Running Room — Local services in Victoria

I had the worst experience of my consumer life with the Running Room. I have been a long time customer of the Running Room. In Sept, I bought 2 pairs of Asics Cumulus 17 runners (blue/orange), at the time I noticed that I thought I could see my sox through the top of the right foot on the runners. The employee said it's probably just the light. She's the expert so I was like "ya ok". So I brought them home - opened 1st box they were the wrong pair of shoes. Opened the 2nd box, not only were they the wrong shoes again but they were both left feet. So had to drive all the way back downtown to get the correct shoes I paid for. They didn't offer a discount for my troubles, I had to ask for it. The discount they gave me didn't even cover the gas money and parking costs I incurred for driving all the way back there due to their mistake.

I wore these runner for maybe 10 times, then the winter weather came and i wore my Asics gortex all winter. In late January I brought these shoes back out to wear running. After 10ish wears, i noticed a hole starting to develop on top of shoe (the same right shoes I was initially concerned about). i thought that was strange considering I've owned at least 15 pairs of Asics runners and never had this issue. Ever. In addition, I own the exact same pair as these shoes but in the pink colour - they have a lot more mileage and didn't have any issues.

So it's been 5 months since I purchased these runners, but I've actually only worn them maybe 15-20 times. And they not only do have a big hole on top of shoe, but there looks to be 2 more holes developing on the sides of the same shoe.

I contacted Running Room. They say there's nothing they can't do it's past their 90 day policy. So I contact Asics Canada, they say there's nothing they can do because the warranty is the distributor (Running Rooms) responsibility. .I contract Running Room head office, who put me in communication w/ the local area representative. I left the shoes at the store cause he wanted to look at them. I get an email from him with the picture of the bottom of my shoe from an almost straight on angle saying "As you can see in the photo you have worn the soles quite a bit down which is how shoe wear is measured. We will not be replacing the shoe". The end. I explained that I wore the shoes maybe 20ish times total, and the life of the shoes is between 300-500 miles. These shoes are not a drop in the bucket compared to that. Then I contracted head office to see if someone else would talk to me about these $160 defective runners I was sold. I was put in contact with another woman who looked at the same photo the area manager sent me and said no we will not replacing them, the bottoms look worn and it's been 5 months.

The picture they used is hilarious. After talking to Asics America (I accidentally called them instead of Asics Canada), they said theres no way for them to tell by some high level picture about milage of shoes. Additionally, my shoes had dirt in the grooves that were not cleaned out. I was never asked height/weight, what the shoes were used for etc. Basically, I felt like they made up their mind from the very begging that they weren't going to replace the defective shoes they sold me. So now I have this $160 pair of shoes, that I ended up paying more for $175 (after all their mistakes) that are defective and I can't wear them. It's not safe. And the Running Room won't stand by their product, so I'm left with a $175 pair of Asics runners that I can't wear and I'm a runner. And I'm on a very tight budget.

II honestly feel like this is criminal. Sportchek or Frontrunerrs would likely stand by their defective product and offer up a new pair. But Running Room won't.

I don't recommend anyone to shop at the Running Room unless you're prepared to lose money, time and be treated very poorly. Very...

I hate giving the review so low, but I will summarize the reason I’m giving this review. I had been shopping from running room in Vancouver for a few years. In spring of 2025 I bought a pair of Hoka from running room in Victoria. Within a couple of months The soles started to peel. Within six months I was back in Victoria to show them. The shoes with no souls left. They were not the only shoes I owned. The gentleman who works there I don’t want to mention his name to be fair to him was very dismissive and in front of the other customers told me that I have worn out the shoes. Contacting customer service of running room I got the same attitude that I only had 30 days to get back to them. I went on a HOKA CANADA WEBSITE. I DISCOVERED MULTIPLE REVIEWS ABOUT THE SAME PAIR OF SHOES. I ALSO DISCOVERED HOOKA HAD A ONE YEAR WARRANTY ON THEIR SHOES. I contacted Hoka Canada customer service and in less than a day I received an email from running room customer service asking me to return the shoes for a refund. Well, so far so good you would think. I went back to the running room with a friend of mine in order to exchange the shoes for another pair. This is where I give running room one out of five. they took the shoes without a word, asked me to step away from the lineup, as if I had some sort of contagious disease for them to process a refund. I was never asked if I wanted to exchange the shoes; the man who works there full-time, and had told me the shoes walked away, turned his back and did not want to even look at us and the man who process the refund refused to even make eye contact. Having been in customer service all my life, this was unacceptable behavior. My friend looked at me as we walked out and said that’s my end of shopping at running room as well. It’s not just about the product. It’s about how you look after your customers. I proceeded to order three pairs of Hoka from their website directly. They offer one year warranty. They are professional and they let you wear the shoes for 60 days and return them if you do not like them. Why should I shop at...

I went in to buy some sunglasses. The salesperson, an older gentleman (late 50’s early 60’s) had his back turned to us working on his computer. I tried on a couple sunglasses at the desk for a few minutes before he turned around and asked in a slightly annoyed voice “ can I help you?” I said “yes! I would like to see the sunglasses in the ( locked) case “. He paused and said “maybe if you say please!” (I think he was sort of joking, but his manner was aggressive). I replied “please?” He walked over, unlocked the case, stood in front of it with his arms crossed, and said “ which ones?” I replied, well, all of them! I want to see what I like “. He said “oh no! That’s not the way it works here!”. His manner was so rude, I walked out. I literally have never been treated so rudely in a store. Running room, I’m a runner and have purchased many runners and other things from you, but you let...