Bradshaw’s Children Shoes

I wouldn’t recommend going on a busy weekend but during the week it’s great. Unlike Stride Rite they take their time and care about correct sizing and fit. Plus, I’d rather support a small business. They do sell Stride Rite brand shoes, along with others.

Went back to school shopping this past weekend and had an excellent experience. We got two pairs, one was even on sale. The store is small, but they had all the shoes we were interested in with the sizes we needed. Free parking in the rear, really a great shoe store for your little ones. Oh and we got free stickers!

Don’t even bother getting out of your car. There are no shoes. Staff are a joke. Keep on driving by– do yourself the favor.

I want to share the details of a bad experience I had today at Bradshaws Children’s Shoes. For a couple of years I have been aware of the high volume of negative reviews the store has received on a variety of different listservs to which I subscribe. Never the less, and in spite of the some occasionally snippy service, I continued to patronize the place because I want to support local small businesses.
Today, however, the behavior of both the staff and the owner rose to a level of unprofessional rudeness that will cause me to never shop there again. I have been a regular costume there for years and have purchased a lot of shoes for my three children. Two weeks ago I purchased a pair of winter boots for my 6 year old. My son tried the shoes on in the store, but had not worn them since. This morning he went to put the shoes on for the first time since buying them and the shoes hurt his feet, he complained they were too tight around his toes. Accordingly, I took the brand new, never been worn shoes, which still had their price tag stickers on the bottom, back to Bradshaws. I was not seeking a refund, but rather was asking to exchange the boots for a different brand of winter boots that would fit my son’s feet better and not cause him pain.
Bradshaw refused to do an exchange because I didn’t have the box. In the course of refusing to entertain any discussion of allowing me to exchange the boots for a pair that didn’t hurt my son’s feet, the sales woman insulted my son by saying «he should have known they hurt him when he tried them on». She followed that up by pointing to two other older children in the store and saying «they’re capable of trying on shoes, why can’t he?». She said this is a sneering tone in front of my 6 year old son who was embarrassed and hurt by what she said. I asked her if she was attacking my six year old son because he was unable to determine if the boots hurt him during the brief period he tried them on in the store. She again sneered at me and dismissed me with a «whatever». I then asked to talk to the owner. The owner then came out, and before saying a word to me, she stuck a sign in front of me that said no returns without a box. I might not have been angry if she had taken the time to discuss the policy with me in an adult fashion, but after the way the sales person sneered at me and my son, sticking a sign in my face struck me as being incredibly unprofessional. At that point, I realized that any further dealings with them were completely pointless and I took my son, the brand new boots and left.
It’s been my experience, in order to compete with big chain and box stores that can offer cut rate pricing, a well run, small business differentiates itself by offering excellent customer service. As Bradshaws combines the poor customer service of those large stores, with the higher prices of a boutique business, I see no reason to ever buy anything from there again. In truth, a big chain, like Nordstroms, offers far superior customer service and return polices.
I am not one to write negative reviews and take shots at people who are trying to make a living, but the way they treated me, and more importantly, how they embarrassed my son, was completely inexcusable and unacceptable.

Great service, friendly atmosphere, and they’re honest about your child’s needs — I’ve never felt they were overselling or being pushy.

This is a small store and I can imagine it’s claustrophobic when it’s busy. However, we got there on a Friday night and it was very quiet. The salesperson was friendly and accommodating. They didn’t have a terrific assortment but we found a good pair of shoes for DD and left the store happy. The prices were lower than on the internet for Stride Rite. (The base price was the same but they had a 3 dollar off special offer). We’ll be going back.

I try to support local stores, and although the place is small, they have a decent selection of high quality kids shoes. I can get around the fact that the prices are a little more than if I took a drive, considering it is convenient to my home and I don’t spend extra money on gas. They also have a frequent purchase program, giving you a free pair of shoes after 10 or so purchases. The sales associates are pleasant and helpful. So why only give it 2 stars you ask? I can only assume that the reviews below discussing pushy or angry sales folks are referring to one person– the owner who is THE reason we don’t do most of our shoe shopping here. Customer service is the most important aspect of a «me too» type of business, and when she is involved with the front of the store, its an uncomfortable experience to put it mildly. Judging by her non-​verbal communication, she would rather be doing something else, and she would rather you just come in, buy something, and leave. I don’t know how the employees pull off being so friendly but they really are. I would give this place 3, maybe close to 4 stars if they ran the show.

Been shopping here for over three years and have been happy with the shoe and sock/​tights selection. We’ve spent enough money since September, to fill up (14 purchases) the «savings card». Tried to use my $ 36 credit and a $ 10 coupon together and was denied by the owner. Deborah, the kind associate, informed the owner that I was a very good customer, but the owner could have cared less. I guess the owner doesn’t realize I have other options to shop! Today was my last visit to Bradshaws. I can’t support a business like this; penny pinching over $ 10 when I just dropped $ 200 in your store this week is just gross.
*Deborah and Jane (sales associates) are super friendly. Too good for this place (in my opinion).

Yes, it’s a small space. No, it’s not the cheapest. And somehow it seems to be staffed with people who are not really «kid-​people» (not horrible either… just not the amazingly kid-​friendly people that you would think would gravitate toward a children’s shoe store).
But… my kids’ shoes always fit them well and they never complain until the shoes are outgrown. And the shoe store keeps track of my three kids’ shoe sizes, so that I know what size their newly uncomfortable shoes are even if the tag is worn beyond legibility. And there’s enough inventory for my kids to pick something they like (and not complain later), without having so much inventory that we have to spend 30 minutes looking through it all.
The few times I have tried to order my kids’ shoes online (e.g., zappos), it has been a waste of money. We always find ourselves back at Bradshaw’s…

I used to purchase shoes here for my sons because it is so close to our house, but stopped going there after a few of unpleasant experience.
One time, I wanted to get a pair of tennis shoes for my son, who needs wide shoes. He ended up liking a pair of «cool» shoes that did not fit him well. This one sales lady was really pushing for us to purchase the shoes. Then another time, I purchased a pair of shoes then later decided to return it. The same person gave me a hard time (really questioned why I wanted to return the shoes) during the return process. After that, I stopped buying shoes there.
My son needs to have additional arch support for his tennis shoes. I couldn’t find another store in the area that provide the service, so I purchased the shoes at the New Balance store and brought them there. When I asked when the shoes will be ready, the same lady was really snappish and said that she doesn’t know the guy’s schedule — «How should I know?» type of attitude. When I actually got the shoes, I noticed the arch support was really high. It was uncomfortable to wear the shoes. When I called the store and asked them about it, I was told (by the same mean lady) that they will get more comfortable as he wears them. When I told her that the arch support was just too big to be comfortable. She then said that I should have brought my son there for measurement. I was shocked and upset that they did not inform me that when I brought the shoes over.
The whole experience was really unpleasant. I suspect the lady that encountered several times in the past years might be the owner or manager. I will not go to the store again.
If your child needs to have extra arch support in their shoes, go to Shoe Train at Bethesda, MD. They have wonderful service and really knowledge staff.

This shoe store is extremely cluttered, loud, and difficult to maneuver. They did a good job of measuring my twin boys’ feet, but when we went to pick shoes, they had a slim selection. The worst part is that when I went to pay, they gave me a price higher than that posted on the shoe … and then blamed «someone else» for putting the wrong price on the shoe! I walked out — after getting over all of the other frustrations of trying to pick shoes in this store, I was appalled that they wouldn’t honor the price posted on the shoe. Grrrr.