My beloved Birks

I am a Birkenstock whore. I have, let’s see, 9 pairs. With the exception of a pair of mary janes and a pair of clogs, Birkenstocks are pretty much all I wear. After spending years wearing clothes and shoes that were too short/tight/skimpy/pinched/just damn uncomfortable, I decided several years ago that I was no longer going to wear anything that made me uncomfortable. Bye, bye heels! Bye, bye hard-soled shoes! Now I’m all Birkenstocks all the time.

Anyway, 6 or 7 years ago I bought a pair of Arizonas, in black leather. I wore them, and wore them, and wore them. After a couple of years, they were pretty worn, so I relegated them to the back of the closet. Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago. Knowing that I had to travel to Atlanta for work, I started looking for a new pair of black Birks (cuz, you know, black is dressier than brown). Looking around on the internet I found what I wanted, but I really didn’t want to spend $120. It was irking me that I already have this perfectly good pair of black shoes that with a little repair could probably last a few more years, but I’m going to have to spend $120 on new ones because I’m not sure mine can be refurbished. Then, I ran across Footwise. They could not only repair my Birks, but could completely replace the footbed, so that everything but the straps is new. And, it would cost me half of the cost of a new pair. So, I filled out the order form, packaged up the shoes, and sent them to Oregon. Unfortunately, I didn’t send them out soon enough, so they weren’t returned to me before I had to leave for Atlanta. When I returned from my trip, the box was there waiting for me. I was so impressed with the work. The shoes looked brand new. However, there was a small problem. I had asked if they could replace my size 36 footbed with a size 37 footbed, as my feet have grown a bit in the last few years. An earlier email from the company reassured me that this substitution was possible, so I was a little surprised when I opened the box and saw that the footbed was size 36. I emailed them again and asked if this could be fixed without any additional cost, and not only are they going to fix it for free, since it was their error, but I don’t have to pay for shipping the shoes either way. They were very apologetic and responded very quickly to my issue. Customer service at Footwise is excellent. I have another pair of Arizonas that need repair, and they will definitely be getting that business from me.