Hi Bobby



I appreciate your honest e-mail about your hopes for our boots and the forums you have read. Would you please do me a favor and tell me how to get to these forums so we can read them and address the issues here.



We do ask for payment up front, but if a customer request it we can take half up front and half when we ship. We do stand behind our sizing no matter if we do the tracings or the customer. Custom fitting boots is not an exact science. Each companies last run differently and our last (hard plastic feet that we build the boots/shoes around) run about ½ size large for double or triple vamp or double moccasin bottom ( like the PH ) boots. When we make a pair of boots for a customer and they don’t fit we like them to send them back to us with a note about what is wrong with the fit. We will reimburse the shipping charges. If we can adjust the fit we will – if it is too far off, we will remake them at our cost – no cost to the customer. This has always been our policy. On our website and our order forms we have explicate directions for tracing the feet and doing the measurements. We always ask for the customers standard shoe size and if we think the tracings are not accurate we ask the customer to retrace and send them to us. Some of the tracings we receive are with magic markers, traced two /three times around the foot etc, we take responsibility for the fitting even though the customer didn’t follow the directions on the form.



When we make a customers footwear we take into account bunions, hammer toes, high insteps, wide ankle bones, skinny legs, fat legs, narrow heels, heel spurs, where the ball of the foot is real wide, missing toes, longer toes etc. As you can see, a lot goes into the sizing of a persons footwear. We have been in business for over 100 years and always strive to do our best.



The choice is yours, but a lot of our customers are people who have problem feet whereas store bought just doesn’t fit right and we help them enjoy their footwear. We hope you will give us a chance to show you what we can do for you.



Sincerely,



Patty Briski

Office Manager









From: Bob Boychuk [mailto:bobscobra@shaw.ca]
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 10:55 AM
To: Russell Moccasin
Subject: Re: PH II boots



Patty,



I learned of Russell boots on a hunting/shooting forum and believed I had found the solution to my footwear problem. My feet are wide at the ball, have a very high arch and my ankles are skinny; nearly impossible to fit with factory off the shelf boots. After viewing the Russell website, I was seriously considering ordering a pair of Safaris PH in Rust Chamois with the following options; poron insert, pull strap, speed laces and Vibram Air Bob sole. I believe these would prove an excellent choice for my upcoming hunt in Namibia. However, I began to have second thoughts.



In addition to the positive comments I read on the hunting/shooting forum, a surprising number of negative comments began to be posted. In general, these negative comments contained complaints of poor fitting boots, wrong sizing and poor customer service by Russells in response to customer complaints. I now have strong reservations about ordering a pair of Russell custom boots.



According to your website, payment in full must be made at the time of ordering. My concern is not with the price of your boots but with the position I would be if my paid for boots did not fit properly. If the boots are paid for in full before I have the opportunity to test fit them, what recourse would I then have? What is Russell's policy on boots which do not fit?



FWIW, I live in Alberta, Canada so extra shipping charges apply. Who pays for what if the boots don't fit? Is a full refund an option?



respectfully,

Bobby B.

----- Original Message -----

From: Russell Moccasin

To: 'Bob Boychuk'

Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 11:29 AM

Subject: RE: PH II boots



Hi Bobby



Go to our website and go to Shoes, then Casual shoes, then to Cushion collar Casuals. The shoe on the left is the Rust Chamois and the one on the right is Charcoal Chamois.



We can always send you leather samples of any you want to see.



Patty



From: Bob Boychuk [mailto:bobscobra@shaw.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 9:07 AM
To: russell@russellmoccasin.com
Subject: PH II boots



I'm very interested in your Safaris PHII boots. Can you provide me with a photo or such viewing of the Charcoal Chamois and the Rust Chamois colors?



Bobby B.

I know they wouldn't do this as evidenced by their very respectful reply above, but if I was Russell Boot Co. I'd be sorely tempted to tell you to find another boot maker. You sound like a customer from hell to me.

I'm impressed with Russell's response. I'll certainly consider having a pair of safari PH's custom made after reading what she had to say.

A customer from Hell? I thought I was being cautious. And I thought sharing what Patty had to say might prove beneficial to others here.

Anway,Gato, didn't I once tell you to go to Hell and asked you to not respond to any of my posts?

Judging from Patty's response, I'll probably order a pair of Russells.

I sincere thanks to all who helped me make my decision. The positive experiences and the negative ones as well. They were all very meaningful to me.

Bobby B.

Ask all you want to, but I'll respond where I wish....oh, and by the way, screw you.

Bobby B.

I have been very happy with my Russell's.

As a customer with "feet from hell" [different from a "customer from hell" ] you are the perfect customer for a pair of custom fit boots.

I bought my wife a pair of Russell PH boots in 2004. Spoke to Ms Boiski and informed her that wife had polio as a child and feet were about a half size different, would this present a problem? She stated they handle this problem all the time with good results. Measured feet exactly as outlined in order form. Boots fit great wife is happy camper. Get a copy of an Orvis catalog and look at the Gorkey boot off the shelf or custom fit. Try to find a set of the French made Palladium desert boots. Cool light and tough as iron. Boots that do not fit can ruin a hunt almost as fast as monkey butt. Good luck.

all I can tell you guys is I have multiple pairs of Russell's they all fit like they are supposed to and I have never had anything but exemplary customer service. I can not recommend their product with anything but the highest degree of satisfaction.

Bobby B: Thanks for the info and the contact with Patty. I have contacted Russell Boot again and finally heard back from Ralph Fabricius, President of Russell Boot this morning. I will be sending my Thula-Thulas back for a new pair. Hopefully they'll be right this time. I'll report back when I get the new boots.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
I know they wouldn't do this as evidenced by their very respectful reply above, but if I was Russell Boot Co. I'd be sorely tempted to tell you to find another boot maker. You sound like a customer from hell to me.

Bingo.

BTW, Russells just don't fit me the way I'd like but I never wanted my money back.

But then Courteneys don't fit me either. Go figure.

I have three pairs of Russell's, and my father has two. We are Land Surveyors, and wear Russells for work 5-6 days a week, and the other pair is the PH Mbogo model, for hunting. My oldest pair is 5 years old, and ive had them re-soled. I have to say they are the most comfortable boots Ive ever owned (we,ve used just about everything) and the company has always been a pleasure to deal with. And, the Buffalo hide boots are damn near indestructable. Theyve been across the pond twice, and all over the US without a problem.I can recommend them without worry.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
I know they wouldn't do this as evidenced by their very respectful reply above, but if I was Russell Boot Co. I'd be sorely tempted to tell you to find another boot maker. You sound like a customer from hell to me.

Bingo.

BTW, Russells just don't fit me the way I'd like but I never wanted my money back.

But then Courteneys don't fit me either. Go figure.

You guys need to go back and read the comments on Russell boots on this forum before you are so judgemental. I don't own, nor am I planning on buying any Russell boots but I was left with the EXACT SAME impression Bobby was.

Would I spend a lot of money on boots everyone raved about? Probably. Would I buy Russell based on the mediocre reviews here? No way.

I think there is a name for someone that pays huge money for custom boots that are supposed to be the best money can buy that "just don't fit" and "good customer" isn't it.

I have never seen any brand of boot that everyone on here agreed was right for them. Same with most other products.

In this forum, one could say that most of us have disagreed to disagree.

quote:

Originally posted by analog_peninsula:
In this forum, one could say that most of us have disagreed to disagree.

i ordered a pair of boots from russel about 5 years ago. when they came in they didn't fit right (too loose) in the toe. contacted russel and they said to send them back and they'd fix them. Had them back in about 6 weeks and they just gave up the ghost about 3 months ago.

Great boots, great service and worth the money