My New Berkeleys

The shoes in the photo were my dark oak Edward Green Berkeley cap toe oxfords but I've a new pair of on the way. You see, four months ago I sent mine in to be reconditioned. And about a month ago I received the welcome news that they were on their way back to me. That's a good thing as the Berkeley may be my favorite model from that maker and the absence of the very dark mottled brown of that pair left a gap in my winter rotation.

So the happy day arrives and you've probably guessed the rest. In the box was a nice looking pair of dark brown Malvern brogues. That might not have been all that bad but I already own a pair of those and I was expecting my shoes back.

So, after enough correspondance to establish that the company had no idea what happened to my shoes, or who the fellow is that got a pair of cap toes instead of the shoes he sent in for reconditioning, we are making an exchange. I am returning the brogues, along with the tag with my name on it that must have been put on the shoes when they arrived at the factory. And Edward Green are sending me a new pair of shoes.

So in the last year that's one pair of casuals that arrived without the toe medallion, a pair of two-tone casuals that wasn't quite what I ordered, and now this. That's three less than satisfactory experiences out of six transactions, a remarkable record that's been my experience for roughly three years. They are very good about taking care of problems but I cannot even imagine how much this kind of error rate must cost the company.