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  1. #1
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    Default Altra shoes - worst service ever

    I want to warn everyone not to order shoes or anything else from Altra Running - an extremely dishonest outfit with stunningly bad service. On my CDT hike I ordered badly needed, hard-to-find (size 14) shoes in Leadore, ID to be sent to Darby, MT with delivery promised in 5-7 days. Altra failed to give a tracking number. I slowed my pace and took an extra day to ensure I would not reach Darby before the shoes. A week later, no shoes in Darby. I stayed an extra day with additional costs for lodging and meals - still no shoes.

    I called Altra for the 3rd time - each time being put on hold for at least half an hour - and an Altra employee promised she would ship the shoes express and they would definitely be in Helena when I arrived Monday. Not only were they not there, I found out from UPS they were never sent at all.

    Now Altra refuses to return my phone message or respond to online inquiries. I had to buy shoes in Helena for considerably more than Altra's sale price.

    I do not know why Altra thinks it can treat customers like garbage and tell bald-face lies. Word will get out - I'll see to it.

  2. #2
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    Altra customer service may not be good, at least when it comes to orders and shipping. But, they are not a dedicated mail order house either. They are a shoe design company that tries to provide mail order service to some customers. If you want reliable and prompt service that is finely tuned for demanding customers, like long distance hikers needing things in a hurry, at a particular time, and trackable, you're much better off buying through a retailer that specializes in mail order customer service and not buy directly from the manufacturer.

    Probably the best reputation is Zappos. But even someplace like REI, or backcounry.com have reputations for doing pretty well for thru-hikers.

    Just be glad you aren't trying to buy Adidas shoes directly from Adidas. I don't even know if they sell directly, and they may have improved over the decades since I was ordering them in quantity, but holly crap they were horrible. Heck, Adidas was even worse that Chouinard Equipment, back before they spun off into Patagonia and Black Diamond and the like. Back in the day, they were famous for having the whole company be completely unreachable if the surf was up because everyone took the day off to go surfing. As I understand it, one of the reasons Patagonia become it's own company was because the profit and sales potential was huge and there was no way to keep up with it and keep surfing as the highest priority in the company.

    Altra makes some great shoes for the sport we love. It's important to keep them working hard to maintain design quality and availability of their product. We need to give them hell when they fail. BUT, I'd hesitate to condemn the whole company too harshly based on one horrendous experience. Make sure you get a letter off to Altra powers that be with as much detail as possible of their failings so that the rest of us might suffer less as Altra has their eyes opened wider by your input.

    Good luck and thank you.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  3. #3
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    You need to change your name to bitter man . Get over it it’s not worth the effort.

    Thom

  4. #4

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    Too bad

    Not first time a mfg delivery is poor though to individuals.

    Third party resellers are generally more dependable on 2 day delivery or such. This is what their business is all about.

    Sometimes, price isnt whats important.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 09-01-2018 at 12:20.

  5. #5

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    Yeah, I'm going to keep buying Altras. I will keep your warning in mind if I ever need to order a pair delivered to a trail town however.

  6. #6
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    Default Altra shoes - worst service ever

    It seems unfair to call him bitterman. The guy has a good reason to air out a complaint .There is no excuse for a company to ignore the customer so severely.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by methodman View Post
    It seems unfair to call him bitterman. The guy has a good reason to air out a complaint .There is no excuse for a company to ignore the customer so severely.
    I agree with you. When I deal with a company or individual, I just want them to be honest. If you say you are going to to do something, do it. If you can't or won't do something, then tell me that as well and i will make other arrangements. I believe that our actions speak louder than our words. Apparently, this company does not see service as a priority at the individual customer level. That's OK. What is not OK is that they led him to believe otherwise. I don't think the OP is bitter. I think he is trying to prevent others from suffering from the same neglect that he did.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4shot View Post
    I agree with you. When I deal with a company or individual, I just want them to be honest. If you say you are going to to do something, do it. If you can't or won't do something, then tell me that as well and i will make other arrangements. I believe that our actions speak louder than our words. Apparently, this company does not see service as a priority at the individual customer level. That's OK. What is not OK is that they led him to believe otherwise. I don't think the OP is bitter. I think he is trying to prevent others from suffering from the same neglect that he did.
    Come on. Of course the OP is bitter. It doesn't mean he doesn't have every right to be. And it doesn't mean he should be ridiculed for being frustrated and angry about how he was treated. But I'm sorry, don't go claiming that you honestly think that the OP's only intent was to protect the rest of us, especially with a thread title "Altra shoes - worst service ever". He's sure as heck reeking a little revenge on the company that frustrated him as well as warning the rest of us. I'd do the same thing. Don't get me started on Medtronic and their inability to supply my son with his diabetes supplies in a responsible manner!!

    That being said, companies are made of people and the owner of the company may well be as outraged by how a person or department within that company treated a customer as the customer is. And, as with me and Medtronic, other aspects of their customer service may be exemplary and other orders have processed promptly as expected, BUT, holly crap!!! Did Medtronic ever screw up a couple times and in some extraordinary ways!! In the end, we're all people, and at times we end up dealing with others that don't act helpfully. And then, we can let the people know when their actions are not appreciated and share our experiences with others AND ALSO take the time to share our experiences with the powers that be above and/or around the person/people who's actions were, in our minds, inappropriate.

    It sounds to me like Altra needs to either up their shipping game or more clearly define their limitations up front to their customers.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    That being said, companies are made of people and the owner of the company may well be as outraged by how a person or department within that company treated a customer as the customer is. It sounds to me like Altra needs to either up their shipping game or more clearly define their limitations up front to their customers.
    Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away I was the manager of a large manufacturing company. Data said that roughly 2% of all orders shipped were the recipient of a complaint (delay in shipping, damage in shipping, price, specs or tolerance, backorders, etc.) I do agree that companies are made of humans and therefore errors occur. The real, truest glimpse into a company's values and management style is not in the error itself but in how they respond to the error. Sounds like you and the OP are dealing with companies that simply do not value customer service. There ARE, sadly, companies that have other priorities. Of course NO company will admit to thatas that would be a PR disaster. But you can tell from their behaviors.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by LuckyMan View Post
    I want to warn everyone not to order shoes or anything else from Altra Running - an extremely dishonest outfit with stunningly bad service. On my CDT hike I ordered badly needed, hard-to-find (size 14) shoes in Leadore, ID to be sent to Darby, MT with delivery promised in 5-7 days. Altra failed to give a tracking number. I slowed my pace and took an extra day to ensure I would not reach Darby before the shoes. A week later, no shoes in Darby. I stayed an extra day with additional costs for lodging and meals - still no shoes.

    I called Altra for the 3rd time - each time being put on hold for at least half an hour - and an Altra employee promised she would ship the shoes express and they would definitely be in Helena when I arrived Monday. Not only were they not there, I found out from UPS they were never sent at all.

    Now Altra refuses to return my phone message or respond to online inquiries. I had to buy shoes in Helena for considerably more than Altra's sale price.

    I do not know why Altra thinks it can treat customers like garbage and tell bald-face lies. Word will get out - I'll see to it.
    I echo nsherry’s suggestion to buy from a retailer like Zappos. If you become a VIP member at Zappos at no cost, they will deliver overnight free shipping. What’s more they cover shipping both ways. They’ve saved my heiny a couple of times.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  11. #11
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deacon View Post
    I echo nsherry’s suggestion to buy from a retailer like Zappos. If you become a VIP member at Zappos at no cost, they will deliver overnight free shipping. What’s more they cover shipping both ways. They’ve saved my heiny a couple of times.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    I think that an aside RE: Overnight Shipping to the Boonies is in order here.
    In this day and age of Hybrid split shipping, FED EX, UPS, DHL, etc. handing off to the local post office for final delivery, Overnight Service to rural addresses is difficult at best.
    I live approximately 35 miles from an urban P.O. or shipping company store. I can pay for Overnight Shipping. I might get second night delivery unless a weekend is involved. If the big companies hand off to the city post office who hands off to my rural P.O. that adds 1-2 or more days.
    I’m not defending anything about the experience of this thread.
    Just a heads up on the current facts of life in the Overnight Shipping world.
    Back to the original subject.
    Wayne

  12. #12
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    Default Altra shoes - worst service ever

    I think the term bitter man was used as an insult and I think that is what was uncalled for.

  13. #13
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    Altras fit me extremely well. I will take my chances with the service.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  14. #14
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    I do not know why Altra thinks it can treat customers like garbage and tell bald-face lies. Word will get out - I'll see to it.[/QUOTT

  15. #15
    NOBO Mar '21 BowGal's Avatar
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    I’ve bought two pairs online from Altra. Fortunately, I’ve not had to deal with customer service. As for the runners, love them. I have a high arch, flat feet and wide feet, so these have been perfect. Did add insoles for high arch.
    We don’t stop hiking because we grow old, we grow old because we stop hiking.
    - Finis Mitchell


    https://lighterpack.com/r/6yyu2j

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by BowGal View Post
    I have a high arch, flat feet ...
    Flat feet means you have little or no arch.

  17. #17
    Registered User methodman's Avatar
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    That is true.

  18. #18
    Registered User Just Bill's Avatar
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    Altra has been bought by VFcorp.

    Not sure who actually runs it day to day, but it was sold to Icon fitness first before VF.

    Not saying much either way really... but it ain't a mom and pop cottage company anymore.

    You could pretty much insert any company into the line- I ordered XYZ from ABC to a remote location trusting on third party shipping and it didn't work out.

    The follow up is ****te though. Everyone screws up- It's only when you fail to clean it up you get a black mark in my book.

  19. #19
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    VF Corporation. The list of brands goes on and on. The North Face,
    etc.
    https://www.vfc.com/brands/all-brands
    Wayne

  20. #20

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    I just got an Email for a 40% off coupon, as an apology because they were changing warehouses or some such. It did take two weeks for my winter boots to be delivered.

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