Greetings, I think we’ll continue on this Sasquatch concept for awhile and see where it leads. Unfortunately, we’re in the day and age where anyone can sell anything to anybody without having much prior knowledge on the product(s). I guess this is what qualifies as an outstanding sale professional and someone you would definitely want on your team. However, when you’re compromising information on your body, especially your feet, and don’t have much or any experience with the product this can lead to some frustration and misjudgment to the consumer.
This exact experience happened to one of my friends that is currently training and prepping for the Susan G. Komen, 3 Day Walk, Twin Cities. The walk consists of 20 miles each day and totals at 60 miles of walking over 3 days. This is an amazing event and very inspiring for anyone that is spectators, participators, and donators. She asked me if she could wear the Viabram 5 Fingers (VFF) for her training and throughout her weekend of walking. My response, absolutely, however make sure you try a pair on in the store as some of the models offered by VFF fit differently. During her visit to the store, the sales professional says she could not wear them on hard surfaces and would not last throughout the 3-day; the shoes are only meant for grass soft trailer and water. Well dear sir, shoe sales professional, I beg to differ as in my previous entry you have read how many miles I have put on these lovely shoes. I have since added to that count with a couple of recovery runs this past week. And dear sir, sales professional, my shoes have not shown any signs of fatigue and are still 100% intact.
My friend did mention my experiences in these shoes and he obviously was stumped by the statement and stated well in the pamphlet here it says you cannot use these shoes for those types of surfaces. Eventually he ended up walking away from her to help an easier customer buy some shoes and she left without the VFF. I’m hoping that she will return or find them from a store that does have the proper education and will have great success during her 3 Day walk. She will be the talk of the race looking not only like a Sasquatch, but also sharing the education about the benefits of barefooting.
It’s very frustrating when you’re not being informed on the correct information about products and especially these shoes and the benefits of barefooting or looking like a Sasquatch! I’ve had my own experiences with different sales professionals and the responses have been similar. I’ve found that most sales professionals haven’t even tried the shoes on or worn them to really know the benefits of barefooting.
I plan on wearing my VFF's this weekend at the World Cup events and I’m sure will spark plenty of conversations and hopefully find some new members for team Sasquatch!
