I started playing tennis in August 1997. I was newly separated and money was tight. I was playing tennis almost every day, so I needed a pair of shoes that would stand up to hard wear. I made the mistake of buying my first tennis shoes at Payless, the discount shoe store. I should have known that if you “Payless”, you get “less”.

By June 2000 I was now ready for a proper pair of tennis shoes. I looked around. A guy I knew owned a sporting goods store at my local mall. I went in and spoke to him and we settled on a pair of New Balance tennis shoes. Not only were they on sale, but they also had a unique warranty. New Balance guaranteed that if I was not satisfied, in any way with the shoes, they would replace them for free. I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking, “That’s impossible, it’s open to abuse, they’ll go bust”. Pretty much what I was thinking, but what the “hey”, worth a shot.

At that time I wasn’t playing tennis in the winter, so when the courts reopened in April 2001, I was ready and eager to play. By July my shoes were looking quite rough.

In July I went to London, England to visit my relatives. I brought my tennis equipment because my cousins, Stanley and David, were regular tennis players and said they wanted to play a set with me. Stanley was 15 years older than me and had been playing for decades.

I played with Stanley and it was a close match.  I played with David and he killed me. Oh well!

When I got home to Toronto, I realized that I had left my tennis shoes in London. I called my cousin Audrey, whose house I was staying at. She found the shoes and mailed them back to me. I got them back in 4 days. I can’t send mail across Toronto and expect the letter to be delivered in a week, let alone 4 days.

I took the badly worn shoes back to the store and told the owner that I wasn’t satisfied and as per the warranty, I wanted a new pair of shoes. Now the “fun” begins. How many hurdles and hoops will I need to jump through to get satisfaction?

First, I must send the shoes back to the manufacturer, as the warranty instructs. The address is on the warranty card which I had kept along with the original box.

As instructed, I sent the shoes back to the manufacturer in New England. I sent them registered, which included $100 insurance. I am not the most organized person, but I made sure I kept all my shoe receipts and mailing info in one place.

In the meantime, I had to buy another pair of tennis shoes, so I bought the exact same pair.

About 3 weeks later I had heard nothing from New Balance. I called them in New England and after being transferred all over the place, I was informed that they couldn’t find my shoes and that anyway, I was supposed to have sent them to their office in Mississauga, about 30 minutes from where I lived. “How would I know that?”, I asked, “there’s nothing in the warranty about sending them to Mississauga”, I protested. Shoes from the UK, 4 days; shoes to the U.S lost. The British Royal Mail wins again.

The shoes were nowhere to be found and it was suggested that I call their Canadian office.

Now I must speak to the Mississauga office and see if they can locate my shoes.

I called the local office and after a few days, they called back and told me that the shoes could not be traced. It was suggested that I contact Canada Post and let them trace the shoes.

I called Canada Post, gave them all the information needed and waited to hear back. Was I happy that I kept the receipts handy.

After about a week I got a call from Canada Post to tell me that the shoes were well and truly lost and that, not only would they refund my cost of postage and the $100 insurance, but they would also give me $50 in addition.

All rightee then. In effect, I have a new pair of shoes for free. The warranty worked. Not quite the way it was supposed to, but better than I was beginning to expect.

Now here’s the crazy part, the moment of Zen. About a week later I get a call from the New Balance store in the mall. They phoned to inform me that since my shoes were lost, they would replace them…. for free. So now I have two pairs of shoes with two warranties. I could be in free shoes for life. I’m on a roll. I managed to get a couple more pairs of shoes for free via the warranty, before they changed the warranty and computerized everything. Oh well, I had a good run for my money, or should I say their money.

I still wear New Balance and while I no longer get free shoes, I do get great service.