Alan’s Shoe House

I went to Alan’s on Oracle last week to buy a pair of Birkenstock’s. I knew the model name, my size, and saw they had it on display. The grumpy, very old man who «helped» me told me it was a sale shoe and they didn’t have any. I asked if he could check the other locations and he said no, they wouldn’t have them. The price on the shoe was full price. I know this because I have two colors of this style. I wanted to shop local, but instead wound up ordering it on Amazon for $ 15 less. Local stores cannot compete with online sellers if they are unwilling to provide good customer service-​and they can’t complain if they keep this caliber of employees! If I owned this place, this guy would be out, pronto!

Bernard was very helpful finding our shoes. We purchased 5 shoes and it took about an hour. We had our 4 of our shoes sitting there while getting a 5^th pair and then a guy named Jeff decided to put away all 4 of our shoes. We asked where they went and he said he resocked them. Then he wouldnt even help to find the shoes, so Bernard had to help us find all the shoes. Jeff just stared at us trying to find our shoes and was very rude. Bad service, will not be coming back again.

They sold me a pair ½ size too big. Said half sizes were not available. Found out later it was either a mistake or a lie (you decide which it likely was!).
Have not returned since that episode in the mid 90’s.

I have bought several pairs of shoes here and the ones I get here are the ones that I keep wearing-​largely because of the helpful service and time given to me to make sure the shoes really fit. I’m one of those people that buys shoes thinking they will work and then they stay in my closet. Every pair of shoes I have gotten at Alan’s are worn regularly. The staff takes plenty of time to fit you and make sure you are happy with your choice. They have a pretty good selection. Prices are not cheap but if you are finding a shoe you will wear almost every day until they wear out, this is the place to go. I didn’t feel pressured in any way-​just the right amount of service. They occasionally have a sale but usually there is a coupon for at least $ 10.00 off. If you have hard to fit feet, it is definitely the best place to go in my opinion. I’ll keep going back.

I’ve been trying out different styles of shoes which requires going to different places and trying to find a fit for my flat feet. It’s not easy and I have found that wherever I go, I have to rely on a good salesperson who knows what they have and can work with me. I tried a pair of flip flops, got them home and they started to hurt. Took them back, and as promised the salesperson worked out the issue and sent me off with another pair. I’m pretty sure they are going to work for me. Point is, they made the effort. I ended up buying another pair/​style of shoes. In the end, I’m giving them 5 stars. Great service. Patient. Knew his craft and loved shoes. Santos. ask for him.
Local business makes it a plus

Like night and day… i gave a negative review of Alan’s late last year. I am happy to say this time was as different as… well night and day. Selection was great, sizes availability was equally great, but the service is why I write to correct my other review. The staff now are all different in every way. Santos was very patient, friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I highly recommend him. All the staff were friendly and did not appear harried or unwilling to help anyone. What a difference. Keep up the good work, Alan’s and whatever you do, don’t let Santos go.

THE BIG 180
I was bilked out of $ 180 by a self-​proclaimed «expert» employee of this store last summer.
I have ongoing foot pain and the expert claimed my purchase would address my issues and resolve the genesis for the pain. Geez, nothing like taking advantage of someone desperately seeking help to lessen his pain.
I’ve had a number of real experts in the podiatry arena tell me the shoe sold to me was 180 degrees away from the shoe necessary to address my problem. Thank you Alan’s, for hiring unqualified individuals who suggest otherwise.
180 Degrees Out, and
180 Dollars Out, too.
Thinking about frequenting this establishment? Take my advice and made a 180 degree turn and RUN! Save your money and RUN!

I was in the Alan’s Shoes store on Broadway today and not only found a great pair of Olukai flip flops that feel great on my high arches and are also flattering but Jane showed me a nubuck eraser that has cleaned my purse right up! Very friendly service and a nice selection of men’s and women’s shoes!

I’ve been to Alan’s about 4 times. Last fall I bought a pair of Clarks I’ve been very happy with. I happen to mention I had a new pair of New Balance cross-​trainers (bought in before I moved here) that had split out on the side. The sales man told me to go to New Balance online and they would exchange them. I hadn’t thought of that before, and he was right. NB exchanged them (although NB online didn’t have the greatest customer service) Yay!
The 2^nd time was the only time I got a a bit of a rude reception. It was just before Christmas so maybe everyone was stressed. Anyway, they were giving away a free box of Christmas cards to all customers. When I told the sales woman I didn’t need them and to give my box to someone else she became a bit perturbed and a salesman nearby glared at me. Again maybe a bad day.
The last 2 times two different sales women helped me and they were fun, helpful and I have been happy with my purchase.
I like their selection of shoes. I have rather narrow and feet with a low instep which makes it a royal pain to find shoes. The people I have worked with there seemed to know their stuff and helped me find cute, comfortable shoes that actually fit.

Wow, I bought a pair of Mephisto sandals at Alan’s Shoe House and after wearing them for maybe a total of 15 days, the buckle broke. I took them back expecting them to exchange the sandals and I went in on a Sunday and was helped by a really nice saleswoman who told me they didn’t have that style any more and that I could look for something else. It was a very busy day so I said I would return the next day.
I went in the next day and told the assistant manager that I wanted to exchange the sandals and he was rude, right off the bat. He said that his employee had no right to tell me that I could exchange the shoes and that he couldn’t do anything about the damage. When I insisted, he finally decided to try to help me. It’s been 3 weeks since he begrudgingly took my shoes to get them repaired and I just found out that he is sending them to Mephisto today to be repaired or replaced and he has no idea when they will be back.
I always want to support local businesses if I can but I will never shop here again.
Edited 4÷14÷2011
I did get a call two days ago from someone in the office who was very friendly telling me that Mephisto would do the repair for free and ship to my home in about two weeks. While I appreciated the courteous tone of the person who called me, I still can’t be excited that I will be without my shoes for over a month.

The Shoe House is a New Balance store and it is a good place to buy shoes in Tucson.
You may have noticed all the big shoe stores in Tucson. There used to be «Just for Feet.» Now there’s «shoe pavillion» which is never capitalized. The reason it is not capitalized is that these places do not deserve to be proper nouns. They are always overrun with Tucson people who are apparently crazed out of their mind for more sneakers thus perpetuating the need for many, many standalone shoe superstores where people fight over the last pair of whatever and are outnumbered by useless sales staff that do nothing but stand in the way.
The Shoe House is not like that.