Start-Rite Shoes Reviews

We are sorry to hear that you are disappointed with your Start-rite shoes as we always aim to provide our customers with the highest quality products and service. All of our shoes are made using high quality materials and are rigorously tested to industry standards. With regards to patent leathers, these are extensively tested for peel strength, however it should be recognised that they will not offer the same scuff resistance as our dyed-through leathers, which can be polished to disguise small marks. Unfortunately, once the surface of the patent has been broken, it is more difficult to protect the leather from the elements, and deterioration may therefore occur. Having said that, shoemaking is a craft industry and individual problems with shoes can occur despite rigorous quality control testing. If you wish to return the shoes to us, together with details of when you purchased them, we would be happy to have them quality checked by one of our Technicians to establish if there is a fault with either the materials used or the manufacturing process of this style. If you wish to do this, please contact our Customer Service team who will be happy to assist you. Helen Cook Online Manager

We thank you for your feedback and are pleased to hear that our website enables you to purchase our English Classics, which as you say, are not always carried by retailers. With regards to our online measuring gauges, these were made to measure in millimetres as this provides a more accurate size. The gauges used by retailers in-store are meant as a guide only and are reliant upon the experience of the trained fitter using them. However, to enable parents to measure at home, extensive mathematical algorithms are used to compensate for the lack of the trained fitter, and which will, in the majority of cases, enable us to predict the best possible fit and size. This is only achievable if millimetre measurements are used. Helen Cook Online Manager

Thanks you for your feedback which is always appreciated. With regards to our gauges, all of them, whether those used by our retailers or the ones available from our website are carefully calibrated and extensively tested. However, they are intended as a guide only and it is therefore relevant to understand the importance of fitting the shoes as well as measuring the feet. I am surprised to hear that the gauge retuned a size that was two width sizes too narrow. In the instance of the online gauges, sizes that are returned too narrow are usually an indication that the tape has been pulled too tight or has been placed on the wrong part of the foot. I am even more surprised that the same result was given by a retailer and without seeing the gauge that they used, or the shoes that they sold you, I am unfortunately unable to provide any comment. However, I can assure you that the gauges should return an accurate result without any adjustment being required, and this is backed up by many customers who have successfully purchased the correct size shoes using our gauges. Helen Cook Online Manager

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback which is always appreciated. We have taken on board your comment regarding instructions for the gauge and whilst we are unable to put any instructions in the current stock of gauges that we hold, we will endeavour to get some printable instructions posted to the website. With regards to being unable to get a size from the measurements that you are putting into the site, it is likely that your child’s feet are particularly narrow and our online service cannot recommend a suitable product for your child. In this instance we would recommend that you have their feet measured professionally in-store by a trained shoe fitter, who will be able to offer you further advice. Helen Cook Online Manager