Yorker Shoes — Local services in Johnston

I have extremely narrow (much narrower than the "Narrow" width) size 14 feet with an extremely high arch. Purchasing shoes has always been a matter of finding a shoe that's "good enough" for me but never actually good, let alone great. My podiatrist recommended I visit Yorker Shoes, a store I had never heard about before. They don't have any evening hours during the week, and it took several weeks before I had a few hours on a Saturday to get down there. It was worth the wait. I'm going to copy and paste an email that I sent to Yorker Shoes on the following Monday after my experience on Saturday, September 14th.

If you visit Yorker, ask for Gary. He is awesome in every way!

-Troy

From: Troy Almeida Sent: Monday, September 16, 2024 8:38 AM To: yorkershoes@yorkershoes.com Subject: Thank you Gary!

Hello-

I want to send a note of thanks to Gary for all of the help he provided when I was at your store on Saturday morning.

My feet are challenging - size 14, very, very narrow and with very high arches. "Normal" shoe stores never have the right options for my feet, nor the knowledge to even know what I need. So I either buy something that feels good enough, or I cross my fingers and order something online. But after working with Gary for a long time on Saturday morning, I realize now that I have probably never worn a pair of shoes that properly fit my feet. Gary got me into a pair of SAS Journey Mesh sneakers and SAS Bout Time shoes, and with the Aetrex L2300 insole. I wore the sneakers all weekend and am very happy with how they feel. I notice the difference especially in my right foot; my foot doesn't want to twist in the shoe anymore like it did in my old sneakers.

Gary is awesome -- so knowledgeable, so friendly, and really, really funny. I honestly have always DREADED shopping for shoes because I knew I won't get the right pair, but my experience at Yorker on Saturday was truly exceptional in every way. Gary is my new "shoe guy" and I've already told many people about Yorker and about Gary.

It was my first time at Yorker but I will most definitely be back!

Please tell Gary: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK...

Yesterday I had one of the worst and most humiliating experiences of my life. After being a customer of Yorker shoes in Johnston for over 15 years or so, my husband and I took a ride there to get a shoe fitted for my ankle brace. A.F.O. I haven’t left the house since my hospital stay this past weekend and was excited for the trip. When I got there I was greated by employees and they began fitting me for my shoe. Along with me and my husband, I also had my dog Shadow, who is an ESA (emotional support animal). He’s very well trained and sat in the chair next to me not moving an inch (as he is trained to do). A gentleman, who I assume was the manger came out of the back room telling me to get my dog off the chair because they had just been reupholstered. My husband and I moved quickly to get Shadow to the floor and I apologized immediately. Seconds later this manager told us to leave and just get out of his store. He didn’t ask if we could remove the dog so he could continue servicing me. He just kicked us out. As an elderly, handicapped woman who had both her shoes off, you can imagine how awful it was to know I was being kicked out and still had to get my shoes on. Everyone in the store was staring at us, my husband got upset and my heart that I was just in the hospital for, was beating a mile a minute. I thought I was going to pass out.

How absolutely embarrassing. I was completely humiliated.

We then went to another shoe store called The Good feet store who greeted us with open arms, including Shadow. And even provided me with an amazing foot massager as I...

They treated my elderly and handicapped mother with complete and utter disrespect after being a repeat customer for over two decades. Completely humiliated her and embarrassed her in front of the whole store simply because the manager didn’t like the fact she had her service dog with her when seeking new shoes for her ankle brace. He shouted about his newly reupholstered chairs and kicked her and her dog out. A dog that barely moves and was doing exactly what he was trained to do. Didn’t offer to continue servicing her while both her shoes were off and she was waiting for her new shoes if the service dog was removed. Didn’t have a drop of human decency even though the sign on the door DOES STATE THAT SERVICE DOGS ARE WELCOME.

Can you imagine being a company that prides themselves on customer satisfaction when they care more about the upholstery on their CHAIRS over a human being?

I’m sure anyone with an elderly parent can understand the absolute anger and frustration our entire family and friends are feeling right now after someone could treat our mom like this. How would you feel if it were your mother or father?

And how does Yorker Shoes respond? Not with an apology but by trying to delete all the comments coming in as people find out what...