that was being made from the boxes, so I went to the next aisle to try on my shoes. I mean, it was stressful, I didn’t like the noise and feeling claustrophobic, but that wasn’t the worst part. The girl who I think was the manager was worse. I needed to do a return and wasn’t sure if I wanted a few pairs of shoes to exchange them for or not. The manager was going to take them, and I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted them yet. She proceeded to take them anyway. I asked for them back, saying I wasn’t sure if I wanted them (she didn’t think I wanted them), I just wanted to see how much they rang up for first. She looked at me like I was crazy and when I reached for the shoes to take them back she WOULD NOT let go of the box. Ugh. Fine, if you insist on taking them maybe I won’t buy them. I can get cheaper prices online anyway.

My daughter and I moved to the neighborhood 3 weeks ago and decided to go out exploring our new stores and so we wandered into our local Payless. Within 3 minutes, we were approached by the manager who wasn’t wearing a nametag and proceeded to tell us we were in the men’s section. Yes… we know that since we often purchase men’s shoes to accommodate our size 13 – 14 women’s feet. In a span of ten minutes she told us we didn’t know what we were talking about when we said we had a hard time finding our size in women’s, that we must not have checked recently, that she knows the store on State street has our size because she used to be the manager there, and on and on and on. Needless to say, we were not soliciting this conversation. She was so argumentative in her own head, out loud, at us and it was just strange. I just wondered why she wouldn’t leave us alone. My daughter and I don’t engage with negative people and she was just overboard. The poor sales associate seemed like his hands were literally tied because he didn’t step in to make her leave us alone. My daughter happened to look up and see a box with size 13 women’s shoes so she reached up to get it and you’d think we had just held the place up the way she reacted. Evidently, you are not allowed to touch the boxes on the shelf even when they are at your eye level. Ok. I understand that we are worried about liability but why be so awful about it? It was just a strange place and I still don’t get it. When I asked for another box we wanted to look at, she jumped all over me again with verbal attacks saying not to touch the shelf. I was pointing to the box. Oh my goodness. This was seriously a case of someone who did not want us in that Payless location. My daughter ran out in tears. I went after her then, after calming her down, I went back in to purchase the 2 pairs of shoes I was allowed to look at in peace. This manager continued to throw mean words my way and told me I could call 1−800-payless to complain. In all of this, I never lost my composure and I am pleased to say this will not deter me from shopping where I choose. I will not be bullied because there was something about my daughter and I she didn’t like. I suspect it was because I was biracial and my daughter’s skin is white. Both the manager the sales associated were black. it’s possible she doesn’t like race mixing? I don’t know. I’m just trying to create reason out of crazy. Too bad to have this person working at that store because it is the only one in the immediate neighborhood.

I logged into Unilocal only to let you kow how mean the manager lady was… she was mean … .like all reviewers mentioned the same shit about her. she told she answered my question 10 thousasnd times while i spoke to her for the first time .mean mean… im looking forward to give a written complain to the payless franchise
about the shoes quality im not sure as i have yet to use it… but for the price you pay i guess thats all you can expect… its really reasonably priced… i would visit the store again but will surely avoid the mean manager lady

The manager lady is just loud, awful and mean. I will not shop here because of her

I haven’t been to a Payless in years and was pleasantly surprised with my experience today upon entering Dominique greeted me with a smile and showed me to the section where my size was I needed some rock inspired boots and Michellee was quick to find the perfect pair. I can’t wait to need a new pair

I’ve been coming here for nearly 15 years — decent — not great — shoes, reasonable prices. Unfortunately, the latest manager ruins it all by being — there is no delicate way to put this — an asshole.
I tried on a pair of shoes, with my BLACK socks on. Asked one of the salespeople if they had it in an eight and a half (I had tried on the eight). She took the one shoe and said she’d go look. As I waited, I walked around the corner of the aisles up to the display area, with one shoe on, mind you, and just looked at stuff.
The manager came up to ask me not to walk on the stone part of the shoe and started going on about «our sensors will go off» and pointed at some strange stuff on the floor. When I asked her what they were, her Bond 007 response was, «Well, we’re not going to tell you what they are, because that’s for us to know. And you can’t walk and certainly not barefoot.» And all this with a cluck-​cluck head-​shake. When I pointed out that my BLACK-​sock-​clad foot (in other words, no mistaking that I had a sock on) was hardly barefoot, she just laughed and shook her head with a look that said, «Oh, the things I have to put up with.»
She was also pretty rude to other customers in the store, constantly yelling at the kids (whose parents were nearby) to get away. It’s possible she knew them, who knows, but the whole place just stank of unprofessionalism and it’s unpleasant to shop while managers yell at other customers (and I’m actually sympathetic to staff who have to deal with kids).
I get that retail is really, really tough and that some days you just might want to tear off the heads of customers. But don’t go making up incoherent shit about your bloody sensors that you can’t even explain — especially since I’ve been walking with shoes on your precious floor for over a decade — and don’t be a bloody asshole to customers by pretending you work for the CIA.
Not returning to this store until there’s a new manager — it’s one thing to be stressed, it’s quite another to be a jerk.
Guess what? There’s a Target store in the neighbourhood now. Same prices, better selection.
As everyone else here has said, their staff’s actually really good, in general. This is the first staff person who’s been a jerk.

How can you be either really excited or really down on Payless. It is exactly what it sounds like. You payless, you get less. Need work shoes? Go here. They are not going to be extremely comfortable. But the staff is nice and the store is clean.
They are helpful, organized, and genuine at this store. I really wish they offered a slightly better product.

I really love Payless. They have really gotten some great quality shoes, that are surprisingly stylish and affordable, over the years. I remember when all they had was a lot of plastic athletic wear. But things have changed!
To my horror, I now wear a sz. 11, so it is hard to find shoes. But this store seems to have a decent selection. I need a 12 in a boot, which they often have, as well.
Dolly is, well, a «doll.» She’s so nice — and helpful. I always enjoy seeing her when I stop in. They get new shoes in all the time, so it is fun to see what they have in my size.
The other day, I bought a short boot on sale. I noticed that the markdown did not occur on the receipt when I got home. Thinking I’d really blown it, leaving the box behind, I called the store to explain what happened. Dolly knew exactly what I was talking about — saying that the register was not recognizing prices properly. Whew! She then said I could come in and get it adjusted, and get a little bonus for my trouble.
I really consider this kind of customer service extraordinary — given that this is a discount shoe chain. The selection, location and staff at this store make it one of my favorites!
I also like that there is a nearby Dollar Tree, Dots, Pay Half, Jewel and a few other nearby stores, in this convenient strip mall. It’s right off the 36 Broadway bus at Berwyn — and also a Red Line stop.

This store has a great selection of shoes at a good price. Yay bogo! The staff always greets you and helps you find sizes. Very organized and clean store. I’ve also had shoes/​purses shipped here (for free!!) and that has been a very easy process. They even let you try them on and return them right away. I’ll be back!

I agree with Nannette’s review. This place has an awesome staff and is very clean and well organized.
My piece of Flair I’d like to add is that I found the cutest pair of rain boots here. They are black with different colored polka dots on them and match my umbrella which has the same design but I bought long before I purchased the boots… cheers to payless for having great taste for a lot less then most shoe stores!

This is a great Payless store and I have had nothing but the BEST experience with the staff, who are friendly and helpful and will give you coupons for your next purchase just for coming in. The store is clean and organized well. 5 stars for the great staff. For real. These people aren’t like the typical employees of large chains that just don’t give a crap. Every sales person has always been friendly and polite, and you can tell that they actually enjoy their jobs and that they actually «get» what it means to be in customer service. They like people!!! The shoes that Payless has right now are really cute also. I bought a pair of black pumps for $ 20 and not only do they look very high end designer-​esque, but they are actually comfortable and I wore them at work, running around all night long on both Friday and Saturday night. I also got a ton of compliments on them and I told people that they were from Payless, which they couldn’t believe! My only complaint is that they rarely have enough of the really cute «new» shoes in my size. But, a big compliment to Payless in general for carrying shoes in W (wide foot) for those of us that can’t fit our peds in slender tiny pointy toe shoes! Also, they have really cute hats and purses that are on sale for $ 10. I bought two already, and again, have received many compliments on them. You can’t beat this store.