As I sit with my leg elevated unable to
walk due to training in Vivo Shoes 3 times I will try and help you decide and
hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes I did.
I bought a pair of Vivo’s from their
concept store in Cape Town and while chatting to the owner I told him that I
had an existing knee problem and trained with a knee brace and although I had
not had any problems in the past 6 months I was not sure his shoes where for
me.
His response was to tell me he had no
kneecap and that they were fine for him and that actually Vivo’s are good for
people with bad knees as they help you run in a more natural way.
I went on to tell him I don’t actually run
as such but rather need them to do a cross fitness class www.britmilfit.co.za and he suggested
their trail running shoes with extra grip.
Excited at the prospect at training in my
new cool shoes I went home and slipped them on. Unfortunately I did not read
the inside of the box lid but then again who would? which explains that you
need to run further forward on your foot and not heel strike.
I trained 3 times in the shoes and as
expected they hurt a little (as I was probably heel striking sometimes) but had
no bad affect on my knee so I have to say I was impressed with the shoes.
After 15 mins of my 4th training
session my knee buckled under me, which leaves me in this position of being on
crutches in need of a knee operation.
The following morning I went to my first
physio appointment for simply an opinion and a pair of crutches. I was told I
wasn’t the first person they had treated who had injured themselves while
training in bare foot running shoes.
On my return to my couch I sent the South
African company an email simply informing them of what had happened and
pointing out that maybe the sales staff at their concept store needs to change
their sales pitch.
I had a quick response from the Director
who pointed out (I quote) Our shoes are not “magic
bullets” and without the correct form change and conditioning you can get
injured.
I responded to this email asking why I was
never told this before I purchased the shoes and never received a response.
I received a similar but different response
from the person who handles there Social Media which is even more damming as I
have never blamed the product but rather questioned the way it was sold.
You cannot
blame the manufactures just because you fail to adopt the correct form. PRR =
Posture Rhythm Relax....if you buy a rocket don't you first learn how to fly it
before you actually attempt it....this is not a magic bullet...
I am not sure
what flying a rocket has in common with running and shoes but they obviously
consider that to use their product requires certain skills to avoid injury and
for some reason find it necessary to defend them selves when questioned.
I called the
concept store to try and speak to the person who found it highly amusing to
deal with a client in pain by comparing running in their shoes to flying a
rocket and I was told the person I need to speak to was the owner and he had
left already.
Feeling I
needed to vent some anger I Googled the company director in South Africa and
left a message. He returned my call but it sadly went to voice mail but his
message was again defending and the tone used can only be described as
threatening.
He said I was
welcome to call him anytime to discuss the issue I was making into an issue
with myself and if I continue to post things on Facebook they have procedures
they will follow which sounded a bit disconcerting. Sadly when I called him
back he turned his phone off and never returned my call.
In comparison
I posted the same posts on the Vivo Bare Foot UK page and they responded with
many links to info and YouTube videos on how to run in their shoes instead of
simply defending their product and threatening me.
The question
remains, why wasn’t I given this info before or when I purchased the shoes?
The following
day (day 3 without being able to walk) I received a call from the owner of the
concept store who sold me the shoes.
After a long
conversation and going backwards and forward over the same things and of him
using a comparison of driving a car and crashing it to running in their shoes.
I finally asked
him a direct question! Did he admit he didn’t give me all the info on his shoes
before I bought them or did he warn me in any way that they could cause injury
if not used properly and he response was “no he had not given me the required
information.”
As you can
imagine I then asked him how he would therefore compensate me as he admitted
his fault, his response was “sorry we don’t do that”
On my return
home I checked their FB page to find my comment had been deleted from both The
Concept Store page and their SA FaceBook page!
Still angry
about the treatment I had received I sent them a tweet to ask why my message
had been deleted and they told me my comment had been deleted because I was “ talking
nonsense”.
My deleted
posts are below. Which I believe is factual, in no way rude and simply warning
any future customers of the dangers of running in their shoes as the SA Concept
Store DON’T!
Word Of Warning!
Make sure vivo shoes are for you as after wearing them 3 times I am on
crutches, in a lot of pain and having an MRI tomorrow as I have a suspected
torn cartilage! Vivo compare running in their shoes as like flying a rocket or
driving a car all require skill and if not done properly can cause injury if
you are not trained. Only after my injury was I given any links or info on how
to run in Vivo Shoes which is a little too late as I will now spend thousands
of Rands on medical bills plus spend weeks/months not being able to walk never
mind run! I am in no way blaming Vivo Shoes entirely but rather blaming their
sales staff for not informing me properly before I bought their product! I had
an existing knee problem and even told the staff about it saying I was not sure
there shoes where for me and they offered me NO training or advice but rather
said there product will help. I have contacted the store today and they have
acknowledged there mistake and apologized but not offered any compensation or
even a refund on the shoes as an act of good will which have been worn only 3
times WARNING! BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN BUYING THIS PRODUCT! AS THEY ONLY INFORM
YOU AFTERWARDS THAT (AND I QUOTE THEIR DIRECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA) “without the
correct form change and conditioning you can get injured”.
This post is still live on the UK FB page and one person has commented
that he had similar issues and VIVO deleted his post and another advising me to
only wear them for 30mins a day for the first week to get use to them… again
advice the Cape Town Concept Store could have given me.
Below is a list of the tweets I received from @vivobarefoot which can
only be described as rude, defending and showing a total disregard for customer
services as I have never blamed their shoes but rather the lack of information
I was given before I purchased them.
There understanding of Social Media and how to deal with customers can
only be described as an embarrassment to their brand
This blog post is no way
meant as a damming attack on a product or a brand as I in no way do I blame the
product but rather the way it was sold to me as I now know so much info exists
on barefoot running but sadly….
The owner of the Cape Town
Concept Store seems more interested in selling his shoes rather than giving all
the info required which is similar to flying a rocket.
The SA Director is more interested
in threatening people about making constructive comments via Social Media.
The Social Media Manager is
more interested in defending a product that isn’t being criticised and arguing
with a customer showing a complete lack of understanding of good customer
service.
Quote Vivo Bare Foot UK
We are passionate
about making shoes that are good for you and also about educating everyone on
the importance of skilful movement and therefore the benefits of natural human
movement.
Sadly
your South African representatives are not.
Please
make sure you have all the info on the barefoot running before you attempt it
or learn to fly a ROCKET :)
