Road Runner Sports

Reviews 3

JO

John Austin

To preface this review: I am new to running marathons and have awful arch support coupled with various other feet issues. My trainer was adamant that I need a stability shoe or possibly a motion control shoe. From the beginning the visit was unpleasant. I felt pressured to do the Run Dog (RR Sports custom insole creator). I am a huge fan of the SuperFeet insoles, which I told the attendant, and I would not be interest in completing the insoles diagnostic. She proceeded by saying "no worries, this will tell us exactly what shoe you need", so I decided to try it out. Turns out, it makes insoles which I was handed and told to use while meeting with a "fitting expert". Complete waste of time. Once meeting with the shoe expert, whom divvied up his time between myself and another customer (beyond poor customer service), I mentioned the need for a stability shoe or possibly a motion control shoe. Before I could even look at the shoes, he went to the back and returned with a pair of Brooks and a pair of Adidas Vengeful and handed me the boxes. I tried both on, without insight or help, and opted to purchase the Adidas. I left the store disappointed with the experience but excited about the new shoes. The next morning I met with my trainer. He looks at the shoe and questioned why I bought these. I responded, "its the stability shoe you suggested!" and he said, "John, I can ring this like a wet rag, this is a completely neutral shoe, you can not wear this - please return as soon as possible. You will ruin your feet". Obviously, out of curiosity, I checked out the specs on the Adidas website and various other running platforms. Turns out, my trainer was correct. At this point, Im only slightly frustrated that I need to go back to the store and return, I assumed RR Sports misplaced the shoe in the stability section of the wall versus the neutral section of the display. Now the experience goes from bad to absolutely horrific - which I will keep short because I am still too heated to even go into it. When returning the shoes, I was confronted with the most horrible customer service I have ever encountered. I felt like I put Vic (the manager) and every other employee out (eyes rolling etc.). My wife felt so uncomfortable she left the store and went outside. Basically, they said, "dude, this is a stability shoe." I showed them on the Adidas website and how its a classified as a neutral shoe. Two separate employees responded with, Adidas calls all their shoes neutral, this is a light stability shoe (please remember I mentioned originally I may need a motion control - obviously I didnt get the proper help to start and that was not noted). At this point, I lost all faith in Road Runner Sports employee suggestions and said, I need to go home and review shoes online and come back and get exactly what I need. Apparently, that wasnt an option..... I had to do a same day exchange - eventually they gave me a gift card. I was in shock. I ended up calling my trainer, he told me exactly the shoes to buy, which I did. Then I asked for a price match --- the manager said "man, I can do that, but Ill have to start all over." I almost lost it. I paid the $14 extra dollars and left. I will never, as long as I can walk, will even think about Road Runner Sports again. My trainer, who has a massive client base, will never recommend this place again and every single person who ask for suggestions will be told. Please note this is not because RR has a bad product that have horrible people working there. Do yourself a favor and go to Fleet Feet for solid service, same shoes and comparable prices. Or footlocker, because thats basically the service you should expect RR Sports.

TA

Tam Ngo

I became familiar with Road Runners when my friend invited me to an "Adventure Run" in the summer of 2016 back in the Bay Area. Adventure Runs were runs at your own pace to local businesses to gather as much raffle tickets as possible for prizes at the end of the run. I was hooked. Coming to Chicago, I was super looking forward to adventure runs here. Sadly, Adventure Runs are no more. But there are weekly runs at 6:00PM that are friendly to all paces that Ill start to frequent! I also wanted new running shoes now that Im going to be a consistent runner (gotta train for that Chicago marathon!) so I tried the shoe dog and got recd shoes. I saw online that to be a VIP member, it was only $1.99 for the first year and in addition, shoes were 25% off for VIP members! Score :) I had to ask the store associate about the 25% off since I didnt see any store signs stating that the shoes were 25% off. In addition, she said that the $1.99 VIP membership was online only. In the store would be $19.99. TBH, the shoe selection wasnt too great, there arent too many colors of shoes available. The shoes I bought as well was $30 more in store than if I had gotten it on Amazon. But I figure I would be willing to pay the difference for the VIP opportunity to test run them for up to 90 days and exchange them if I didnt like it. When I went with my friend back in the Bay Area, I was there when she did the shoe dog so I was pretty aware of the process - including the orthopedic insoles which are $80 before any discounts. Im not too much of a fan of the process of the insoles, I feel like it is a little dishonest that the price of the insoles arent told upfront. I wish they would tell customers straight out the cost of them since I could see how people would feel obligated to purchase them as the insoles would feel complimentary since the shoe dog is complimentary. All in all, Road Runners has my loyalty for constantly hosting FREE events for the community that gives you opportunities to win some awesome prizes (shoes, apparel, entries to race, etc!) Loved going to the S.H.E event and the Good to Great Workout event. Things to note -Become a VIP online instead of in stores to save $$. Price difference was $1.99 vs $19.99. You can cancel any time! -The in store coupons arent applicable with other offers. I was really excited to use a $10 off $30 or more coupon for my shoes but the 25% off was already considered an offer. This was super disappointing. -They have free events worth going to! Follow them on FB to keep up with their events :) - Dont feel obligated to purchase the insoles

MI

michael alexander

Went to the Lincoln Park location on a Saturday(6/24) afternoon after a run...looking to buy either the ultra boost 3.0 or the 2017 version of the new ultra boost st. Id done some internet research but wanted to try the shoes on & get some fit advice from a employee. When i entered the location i could see they were understaffed so i waited patiently for 30-40 minutes perusing through the store looking @ running accessories & lightly used shoes. Out of the 3-4 employees present NOT ONE acknowledge my existence still I waited patiently,a young women & a father and daughter came in after me both parties were greeted & helped before any employee uttered a single word to me.The male employee that was with customers @ the treadmill finally address me & asked if I needed help I told him the shoes I was interested in he went to get them & immediately left to address the young woman that came in after me....So now Im sitting there trying on shoes looking for fit advice but no ones willing to help. After sitting there (10-15 minutes) waiting for the male employee to return which he never did I decided to leave.As I put my sneakers back on a female employee placatingly attempted to help after I began to leave. Ive never written a review for any product or customer service in my life but this experience was so awful I hope this is issue is addressed after someone from the company reads this. Even with the poor customer service i still purchased the shoes online because Im a runner & needed new running shoes and RRS was the only location i found that carried the shoes i wanted. Unfortunately after making the purchase with RRS online they still screwed up & delivered the package to the wrong address. By far the worst customer service experience in-store & online Ive ever had.