Around a year or so ago I broke down and bought a new pair of Red Wing 970 motorcycle boots. Finding a pair turned out to be a pain since the nearest Red Wing dealer was about 50 miles away (Boot Hill in Valdosta, GA) and they specialized in western style boots. I ended up having to try on a similar pair of wellingtons and then special ordering the actual boots I wanted through Boot Hill and having them drop-shipped from the Red Wing warehouse directly to my home. What a pain just to get a decent pair of boots!
Here's the thing though: I've tried wearing cheap shoes and boots and can't get away with it. They end up killing my feet after just an hour or two of wearing them (not to mention the fact that they start to fall apart within the first 6 months of owning them), so I have to be fairly selective about what goes on the ol' feetsies.
Anyhow, ordering the boots wasn't really the problem, it's my forgetfulness that's the problem. I was low on boot and leather care products in general and forgot to pick some stuff up while I was up in Valdosta. I even wrote a list of stuff I needed like boot oil and hoof-black. Don't laugh, hoof black works just as well as sole and heel dressing and costs less per measured unit, you just have to go the feed store to get it. Back to the forgetfulness before I forget to finish the story. I even remembered to take the list with me, and had it in my pocket, but I forgot the list was in my pocket, forget to check the list, and ended up coming home with nothing but a receipt for the boots I ordered.
No problem, I'll just get some leather care products here locally the next time I go to town. Seems people around here don't take care of their leather, there wasn't anyplace that sold anything for leather care around here except for regular old Kiwi shoe polish at Wally-World. No kidding, last time I looked, I couldn't even find any saddle soap there.
Anyhoo, a few days later the friendly UPS driver delivered a package with my boots in them. So much for the quoted two-week wait, they came in about 3 days after placing the order. I was impressed enough to fire off to Red Wing a thank you note via e-mail praising them for their swift handling and delivery of my order. In the e-mail I sent them I asked if they had any plans on selling their leather care products online (Red Wing does not sell any of their products online, only through authorized brick-and-mortar stores) and explained that I was out in the boondocks and it was a pretty far piece to go to get to a dealer, and the local establishments apparently didn't believe in selling any kind of leather care products at all. (That still gripes me how crappy and bass-ackwards these little towns around here are).
Less than 5 hours later I received a response from Red Wing, which again surprised me as I really wasn't expecting any answer at all, considering that 95% of all companies I contact via e-mail with questions about their products or services never respond at all, and on the rare occasion they do it's closer to 3 or 4 weeks before I hear anything from them. Well, not only did Red Wing respond in a timely manner, but it was the head of the marketing dept. that returned my e-mail to me. He said they were looking into the idea of selling care products online but hadn't made any firm decisions as to whether they would or not in the near future. He thanked me for my commending them on their swift fulfillment of my boot order and asked for confirmation of my mailing address and order number, so I fired off another response answering his confirmation request and thanking him for his swift reply to my e-mail and that it left me with a favorable impression of their business on a whole.
As far I was concerned, the whole exchange was finished and decided I'd just head back up to Valdosta the next time I had the chance with the specific purpose of getting the leather care products I needed. It turns out that trip wasn't necessary at all, since two days after the e-mail exchange with Red Wing I received not one, but two boxes in the mail from them. I wondered what the heck was this? I opened the first box and inside were full-size products including tubs of Mink Oil, Leather Conditioner, and a few bottles of Boot Oil. In the second box found Silicone Waterproofing, Leather Dressing, and a note saying thanks for contacting them and that they hope these gifts they sent will meet my needs, and that if I had any more questions or comments to feel free to contact them any time. Wow! I was like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents under the tree. Not only did they save me a trip back up to Georgia, but they sent me enough leather care products to last me for the next 5 years!
Needless to say, I'm more than impressed with Red Wing now, and my impression with their boot quality is more than favorable. A year later and boots are still like brand-new and and just as comfortable as the day I put them on for the first time. The leather is thick and heavy too unlike lesser brands, but still supple and flexible. Though I don't plan on trying it, I believe they'd hold up to taking a spill at triple-digit speeds without the asphalt eating all the way through them, and thinking about it I bet they'd make great boots for welding, I think they'd hold up to hot slag dropping on them much better than lesser boots and possibly save your foot from the slag burning all the way through the leather and leaving a nice crispy spot on top of the foot. Not that I'm going to purposely try and test that theory either, but it's nice to know they build 'em tough enough to handle a truckload of abuse.
In any event, with customer support like that and product quality to match, I've found a brand I think I'm going to stick with for quite some time to come. They seem to be holding up way better than the any of the other brands I've put through their paces, plus they're much more comfortable to boot (pun intended). I'd never bought a pair of Red Wings before because I thought they were always a bit too pricey, though actually affordable compared to the likes of super-premium brands such Wesco or CruiserWorks, but after wearing them for a while now, I'm kicking myself (again the pun is intended) for not buying them sooner, because quite frankly, they're worth ever penny.
Thanks, Red Wing, for putting the customer first.
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