Red Wing Shoes

Bought a pair of Iron Rangers, wore them daily for three years before the heel separated. I brought them in for factory repair but they were too far gone. The owner explained what happened and graciously offered me a discount on a new pair. Its not an ideal situation, but he didn’t have to offer that. He’s got a customer for life in me.

After not purchasing a pair of boots the store offered to ship in for me to try on, the owner (I’m assuming he was the owner considering how upset he got with me) suggested I wait to come in next time until I’m «ready to buy.» He said he’d be stuck with the pair I ordered now forever because he creased them when he was fitting me (and this is my fault?). He told me he was at a loss because he had to pay «freight» to ship them in and then went on to accuse me of planning to purchase them elsewhere instead. I replied honestly that I was never intending to do that and he continued to lecture me. I told him he was making me uncomfortable and he said, «I don’t care if you’re uncomfortable, this isn’t how we do business.» He also complained that I «wasted a whole bunch» of his time.
Needless to say, I’m very disappointed in the customer service provided to me at this establishment and would very honestly caution friends and family if they inquired about my experience.

Let me start off by saying I really really want to love Red Wing Shoes. I’m from Minnesota and like to buy Made in the USA whenever reasonable.
That being said, I bought a pair of Chukkas about 1.5 years ago and sent them into the manufacturer to get them resoled. The biggest reason I bought them in the first place was because I thought they would last 10+ years with proper care and I could get them resoled every year or two. Well, Red Wing sent them back to me saying they are not resolable because there is water damage. Let’s be clear, I bought and wore them in Vancouver, BC where it is very rainy. But, this is everyday use in Vancouver. Additionally, I would oil them religously once a month and kept good care of them. So now, I’m stuck with a $ 300 shoe that can’t be resoled like I was told it could.
So, two suggestions for Red Wing. Either (A) build a shoe that you can wear in the rain and still have it resoled or (B) don’t sell Red Wings were it rains. Look, this is everyday normal use in many parts of the country. If I knew a Red Wing would perform similarly to a Chinese shoe I would have saved myself $ 200.
Terribly terribly disappointed. I really wanted to love you guys and even convinced friends to buy your shoes, but now I’ll never buy a Red Wing again.

On my way to work today I ripped one of my socks, so I stopped by this place to get a new pair. What a treat the owner couldn’t be a nicer guy. He showed me their ad in «City Pages» in case I wanted to take advantage of their current sale, he really knows his product. The «Red Wing» black socks size «9» made in the USA stock #97 310 are the best socks I have ever owned !!!

Went there today to pick up some new boots and showed up just slightly after they closed. The salesman/​owner was kind enough to come to the door and let me look around. I ended up picking up some heritage collection boots and they they were $ 50 less than what they cost anywhere online. The sales person was very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The product is top notch and the fact that this is a Minnesota company it really seals the deal.