great place for quirky shoes (Schuh)

Member Name: dogleggedhat

Product:	Schuh
Date:	28/03/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great variety of brands and styles, great customer service

Disadvantages: can be quite expensive

Schuh first opened in 1981 in Scotland and since then has become a fast growing and very successful shoe shop, selling shoes for both men and women, as well as some kids shoes. They are well known for offering something different from the usual generic shoes you can find on the high street, so if you are looking for something a little bit quirkier then its a great place to try.

They sell shoes from a whole host of different brands, including Rocket Dog, Kickers, Adidas, Nike, Puma, Converse, DCs, Irregular Choice, Fly. Doc Martin, Timberland and many more, including the shops own Schuh range.

They sell trainers, flats, boots, low heels, medium heels, skyscraper heels, uggs, sandals and all sorts, so it really does cater for a wide variety of people. In my nearest schuh store in Belfast they have the womens shoes on the ground floor and mens shoes on the top floor. the store isn't the biggest, and can get easily packed out, but the shoes are always arranged very clearly in little groups, sorted by their brand name, so if you want to see Irregular Choice shoes for example, they will be grouped together, rather than by shoe style (eg boots on one side of the shop, heels on the other, etc). Although they do try to keep similar styles of shoes together, so all the trainers will be together, and then separated into the individual brands. All the sections have their brand name above them, which I think is really handy because if you don't know the store well, you can just look for the name of the brand you're looking for, instead of looking at all the individual shoes.

I'm really impressed with the range of shoes that Schuh have to offer, although it is pretty expensive. Not necessarily more expensive than other stores selling similar shoes, its just that their stock is largely brand names, which would explain the higher price. They have good sales too, where a lot of the shoes in the sale are half price, so its often good to wait for those to get a bit of a bargain.

As well as offering a great selection of footwear for both men and women, the customer service here is great in my opinion. There are always staff around to ask for help, although often you won't need to ask, as they will come to you and offer assistance (although not in a really annoying way like other shops). I've gone in many times and been a complete pain in the neck and wanted to try on lots of different pairs, and any assistant I have had have been more than happy to go and find my size.

Once you have decided on the shoes you want, the assistant will leave them behind the till for you until you are ready to pay. I think that this is a really handy idea because it means if you are buying lots of pairs, you don't need to wander around with lots of boxes, so you can browse very easily.

Also, if they do not have your size in stock, they will order a pair in for you and you can pick them up instore, or they will deliver them to your house. My boyfriend has had to do this twice for me and he said that the service was excellent and the shoes arrived very quickly.

Schuh offer a student discount which is always handy (I think its ten percent, but it may be fifteen). As well as this they often do promotions where you can get £x amount of money off a pair of shoes before a certain date. In addition they sell gift vouchers, and whilst people are reluctant to purchase these in the current economic climate, they are a great gift idea for anyone mad on shoes.

You can also shop online at schuhstore.co.uk

Overall, I have to admit that I love Schuh. They always have lots of shoes I want and the store is nicely laid out and pretty cool. The service in my experience has always been great, and I know that even if the shoes are expensive, they are of high quality and will last for a long time.

Summary: highly recommended!