Sure, Hawley Lane Shoes is in Norwalk.
But it’s only a few yards over the Route 1 line. Besides, this is my blog. And I won’t let a little thing like a neighboring town get in the way of a great customer service story.
I went in yesterday for some casual shoes, and winter boots. The store was crowded. I’d never been there before. They didn’t know me from Adam.* But they went out of their way to do the right thing. Here’s how:
Tony Bermudez — he’s the assistant manager, though I didn’t know it at the time — offered to help. After determining that my arch width measured differently than my normal shoe size — something I’d never known before — he added some pads to the shoes I was looking at to make them fit better. In all my years of shoe-buying, no one had ever done that.
Tony Bermudez of Hawley Lane Shoes.
I liked them a lot. But, Tony pointed out, one of the shoes was a tiny bit darker than the other.
Matisse might have noticed. But I am not Matisse. I’m not even Grandma Moses. I never would have seen the difference.
He (Tony, not Matisse) offered me 20% off. Or he could find another pair at another store.
I took the 20%.
Scott LaBianco — his card says “pedorthist/training director,” but Tony calls him “our color magician” — overheard our conversation. Scott offered to see what he could do to make them really match.
A few minutes later, he returned. They looked fantastic. Matisse would have approved.
“I told you 20% off. I’ll honor that,” Tony said. “All I ask is that, if anyone ever asks about a shoe store, you say something nice about us.”
I can do that.
Actually, I can do more.
I can write an “06880” post about Hawley Lane Shoes. Even if it is in “06851.”
The Norwalk Hawley Lane Shoes store.
PS: I bought the boots too. They fit great — and they didn’t need any work done.
*I actually have a cousin in Seattle named Adam Woog. He’s also a writer. That has nothing to do with this story, but you have to admit it is interesting.
