Jen L.
Yelp
I am really disappointed with my experiences at Marathon Sports in Brookline. Very awful and disrespectful customer service multiple times. I don't normally write Yelp reviews, but after my most recent visit, I felt that it was finally necessary to write one. When I entered the store, it was not a very busy day. There were 3 employees and I was the only customer at the time. A young, male employee approached me and I told him I was there to exchange shoes for a larger size and that I was also open to trying another brand if the larger size was not available or did not fit. When he brought out the larger size, he immediately took them to the register and was about to ring them into the system when I told him I wanted to try them on first. He handed them to me without saying a word. I had also brought my own inserts with me and asked if it was ok to try them on with the shoes? He said it was fine. As I tried them on, the employee stayed behind the register and continued to talk and joke around with the other employees, rather than helping me with the fitting process. When the larger size didn't fit well, and no one came to ask how the new size felt, I decided it was not worth asking to try other brands because I simply did not feel welcomed in the store environment. The employees honestly didn't seem like they wanted to help. When I approached the register and told the young, male employee that the larger size didn't fit and that I was just going to apply for store credit, he immediately responded with a condescending and judgmental tone, "why are you even wearing inserts with [stability] shoes?" and he shook his head with a pretentious look of disapproval. As a runner, I am fully aware that I over pronate and for many years have been running in mild stability shoes with inserts. Of course, I am no running professional or expert and am always seeking help or advice from other more knowledgable athletes - that is why I went to Marathon Sports in the first place because they're supposed to have better, and more personalized and trained customer service! If this employee had simply worked with me in the beginning (instead of chatting with his employees), he would have been able to ask me about my inserts earlier on and more genuinely suggest not wearing them with a stability shoe. Instead, he chose to directly criticize me without even having done his job of helping me with the fitting process. The pure lack of care, customer education, and respect at Marathon Sports (not just once, but multiple times) have deterred me from visiting again. I highly recommend Fleet Feet Sports to any one else looking for running shoes. Fleet Feet does a much better job training their employees to cater full attention to their customers throughout the entire fitting process. Their employees are trained to know the technology and features behind every shoe and they apply that knowledge to each customer's personal needs and preferences. They are much more professional and welcoming than Marathon Sports.
