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Hi everyone,
I have been fitting and selling the Dr. Comfort footwear range for about 6 months.
I was wondering if anyone else sells them (or footwear in general) and what kind of returns policy do you have?

Do you allow people to return them for reasons such as: 'my toes went through the holes (sandle)', 'or the toe box is too hard and I need a softer one'.
I find it a little frustrating as I work hard to make sure they are happy when they are fitted and walk out the door only to get this later on.

Is this just what one has to deal with in this industry or not?

Any opinions would be welcome.

thanks

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Law360, New York (March 15, 2011) -- California-based medical device company DJO Global Inc. said Tuesday that one of its indirect subsidiaries has agreed to buy Wisconsin-based Rikco International LLC, a therapeutic footwear provider that does business as Dr. Comfort, for about $254.6 million.

DonJoy bought Dr. Comfort. Amazing how much it went for.


Dr. Comfort is widely used in the USA as a low end diabetic shoe. It is popular as it is easier to fit as it only comes in one last which also makes it cheaper to manufacture. I am sure there are plenty of higher quality shoes that you can choose from that can accommodate inserts/orthotics.

Steven

l fit a few shoes, let me give you a few tips.

SUCK IT UP!, its like everything in business, if it was easy they would all do it.

To the best part of what you have said you are not fitting the product correctly.

No client should ever buy a product without walking around in your facility for at least 10 min, the toe popping out an opening would have revealed itself in that time.

These are shoes for Diabetics, you should have checked the fit and the appropriateness of the style for the client, just because they want it does not mean they should get it.

If they complain the toe box is too hard, you are fitting too short, its that simple.

The idea of the toe box is protection of the toes and to retain the the toe box shape, with zero contact, think about safety boots, the consumers toes dont touch the hard steel toe box.

Have you measured yourself and staff and then fitted a shoe for them for feed back on your fitting ability?

Can you tell me how you are measuring the client for a product please?

PS if you think thats hard wait until you get into the Diabetic PN feet, when there is no feed back from the client and the swelling can change daily

__________________
David Sutton
C.Ped.CM.Au
Facebook
My location
www.bilbyshoes.com

Excellent post, Boots.

Steven

Hi,
I dont mind receiving criticism when delivered appropriately.

You dont know what I did and just assumed.

Both patients DID walk around in them and did not report any problems.

I did fit them to the best of my ability although it sounds like I am not as good as you.
The problems they later came in with did not occur in the clinic. One, admittedly does have dimentia and her daughter did express that she changes her mind alot.

I will take the constructive side of what was said and 'suck it up'.

Hi everyone,
I have been fitting and selling the Dr. Comfort footwear range for about 6 months.
I was wondering if anyone else sells them (or footwear in general) and what kind of returns policy do you have?

Do you allow people to return them for reasons such as: 'my toes went through the holes (sandle)', 'or the toe box is too hard and I need a softer one'.
I find it a little frustrating as I work hard to make sure they are happy when they are fitted and walk out the door only to get this later on.

Is this just what one has to deal with in this industry or not?

Any opinions would be welcome.

thanks


Simone,

We dispense shoes out of our shoe store. Some people are just plain difficult and are hard to satifsy even if you know you fitted them correctly. I have them sign a form that tells them they are allowed to return the shoes within 30 days as long as they can be resold. I tell them to wear them when walking only on carpet if they are unsure they want to keep them for any reason.

I think Boot's reply was just his sense his humor, I did not perceive him attacking you. I thought his post was simply a good review for people that do not normally fit people with shoes. I am sure he thinks your competent.

Steven

Simon it was all constructive, well except the "Suck it up", that was humor

l can only respond to what you have written here and if the toe is "too hard" the shoe is either too short or too shallow, as l stated before in my previous post, they shouldn't be touching to know.

l am the visiting clinician for a specialist footwear clinic in Geelong once a month, due next month now, l see you are in Geelong also, if you like l could drop in and go through a few things with you?

Nobody gets it right every-time, even after 30 years +, the important thing is to fix the error and make the client happy and review what/how you are doing it.

__________________
David Sutton
C.Ped.CM.Au
Facebook
My location
www.bilbyshoes.com

“I would have to say welcome to the Diabetic Shoes Business." Many new podiatrists are lured by the shoe companies. They tell you how shoes can be such a good profit center for your practice. The reality is unless you are very good at fitting shoes and do thousands a year you had better leave it alone. The returns will eat your profits, your time, and just cause you grief.

Fitting shoes is best left to those who do it every day, all the time. I am a pedorthist and I deal with podiatrists all the time who tell me they use to do shoes, until they figured out it was eating them alive. It takes your time, your money, your profits unless you know what you are doing. Our company does shoes. I mean we do shoes. Thousands a year, along with custom molded diabetic foot orthotics. That means when we miss the shoe simply goes back into stock and goes to the next patient. A podiatrist really can't do that. My advice to you is; find a good pedorthist and send him referrals. Your patients will be happier, and so will you.

Bobby Elesky C-PED Medford, OR

Hello, I have been fitting Dr Comfort shoes for 2 years now. They are a great company to work with, no hassel returns as long as you follow their 30 day rule. They even supply the ups return sticker. They will work with the shoes and inserts to get your customer the right fit.

As far as they patients you will always have those that are not satisfied with the shoe or the fit. Sometimes even if you measure right you have to try different shoes or styles to get the right fit. That is what you have to deal with when you do not have the shoes on site and the inserts are created off site.

We have used other shoe companies that supply diabetic shoes and Dr Comfort by far has been the most helpful.

Kelly K
Iowa

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KEK said "..even if you measure right you have to try different shoes or styles to get the right fit.."

Could not agree more, just because the Brannock device says size 9, doesn't mean in all styles, some styles they may really need a 9.5+

__________________
David Sutton
C.Ped.CM.Au
Facebook
My location
www.bilbyshoes.com

Good advice Mr Boots. As a Pedorthist I would find it impossible to provide adequate options for patient's footwear needs if I restrict my supply to one toe shape, irrespective of the fitting options. At best, the brand of Dr Comfort however versatile and with excellent design choices would only suit 1 out of 10 referred patient to me, due to the complexities of footshapes and fitting requirements.
I have little to do with the general public with "standard" shaped feet and by the time they get to me have exhausted most footwear retailers and speciality footwear shops so those ratios would be different for others

Simple hint---draw around the foot shape then draw around the insole shape of the size shoe you think is the best choice. If the insole shape is narrower than the forefoot by more than 6 mm at the great toe your in trouble.
Avoid going longer to get the width, or you will find other hassles.

Remember, the best outcome for a high risk patient with ill-fitting shoes is for them to return the footwear and you are down 150 big ones as there can be more costly outcomes for all parties if their next appointment is with a prosthetist.

Halfway

"Fitting shoes is best left to those who do it every day, all the time. I am a pedorthist and I deal with podiatrists all the time who tell me they use to do shoes, until they figured out it was eating them alive. It takes your time, your money, your profits unless you know what you are doing. Our company does shoes. I mean we do shoes. Thousands a year, along with custom molded diabetic foot orthotics. That means when we miss the shoe simply goes back into stock and goes to the next patient. A podiatrist really can't do that. My advice to you is; find a good pedorthist and send him referrals. Your patients will be happier, and so will you."

There are a lot of quality companies that supply Podiatrists with diabetic shoes and most offer free shipping for shoes to be returned. Podiatrists should be casting for diabetic inserts and filling out the appropriate RX and deciding best type of shoe for the patient. Most busy Podiatrists also have a staff member that has been properly trained by one of the diabetic shoe companies and they become very competent with time. large group practices will also employ a C-Ped.
If the deformity is severe, Podiatrists can cast the foot for a custom made shoe.
I think its best for the patient to have services provided in one facility whenever possible.

Steven

Thanks for the feedback and opinions.

Hey Simone
I worked at a clinic that sold Dr Comfort shoes a little while back. Not having them on site is a little frustrating as people always seem to want to try the bigger or smaller size on just for clarification they have the right fit (i know i do the same when buying shoes).
Its been a while since ive had anything to do with Dr Comfort shoes, but i found most people needed 1/2 a size bigger than what was actually measured... just my observation, not sure if other people found the same thing?

Hi intersting comments from all. Thanks

One can sell one brand of shoes. That is not an issue. If the shoes do not match the foot and another type is required then you simply refer them to another provider. As a Podiatrist I know the specifics of each foot and the style of shoe that I recommend.

Most suppliers will not know what is under the socks.

In Aus we do not have the variety of shoes available to us that other countries do and the expense of importing and onselling very expensive.

Our Team has used DRC shoes successfully for several years. The suppliers have been very helpful with returns and have improved this process over time.

Being able to adjust the insoles with a grinder, fit additions in them is a bonus for a shoe that costs little more than a non width/depth shoe.

Cheers

__________________
Heather J Bassett
137 Wheatsheaf Road
GLENROY VICTORIA 3046
AUSTRALIA
03 9306 8557

We sell Dr Comfort and we measure and try on stock shoes because just measuring is no guarantee if fit. There are many considerations as to 'how a shoe fits' and just like a foot orthosis each person requires individual consideration.
Our policy is that we give a lot of time to ensuring good fit and providing the correct shoe and insole/orthosis combination for the customer and ensuring they know how to use the shoe paraphernalia to adjust the fit on a daily basis depending on their foot status. Our general policy is that once they have left the shop we do not take returns for fitting e.g the heel slips or cosmetic issues e.g. the colour doesn't look right at home. However we do give further assistance in getting the shoe to fit e.g. provide heel grips or adjust the insole of fit a pad under the tongue (of the shoe not the customer)

Regards Dave

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Descartes seems to consider here that beliefs formed by pure reasoning are less doubtful than those formed through perception.