For the first few years of my running career, I did most of my shoe-shopping at a big-box sporting goods store. It was close to my house, so mom could drive me, and it was fairly inexpensive. And in the pre-Google days, there wasn't really a good way to find out about specialty running stores.
The clerks in these big-box stores were helpful, in that they'd size me and get a pair I needed from the back room. But in terms of actual guidance, I didn't receive any help. No questions were asked about the kind of running I did, or the distance I was putting on my feet every week. I had to research that myself, and that's a pain in the neck.
As you might recall, I hate shoe-shopping. It's a necessary evil, but whatever, I'll do it because who wants to run in raggedy old shoes?
But one day when I was in college - and still on the cross-country team - a friend of mine took me to Peoria for a shopping trip. One of our stops was this running store seemingly plopped down in the middle of a street filled with gas stations and pizza places. Outside, a mural of runners was painted on the wall; inside, the small store was crammed with shoes, racing bibs, and all kinds of running gear I'd never seen before. I felt like the mothership had called me home, because here I could get stuff to beat blisters and find running pouches. I could geek out with the best of them about training and running in the rain. In a word, it was awesome.
What really struck me was how knowledgeable and excited the staff were about running. Like, really, really excited. They couldn't get products fast enough for me to try on - "Here, put on this shoe and see how it feels. Now, try out this pair." It's a mark of great salesmanship, but it's also refreshing to shop with someone who acts like they actually want to help you out. In a chain store, I've found the staff usually just grunts a reply; if you so much as ask to try on another pair, they act like you just requested a kidney.
From that experience, I've tried to frequent more indie stores in favor of chains (and not just for running shoes, either). My budget tends to lead me to the generic department stores, but if I can, I'll head to the smaller stores and get something special.
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