Hawley Lane Shoes — Local services in Shelton

Normally, I would be giving Hawley Lane Shoes five stars. It’s the one place that we can find shoes for all 3 of our kids who are 2,4 and 9 y.o. and get them properly sized and fitted. On Thursday, we went to the store a little after six to find it closed. Google has them open until 10 but they close at six. My daughters were super disappointed to not go shopping for sneakers, but I told them that we would return on Saturday. One of the things my kids love about Hawley Lane Shoes is the mat in the kids section with the games that appear on the floor. On Saturday, we got to the store around 10:30 AM. We were greeted at the door with eager Associates. We were able to have an associate help us in the Childrens section almost immediately. Right away my kids took off their shoes and went to play on the mats. I was able to corral them to get their proper shoe size and pick out sneakers for all three kids. The associate who helped us with super helpful and patient. She asked me if I was getting anything for myself and I mentioned probably not since the brand I like usually does not go on sale. She asked which kind and I said Birkenstock. She said yes, you can get 20% off of that as well. My husband sat with the kids on the mat while they played a soccer game. I went with the associate to the front of the store to try on Birkenstock shoes. I had picked out two styles that I really liked, hoping to get both. I was super excited because they were both available in my size. As I was trying on my shoes, I could hear my youngest squealing with excitement from the back of the store. I knew they were being entertained while I was trying on my shoes. I thought to myself how smart is it for them to have that in the store so people can shop with kids. It is hard to shop with kids, especially three, and get something for yourself not just them. I have always appreciated that about Hawley Lane Shoes. As I was trying on a second pair of shoes, I hear an associate at the checkout area say hey stop screaming, then laughing in response to my daughter’s excitement of playing soccer on the mat. I looked over from where I was sitting and continue to watch four other woman Associates Chime in on my children playing on the mat. The last comment, one of the Associates said was whose kids are they. I said they’re my kids. The associate who had been helping me stepped from behind the counter and asked me if I needed help with anything else. I apologized to her and said I would not be purchasing anything. I walked to the back of the store and told my husband we were leaving. He told me an older gentleman associate had walked over to him and asked him to control his children. He had responded to him, What was the point of having the mat/projector in the store if the kids could not play? If anyone has kids, you know how hard it is to leave a store without purchasing the things your kids picked out. I told them we would not give our money to a place where associates think its ok to make comments like that about them in the open. My kids were not running through the store or knocking anything down, they were excited to play a soccer game on the mat, Being supervised by their father. They were having fun scoring on each other. On our way out a tall gentleman asked if we needed anything else today, my husband replied no we will not be purchasing anything since we were told our kids are too loud. To the associates who are behind the counter, you know who you are, in the future when you want to make comments about customers in the store, make sure they’re not right next to you to hear you. You were loud enough to hear 7 feet away. Your insensitive comments caused a customer who was about to purchase three pairs of kid shoes, two pairs of Birkenstocks and a kid’s orthotic insert to leave the store without purchasing anything. My husband didn’t even want to try anything on after that. An easy $600 plus purchase quickly...

Not impressed. Had heard much about this store from different sources. Went there looking for some new shoes. Figured I'd give local business a shot, plus it's not easy to buy shoes online; I'd rather touch and try on the product. In any case, I will say that a person there greets you almost immediately upon arrival, and they're not too pushy. However, while they have a decent selection of shoes, they did not have the size or width I wanted in any of the 3 shoes in which I was interested. The sales person kept nonchalantly saying, "that's the best I can do" and "well it's the end of the season." Really?? What especially turned me off is that there was never an offer to order the size and width I wanted for any of the shoes in which I expressed a serious interest. Do they not do that or even care to make that suggestion?? Maybe they don't really need the business? I think the sales person was just getting tired of me asking about more and more shoes; well, that is their job, right? In any case, I left with the impression that I would never return, especially since I drove 30 mins to get there. I ended up taking pics of the shoes/brands in which I was interested and then went home, got online, and bought the exact sizes and widths I wanted. Ended up saving money in the process since Hawley Lane prices are marked up pretty good. So, once again, online got my business versus a local store. I think there's a lesson to be learned here...I wonder if Hawley Lane will get it? Oh, by the way, you know those funny looking devices they use to measure your shoe size? Well, this salesperson never used it, never offered to use, and just plain never checked my shoe size. He just asked me "what size are you," brought shoes out, and then gave me a shoe horn and watched as I struggled to get the shoes on. I'm now wondering if he was really a salesperson or maybe just the night custodian...

I visited Hawley Lane shoes with my 84 year old mother when I was in CT. Laura helped us with our purchases. She was the BEST sales person I have encountered in years! Everything about our experience was perfection. She was patient, respectful, knowlegable, caring, and even stayed on beyon her shift time to make sure that we were taken care of without our knowledge. I am from Florida and have family and friends who live in CT. I have told everyone in CT to go to this store because of my experience with Laura and the huge selection of the best shoes that are extremely COMFORTABLE AND GREAT LOOKING. Unfortunately, during our visit my mom lost her hearing aid and we returned the next day to look for it the next day. Laura approached our visit with the same care and concern that she did the previous day. I would give her a 10 star review if I could. Employees like these are hard to come by. I hope that Hawley Lane realizes what a gem they have in her. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR US. I WILL SEE YOU ON MY RETURN...