Road Runner Sports

Full review
"Mr. Hooterville" doesn't write product reviews, but he definitely has no shortage of opinions and I'm acting as his mouthpiece of dissatisfaction with his most recent experiences at Road Runner Sports.com.

He estimates he has purchased maybe two pair of shoes from Road Runner every year for 10 years. Before there was the website, he ordered from the catalog and was always happy with the price and selection.

He's Become a Comparison Shopper on Shoes

My husband runs five miles every other day, and he orders a whole lot of different kinds of sports and casual shoes. Since we've had online access, he's been more inclined to comparison shop shoe websites.

Mr. Hooterville's Price List on Dunham 3-Eyelet Shoes

The last time my husband went shoe shopping online, he trusted Road Runner's price because he felt he had enjoyed good prices in the past. He went ahead and bought a pair of Dunham Three-Eyelet shoes for Road Runner's "member" price of $107.00. That represented a whopping $6.00 discount.

He didn't suspect he was getting screwed. In fact, he liked them so much, he searched the Internet to see what other types of Dunham shoes were available online.

That's when his happiness with Road Runner Sports crashed. He found the pair of shoes he ordered from Road Runner at far better prices as follows:

DunhamWebExpress.com = 89.99
NewBalanceCatalogCenter.com = 100.00
Onlineshoes.com = 59.99
PegasusShoes.com = 50.00

He purchased his Dunham 3-Eyelet shoes in a second color from PegasusShoes.com for $50.00, and was very pleased with both the price and service.

"If the price had only been $10 or so higher at Road Runner, I wouldn't have made a big deal about it," my husband said. But $57.00 is well worth a complaint to him.

He Tried to Give Road Runner a Chance

Being the reasonable guy that he is, Mr. Hooterville wrote an e-mail to Road Runner to tell them about the price difference in identical shoes, and to ask for a possible adjustment through their "comments/suggestions" link:

I bought a pair of Dunham shoes on 12/08/02 for $107.99.
Two things have been bothering me. The first is that in looking at other websites, I have found that your price was the highest by far. For example the same shoes are available at pegasusshoes.com for$50.00.I have been so used to getting good prices on running shoes at Roadrunner that I naturally assumed that all of your shoes would be competitively priced.

The second thing is that while your ad stated that these shoes were 'waterproof', none of the other websites mentions this. I do like the shoes, but I am wondering if I can get some sort of adjustment in price, or a credit toward a future purchase.
Thanks.

Several days later, he gets a reply that doesn't even begin to address his concerns:

Hi!
Thanks for your email and for asking about prices at Road Runner Sports. We appreciate the opportunity to answer your questions.

We understand that at times prices may be lower through other retailers. We are confident that you'll agree Road Runner Sports offers the best in:

Customer Service, product selection, a large in-stock inventory, and the most knowledgeable staff in the business.

And there's more! By joining our exclusive Run America Club for only $19.95 charged annually, you can take advantage of:

- 5% off regular catalog prices

- An *unconditional 60-day return guarantee* on every item.

- 2-3 day U.S. Priority Mail delivery.

The best part about receiving all these great member benefits is that it is 100% guaranteed--so it's absolutely risk free!

You have a choice. Give us the opportunity to prove our commitment to you by providing you with the highest level of service, product, and value every time you shop with us.

We look forward to receiving your order or answering any further questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Andrea
Road Runner Sports.com
Your #1 Running Source

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Needless to say, he wasn't impressed with the coy, cheery and pointless reply to his concerns. He wrote back and asked him to remove him from Road Runner's e-mail list, and to take his name off of the catalog mailing list as well.

Not only that, but he was becoming increasingly annoyed that each time he called Road Runner to place an order or inquire about a catalog product, they gave him several different sales pitches for things he never did want and never will want.

Before concluding this review, I asked him if he would ever return to Road Runner, and if he would recommend it overall to anyone else.

He looked over my shoulder here at the keyboard to look at the choices, paused a second and said, "Based on my recent experience, AVOID it."