Here we go again

Ah, the disappointment that comes so quickly after buying the wrong pair of shoes. I tried on those Danskos briefly at the store on Friday and planned to wear them yesterday for an afternoon of errand-running.

Before I left the house, I wanted to make sure the shoes felt ok, before I couldn't return them anymore. (At least, not in good conscience. Nordstrom has a "no questions asked" return policy, but I'm not the kind of person who'd return something I had worn, unless it was truly defective.) And sadly, as soon as I put them on with thin socks, I felt those shoes rubbing the side of my toes in the same place that I had trouble with my old Danskos. I tried to talk myself into keeping them and hoping they'd stretch out over time, but last time, that never happened, even after a few hours with the amazing Nordstrom shoe-stretching device.

But I knew that it wouldn't work, and that my feet would hate me if I forced myself to wear them and walk 2.5 miles each day. So with a heavy heart, I returned those shoes to the Bellevue Nordstrom, hoping they'd have the next size for me to try on. Of course you know how this story goes, a tragic tale of lost love. Bellevue did not have the shoes in the size I wanted. So I came home empty-handed.

And then I remembered the Internet. Nordstrom's website is pretty awesome and has the same Anniversary Sale items as the stores. And there they were, my fabulous shoes, in a size 38 (crazy Europeans!). So I bought them online. I can return them in-store if they don't fit. And best of all, Nordstrom refunded my shipping charge because it was an item not available in their stores - no questions asked, and all it took was an email to their customer service department. How much does that rock??

If only more businesses ran their customer service more like Nordstrom. I'd willingly pay more for that. And now, all I have to do is for my ruby slippers to show up at my door. We're not in Kansas anymore.