One of the things I do not like to do (which is probably illegal for my gender) is to go shoe shopping. After years of performing in my earlier days, dance lessons, decades of proudly walking incorrectly in high heels and two-foot surgeries, my feet are not only not pretty but pretty beat up. I prefer to wear my beat up old black dress shoes for “business” days; and beat up old blue shoes for “casual” days.

Imagine my surprise when my mother asked me to join her in an afternoon of shoe shopping in Pittsburgh. I immediately reverted to a teenager response of, “Do I have to go?!” Well, yes. When we talked into the privately-owned shoe store we were greeted by a gentleman who greeted my mom by name and gave her a hug. This speaks to either there are more shoes in her closet than I know of or he is just a good salesperson. Note the latter. Terry has made his living selling shoes in Pittsburgh. My mom told Terry that she would like to buy her daughter a pair of shoes. Such a generous mom thing to do, right?! No worries, I knew we wouldn’t find any to suit me.

Terry started asking me questions. What do I do for a living? What business and casual outfits are my go to’s? Pants or Skirts? Let me see your feet – whoa! He asked me questions about color and style. You might find this surprising but I walked away, no pun intended, with five pairs of shoes (my mom only bought one) and I could have bought more.

What did Terry do right? Oh, so much. Here’s a few I noted:
1. Greeted us.
2. Asked questions.
3. Set parameters for decisions. (Casual, business, low heels, high heels, foot health)
4. Gave me what I asked for; offered more options for consideration.
5. Asked if I was satisfied with my decisions.
6. Thanked us for coming in.

Do I like shoe shopping any better? No, but when these shoes wear out, I’ll book that plane flight, pick up my mom and stop in to see Terry.