To Boot

Talk about not standing behind your products. Bought a new pair of boots and the pull tab wore out after a couple dozen wears and popped right off. It was obviously poor manufacturing; doesn't make sense that on one boot it's totally intact and on the other it's fraying. I emailed them because I figured a boot shouldn't have pieces coming off after 18 weeks. Michael, the General Manager who also apparently handles customer service, told me it was due to stress and wear and that I should have been using a shoe horn. He also got personal once I mentioned posting on a cobblers forum and told me I seemed like someone who would be upset no matter how old the boots were, implying that I'm unreasonable for not liking that my almost new boots are falling apart. This guy talks about his 42 years of experience like he's some authority but apparently doesn't understand that people pull on a pull tab. I spoke with some cobblers and they told me that many companies like To Boot New York have gotten lazy and cheap out on these sorts of things, no longer viewing them as functional pieces. They agreed that it's ridiculous to ask customers not to pull on a pull tab or to use a shoe horn as an excuse for the cheap construction. My local shoe repair is going to fix this for me and do it better so they don't come off again. I'm shocked that To Boot had such little regard for the customer experience. I enjoyed the boots other than this and might have purchased more. Maybe they could have offered a nominal refund to help offset the repair? Not sure, but anyone with a customer service bone in their body could have come up with some better response than what I got. Do not recommend!