Read this rude letter Nike sent me.........

If you would have sent me your smelly shoes with over 100 miles on them I would have told you to shove them up your ass.

Well, the best thing to do is to no longer buy Nike Shoes.

I think it is good that you posted the letter.

Did you receive shoes for the 2 you sent in? or did they send them back to you?

You sure these are the only two pairs of shoes you tried to send back?

If that's the case, it would SEEM that Nike is in the wrong on this one. That said, we've only heard your side of the story. I'd hate to jump to conclusions based only on your version.

I've never had trouble with Nike as a company (receiving rude letters, etc) before, but I have had trouble with their running shoes. Back in High school and early college I wore them exclusively and they never lasted long. I wasn't even a distance runner (hurdler). I was instructed by my college athletic trainer to switch brands and now exclusively wear Mizuno (Waveriders)....love them! You should give them a go.

Good luck with the switch.

www.performancerunner.com

Nike has never been known for durable shoes, you're paying for style not substance.

Yes I am sure that I have only sent in two pairs, and they sent me a voucher for each of them which I have not even used. I think its because I live with other runners and they have sent in shoes a few times, but none of us have abused it. It must be like an address thing but thats really dumb, and I don't see why they would just send me a letter and no one else. and no, I am not changing any parts of the story, there were only two pairs of shoes every in my entire life. One was ordered off of eastbay and the other was bought at Champs sports in another city from where I live.

Buy Mizunos

Warn them that you have posted on LetsRun.com regarding this issue and that they will soon be faced with plummetting sales if they do not rescind their statements and voucher ban.

If that doesn't work, call Alberto...I understand that he's got connections at Nike.

Good luck.

So the mystery is solved. They have received numerous such mailings from your address and they think it's all one person attempting to cash in. Right or wrong, it's hard to blame them really. It sure looks suspicious having that many "defective" claims come from one single address.

At least you got the vouchers.

That being said, they should have waited to send you the email once you had another problem.

Even then, they should never say that you cannot use their customer service ever again.

That is just strange.

Maybe it does have to do with tracking the address, who knows. I could understand if you (meaning your address) show up on their computer as having returned 12 pairs of shoes in the last 2 years or something... Maybe that is the case.

Well my roommate has returned about 4 pairs and I have returned 2, all of them had popped air bubbles. there shouldn't be a limit of how many defective pairs of shitty Nikes someone sends in, if thats the case maybe Nike should concentrate on making running shoes that actually hold up like mizunos, asics, and new balance shoes.

they can track customers by address. basically, your roomates screwed you on this one. they think you're changing your name to get additional shoes replaced. you wouldn't believe the crap people try to pull for free shoes. they'll send in a pair that's 10 years old and say it didn't live up to expectations! you could always have the voucher sent elsewhere if you're desperate. In my opinion, however, if you have that many defective Nike products coming from the same household, maybe its time to buy something else as the others have noted above.

The thing is, while you have been "wronged" - I use that term loosely, in this specific situation Nike is doing the right thing. You should be upset because they make shitty shoes not because customer service isn't catering to your needs. You'd be amazed how often a return program like that is abused. I used to work at Dicks and we'd have someone new come in basically every day and try and turn in shoes that were over 3 months old and had clearly been worn a ton. And it wasn't uncommon for people to try and return shoes that were over a year old, because the shoes should last longer than that. Everyone feels like they either shouldn't have to pay full price, or that if the buy something then they have the right to return in whenever they want for whatever reason they want. At some point, a company has to draw the line. Nike can't just keep sending you and your friends shoes indefinitely - they wouldn't make any money that way. And 6 pairs of shoes from one house is absurd. Whether it's due to faulty workmanship or not is another issue, but stop whining that you weren't treated like a king and just go with another brand.

Well I have pretty much switched to other brands for the most part, but we get a lot of nike shoes because we get nike shoes through the college I run for. I understand what has happened, but I think if there are shoes that are clearly defective, like popped air bubble, they should replace them like they said they would. These are all newer models, plus age really shouldnt matter because doesn't nike have a lifetime guarantee on it? Thats what the guy at my running store told me when I was buying a pair of nikes a couple years ago.

It seems there's some history there which you're not sharing with us. Or maybe it's a case of mistaken identity but we all know there are people who abuse return and exchange policies.

That said, Nike is certainly not a shining example of good customer service - nor of good quality. I have a Nike running watch - expensive one, $110 - where the rubber wrist strap broke after roughly one year of normal use. No exposure to salt water or chemicals or extreme temperatures, it's just flimsy construction where the strap attaches to the case.

I had bought it at the Boston Marathon expo and not kept the receipt, but I wasn't gonna travel 3000 miles to Boston to take it to whatever store it was from anyway, so I just took it to Niketown in SF and stated very plainly that yes, it was just past 12 months but I expect longer use from a $110 running watch and I expected them to take responsibility for what I consider a manufacturing defect. Exchange or repair, their choice. I was not asking for a refund.

They plainly refused to even look at the watch because it wasn't from their store. They gave me the following address to send it to:

Nike V.T.T.

c/o Parsec Enterprise, Inc.

7501 N. Harker Dr.

Peoria, IL 61650

But I was informed that if I couldn't include proof of purchase I would probably not even get a reply.

WTF??? I have the watch, don't I? That's proof of purchase right there. They can obviously tell that it's a 2005 product, that the MSRP was $110 and that it's not some old thing I've had for 10 years. Are they worried I picked it out of a dumpster and didn't pay for it?

Any half-decent company with an ounce of consideration for their customers knows that when you put your logo on a product you take responsibility for it. What kind of brand is Nike? It's hardly trying to be a cheap commodity brand, so they need to shape the f*** up and deliver the service people pay for.

But they don't, so it's up to us to vote with our wallets. Btw, I did send the watch to that address at the end of May and now, 3 months later, I have heard jack-squat. Black hole.

f*** Nike or get f***ed by Nike. Your choice.

Lifetime guarantee???? If they do, they're morons. Running shoes are made from the same carbon materials that most products are...and they biodegrade over time! Never "store" a running shoe for more than a year in your closet, and if you do, don't complain when it breaks down.

Of course shoes don't have a lifetime guarentee.

However, before bashing too much, remember that for a seriousish runner, 100 miles on a pair of shoes is only a week and a half of running. I expect my shoes to last longer than that.

Man, Im no fan of Nike, but you are out to lunch. No store, no company, no one would give you what you were asking based on your story. dont have a receipt, from a different store, and a year old????????? Wow, try that at any store with any product and see what happens.

Nike has had to limit the number of returns because of the serious abuse of the system. Air bubbles pop EVERY time if you wear them long enough. I haven't had a pair yet that hasn't. There's no lifetime guarantee. Sooner or later it will fail. The problem is that people have a flawed conception of how long a reasonable time period is to have owned and worn something.

If the sole delaminates after three weeks because of a bad glue, that's a defect. Return it.

If the upper wears through after you ran two-a-days for two months, its cooked. Buy another pair. Maybe try a different brand that may last longer.

If you've had the shoe for more than 6 months, its yours regardless of what you did or didn't do in it.

Don't stockpile shoes in the closet. They will not hold up.

I'm all for companies upping the manufacturing standards of their products. Returning the shoes continually just makes it worse, though. Buy a different brand. When sales decline, they'll quickly figure it out.