Village Shoe Boutique

Yikes, I am so sad to write this review as I had read all the previous reviews of this store and was excited to give them my business. However, unfortunately I just had the most UGLY interaction with the store owners. I purchased a pair of new Birkenstock sandals from this store on June 12th and paid $113. When I bought the shoes an older gentleman who told me he owned the store with his mother assisted me and the interaction was very pleasant. I tried on a couple of pairs and was happy with my purchase. I left a happy customer and actually told a couple of friends about the good service I had received and the great prices in the store. Over the next few weeks I wore the sandals and began to break them in. This process was as was expected. I didn’t do anything abnormal in the sandals, I wore them around normal day to day activities in the city. After around 2 weeks I started to notice that the sandals were starting to tear on the shoes. The exact same thing was happening on both shoes and I hadn’t got the shoes caught in something or anything like that which told me that this was probably a problem with the leather and the shoes were likely defective. I was disappointed about this as breaking the shoes in had been a fairly uncomfortable process, but whatever. I returned to Village Shoe Boutique today and the same man who had served me was in the store as well as his mother. I explained what had happened and they both told me that they had never seen this happen before. I acknowledged this and explained that it seemed like this pair were an odd defective pair, that I was very happy with the shoes apart from this fault, and would just like to exchange them for a replacement pair. When I said this they both became defensive, telling me to contact Birkenstock directly. I stated that I would prefer to exchange them at this store as this was where I had purchased them. They then offered to exchange them only if I paid an additional $50. I explained that I wasn’t willing to do this as the shoes were faulty and it should not be my responsibility to pay additional money because of this. They then became very hostile, and said that this wasn’t the fault of the shoe and that it was obvious that they had been “cut” by someone with a pair of scissors. I asked if they were serious and said that of course this was not what had happened. They said “yes you cut these, you can see, it’s obvious”. I then summarized what they were telling me - that they were accusing me of buying a pair of brand new shoes, spending time breaking them in, then deciding to cut them myself with a pair of scissors, and returning to the store to ask for an exchange for the same shoes. They said “maybe you didn’t cut them, but someone else cut them”. I said this was ridiculous. They both became increasingly hostile and told me to contact Birkenstock directly. The man began to give me the phone number and I explained that I would call Birkenstock while in the store so that the company could speak to me and the store owners who had sold me the shoes at the same time. When I said this, they told me to go online to find the number and to get out of the store. There were a couple in the store watching and listening to what was going on. I turned to them and recommended that they don’t purchase from the store and the woman told me to “shut up” and told the couple not to listen to me. The couple said I wasn’t bothering them and that I should be able to speak and say what I wanted. At this, the older lady store owner grabbed my arm and began to pull me to the front door. At this point they were screaming and yelling at me. I told her to get her hands off of me or I would call the police. I left the store and stood outside shaking. I am in disbelief at this whole interaction which was COMPLETE NONSENSE. I have contacted contacting Birkenstock directly. So sad to write this but I would not give this store your money. While they seemed super nice at first, the owners are actually really hostile. YIKES.

I prefer to walk in bare feet rather than buying anything from this rude guy. Trashy shooes and even worse behavior. If you are like me and you think giving a local business a chance is a good idea despite their bad reviews, I tell you what. Don't do it with this one

My daughter has described in her review about her dreadful experience in the store when she tried to exchange a defective pair of Birkentocks in the store. I saw the shoes that she purchased when I was visiting her this week and the leather is definitely defective. The treatment of her by the owners is outrageous and it is shocking that these owners seem to think it is acceptable to treat their customers in this manner .

Superb! I bought my birkenstocks here, and you will not find them for a better price! My only beef is that I wish they had funkier colours in. Great selection of dress shoes and New Balance supplier as well! Diane, the matriarch of her son's business served me and she is a character! Little gem, just west of Ossington Ave. on Bloor St. :D

Extremely disrespectful owners. They were incredibly pushy the whole time I was there. I tried on 3 different styles of birkenstocks along with my mother, and we were told to leave and never come back because we were "opening too many boxes". They dont have patience for cusomers, and want everyone to come in-and-out. I was absolutely flabbergasted when I was told to "never come back" because I wasnt doing anything disrespectful. Trying on different shoe styles is normal, especially for a shoe store. Do not give your business to Village Shoe Boutique. Being treated in such a disrespectful way is not worth the cheap birkenstock price.

I chose to go to this store with the intent to support a local, independent business. The guy acting as the owner will tell you what shoes to like, what shoes are best for you, how terribly wrong you are if in fact you don't want the shoes he suggested you to buy and so on. Your needs and wishes as a customer don't matter, because he knows what's best for you. Annoying experience is a severe understatement. I left and tried another store at St. Clair and Dufferin, and I am so glad I did.

I have been shopping here for over five years, and they have been absolutely terrific to me. The store owner was more than happy to take the time with my son to help him find the right shoe or boot. I can tell you right now, they sell authentic names, and their prices are very reasonable. I was allowed to do an exchange, which I ended up returning in a day. I would not hesitate to recommend Village Shoe Boutique.

I’ve only had good experiences here. Elliott is wonderful and his prices are great for what you buy! I highly recommend! I saw a previous post about him being rude. He’s incredibly nice and friendly. Also some previous post about the 860s being knock offs? That is false. I’ve bought NB before elsewhere and the shoes here are definitely not knock offs.