TheBlackPumpkin

Ended up buying from lake online due to the lack of shoes in stock in my area. I need a wider shoe but am not quite a wide fit, so the mx201 seemed like a perfect fit for me (pun intended) after measuring my feet and buying based on their sizing chart I spent nearly $300 on a pair of shoes which to me is insane, my bike cost sub 1000 but I have been convinced good cycling shoes are worth it.

Lake sent me mx169s... Same last, but cheaper materials and lace instead of boa. I'm sure they probably ran out of stock and just sent me something else hoping it'd be ok, but it's not, they didn't contact me, didn't offer me a refund to order the shoe they had in stock, nothing. So now I get to deal with their customer service, return them and likely pay for shipping myself and god knows if they even have the shoe I originally wanted in stock!

How they make this right is going to determine if they literally ever get my business again, frankly. I'm usually pretty reasonable when it comes to screwups but I am massively ticked right now.

Update: Lake has emailed me a return label for the 169's and is processing to ship me the correct shoes. My initial anger was definitely overblown, chalk it up to a bad day.

Koyote

You should probably give the company a chance to make things right before slagging them in a public forum. Mistakes happen.

bboy314

I’ve never dealt with Lake, but if they sent you a different item than you ordered, I imagine they’ll try to make it right at no extra cost to you.

CAT7RDR

To err is human...

PeteHski

So it looks like they messed your order up and shipped the wrong shoes by mistake. Just return them and get over it.

bargainguy

I understand your frustration. Spending that kind of coin on a pair of shoes, and then not getting the right ones....yikes.

There's a different way to approach this that might not cost you. If you paid via credit card and didn't get what you ordered, inform both Lake and your credit card company that your order was messed up.

If Lake decides to do the right thing and pay for return shipping and send you the correct pair, no problemo.

But in case they don't, having the credit card company in your corner might mean not absorbing the cost of their mistake.

indyfabz

It’s much more efficient to rant on BF.

Forget the fact that the website has an email address to contact them about returns.

asgelle

It's nice to know I've finally met a person who never made a mistake.

It's incredible that without any evidence whatsoever you jump to the conclusion that this is some nefarious plot rather than simple human error. Furthermore, you flay them in public before making even the slightest attempt to bring the mistake to their attention and allow them to correct it. Admirable.

TheBlackPumpkin

I'll update the post if / when they make it right as, mistakes do happen. How you respond to them is what makes a company good or bad. As far as "slagging them in a public forum" if mistakes happen then posting this is nothing but pointing out a mistake and venting frustration. Likely this is a fairly isolated incident and hopefully they'll resolve it as, even the cheaper pair is still a nice shoe.

Yeah I've already considered this. Part of what concerns me is the companies overall return policy which is easily the most strict return policy I've ever seen for online goods. May be standard for cycling shoes, not sure though this is the first pair I've ever ordered online. The hope is due to it being their mistake they'll just send me a return label postage paid and refund me and that'll be the end of it.

indyfabz

Having read the return/exchange policy, it seems to me that it is based on the assumption that they sent you the correct item.

What I would have liked to have seen was a thread describing your positive experience with Lake after you contacted them and they corrected the mistake free of charge, or a skewer if they didn’t. Instead, you chose to skewer prior to any attempt to resolve an apparent mistake, which you freely acknowledge can happen.

TheBlackPumpkin

They were emailed before I even got on here.

I never said that it was a plot, nefarious or otherwise. It's not uncommon for online stores to send what they view as an "equivelant item" when an order has been finalized and processed and they ran out of stock due to inventory erorrs, etc. I've had this happen a few times with non-bike related stuff in the past. Usually I email customer service, they offer to refund the item, exchange it for the originally ordered item when it comes back into stock, or refund the difference.

It's a hassle regardless and is a waste of time. To your point, no I don't have proof Lake did that. But it's not uncommon business practice or much of a leap.

I have no obligation to resolve the issue before talking about it publicly or otherwise. I'm not a reviewer or a journalist, I'm a customer that received the wrong product. Is it the end of the world? No. But it is annoying.

They're a company selling goods and services to the public. Getting the correct item ordered in the first instance is not an unreasonable expectation. I would also just like to point out, a forum post is going to do nothing to Lake as a company. The only way it would is if a bunch of people are also having the same experience, which would mean they have an issue somewhere with their internal processes, which is something a company would generally want to fix. (Not saying this is the case, just that my complaint means nothing for Lake. I was venting.)

Koyote

Good grief. They made a mistake and almost certainly will fix it. There’s no need to contact the CC bank before Lake is even given a chance. Sheesh.

indyfabz

Every time I have disputed a charge my bank has asked if I tried to resolve the matter with the merchant first.

Maelochs

Sorry but I know Lake makes great shoes because I have put countless thousands of miles on two pair, and the pair I am using now has a ton of life left and the other pair is awaiting repair because I stripped a cleat bolt ... mea culpa.

I understand being frustrated but I also understand thinking before i speak or post, having failed and regretted so many times. If a company sent a wrong item and Doesn't Even Know it Yet and you are acting all butt-hurt ... that is you, not the company.

All of us have bought stuff online, and probably all of us have had more than one mix-up ... and some companies really go far to make things right and others make it hard. if you are smart you won't lose under any circumstances, because PayPal or a credit card company will protect you .... But you seem to have started off pissed because the shoes cost so much ( and yes, the prices of All bike-related stuff is outrageous, and shoes in the upper range of that.)

Still ... first, you choose to buy or not, and second, a good set of shoes makes or breaks a ride. Hot spots, numb sports, blisters ... don't we all want all these things when we are deep into a long ride? I know as a duckfoot, that Lake makes good shoes for wide feet, and that they last unbelievably. I have had these two pair for a decade more or less? and other than me stripping a bolt i would still be using the first pair.

Someone who is working all day picking, packing, and shipping orders put the wrong shoes in the wrong box, or the wrong box in the wrong bag, or the wrong label on the wrong box, or something ..... They didn't send you the wrong shoes because they were out of the right ones and didn't think you'd notice ... if they were out of stock they'd just tell you they were out of stock.

As for a tough return policy, think about it ... if they do send you the right shoes, and you decide after a few hundred miles that you can get by with a cheaper option from Ali-Express ... they cannot resell those shoes. if they send you exactly what you ordered and you wear it and send it back, they eat the whole cost.

If they sent you the wrong merchandise, and you are Not going to wear them ... then the return policy doesn't even apply. I bet they will send you a shipping label to return the wrong ones and will send the right ones no hassle. They are a company with a strong reputation for a reason.

If not come back here and set us all straight. That is fine. But really .... the only hassle is you have to wait a few days and maybe have to drop the wrong ones off at the nearest UPS store.

Anyway .... I hope the shoes you chose were chosen wisely. if they do fit you, you will probably be wearing them a decade from now.

indyfabz

A. Interesting that you never mentioned that first part.

B. To expect perfection every time is decidedly unreasonable. Don’t let a belief otherwise raise your BP.

I can only imagine if you had gone through what I did a couple of years ago. I ordered a headlight online. The package arrived with the mounting bracket, instructions and charging cord, all in original packaging, but the actual light was missing. I returned it and was sent a replacement. Guess what was missing from the second shipment.


Iggy list updated in 5, 4, 3….

shelbyfv

Maybe try some Adidas Samba. You can order from Amazon, no drama.

TheBlackPumpkin

I said how they make this right will determine if they get my business again. Sorry if that wasn't clear that an attempt had or was going to be made to contact them. What was I going to do? Throw the shoe, and $300 in the trash?

To your point, I've had experiences like that too, or worse. But again, we're just going to have to agree to disagree. It probably wouldn't have felt so bad if #1, it wasn't a high ticket item, #2, wasn't directly connected to me exercising and trying to get healthier and #3 wasn't the first thing I've ever ordered from the company.

bargainguy

I didn't say before. Don't misquote.

Disputing the charge immediately with the CC company typically results in a provisional refund to your account until an investigation has been completed. It also results in an automatic request by the CC company for the merchant to explain circumstances. Guess you're not interested in that. OK. Got it.

Barry2 

You ordered mx201 Lake sent me mx169

The FTC is very clear on receiving items you didn’t order and unexpected delays.

I ordered a $700 item, company delayed 2 months with no contact and finally shipped the wrong part.
I called and thanked them for the gift, plus asked for the correct item.
They wanted me to return the incorrect part first, and my part would be another month.
I again declined and suggested that if they overnighted the correct part, Out of the goodness in my heart, I just might return my gift in the box the correct item arrives in.
Else I was keeping the gift and reversing the credit card charge.
Received a call back from an apologetic manager that they had missed the FedEx pickup and it would be a day late.
It turned up in two days and I did return the gift.

Play nice, right up to the point when you don’t.

Barry

TheBlackPumpkin

I actually had no idea about the receiving unordered merchandise part. Explains why Amazon never asks for their stuff back when they mess up.

Koyote

I neither misquoted nor misrepresented you.

tomato coupe

That's simply untrue. Amazon usually requires you to return an item when it is replaced or a refund is issued.

veganbikes

So Lake sent some shoes, that may not have been correct and a single email may have been sent but no sense of a response but already you are saying you will determine if "they literally get your business again" and "throw the shoe and $300 in the trash" but you are also a reasonable person normally? I am not sure there is anything reasonable here.

In the end while you did purchase something from a computer there is generally a human picking your order and humans of which you are one can make mistakes and maybe it wasn't the picker who made the mistake maybe a box got misfiled or the wrong shoes were put in the wrong box or something simple like that. Of course yes they made an error, but give them time to actually make it right. Maybe it was intentional but I have a feeling it was probably a human error and nobody will know they made a human error in that case till you let them know and let them respond.

You can ride a bicycle without cycling shoes, I did it yesterday and over the weekend and many many many many many many many many many other times. There are times when yes cycling shoes are great and I have a lovely pair of Shimano shoes I like but I can also ride without them and still exercise.

TheBlackPumpkin

Was talking about when you get something you didn't order. Otherwise you're correct.

TheBlackPumpkin

You should reread what I actually said, which is that I did contact Lake, because what was I going to do otherwise. I never suggested I was going to trash the shoes. I made a hyperbolic statement implying doing that would be dumb

At any rate I'll update when lake responds. It's wild to me how many people have seemingly never been mad about something stupid before lol.