Swoon-Worthy: Neiman Marcus Shoe Salon

OK, OK, I know ... is this really a newsflash?  Of course Neiman Marcus has swoon-worthy and drool-worthy shoes, selling the likes of Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Gucci and my personal favorite, Manolo Blahnik.  But I had such a wonderful customer service experience at the King of Prussia Neiman Marcus Shoe Salon recently that I had to share.

I bought my first pair of Manolo Blahniks from the King of Prussia Neiman Marcus store about four years ago (they were a classic black pump). I wore them almost every day for four years, and they looked and felt beautiful.  I will tell you: I can justify the purchase because I loved them and if you do the math and divide the number of days I wore them by the total it isn't that expensive ... but more than that, the shoes were just the most amazing piece of workmanship I have ever worn. From the second I put them on my foot, they were comfortable and felt like butter.  Not kidding, not exaggerating ... butter.  That, my friends, is priceless.

In any event, my beloved first pair finally wore out and I replaced them last May.   So my new Manolos were pretty new.  I was wearing them a few weeks ago at work, and while standing up and talking to my boss in his office, we both heard a loud crack and I jolted backwards.  Yes, I was an urban legend come true: the heel broke off my shoe.

Cue the sad face and tragic music.  I was really upset!  The shoes weren't brand new, but they were less than a year old.  And of course I did not have a spare pair of shoes in my office.  I was going to take my lovelies to my favorite cobbler and hit up a shoe store near by, but I thought I'd try Neiman Marcus and see what they could do for me.  I happen to work about 10 minutes from the King of Prussia mall (danger) and figured I could stop in the store and get it taken care of.  I spoke with the manager of the shoe salon (Leslie) and her assistant and both were super kind and apologetic and told me to please come in and not to worry: they would help me.  So I hopped in my car and drove over there tout suite, wearing boots two sizes too big that my boss's daughter was kind enough to let me borrow.

When I arrived at Neiman, they had pulled a brand new pair of Manolos for me in my size and told me to please take them with their apologies.  They took my old broken ones and that was it.  I was floored.  I was totally expecting them to repair the shoes, but I did not think they would replace them.  They did mention that they could not guarantee a replacement if it happened again (which makes sense ...) but that they were always happy to help their customers.  And here is a shot of my brand new lovelies again.

I have to say, the shoes got me in the door, but the customer service will keep me coming back.  Thank you Neiman Marcus!

And hey, it's still the holiday season - do you have any warm fuzzy stories of excellent customer service? I'd love to hear.

See you swoon,

(I should mention that neither Neiman Marcus nor Manolo Blahnik have paid or comped me for this post ... but holy smokes, they are welcome to do so if they would like!)