Like most Englishmen of style I have owned several pairs of Church’s shoes.  They are a rite of passage when one first starts work in the City, a good suit and a pair of Church’s black Oxfords are the necessary first purchase.

I have reached that stage where several good pairs of shoes, having seen ten or more years’ service, are starting to fade.  Still good, but not good enough for important meetings, negotiations with clients etc.  So I have been looking to buy shoes.  As I recently recounted, I bought a great pair of Walgraves in Grenson  two weeks ago and am looking to add to my collection.

So I was browsing the Church’s store in Canary Wharf.  My only recent contact with Church’s was in their Regent Street store, where I was very impressed with their service.  I watched as the staff helped a woman, for whom English was a second language, buy the right pair of shoes for her husband (who was not present).  It was obvious that the guy serving her really cared about getting it right for her and went to a great deal of trouble on her behalf.

In the Canary Wharf store one of the staff, Ian, was answering my questions about Church’s shoes.  In a few short minutes I learnt a great deal about Church’s shoes and the sixteen week process that takes each pair of shoes from raw leather to polished final product.  It was clear that Ian really knew his Church’s.  He also had good things to say about the competition (we were talking about Crockett and Jones English shoes).  It is always reassuring (though unfortunately rare) when a salesman can do this, it shows he knows his market and is confident of his product.

I was still browsing when a couple came into the store and Ian went to help them.  I want to try and keep this couple anonymous because basically I was eavesdropping on their conversation.  The man was mid-forties and wearing expensive casual clothes, including a very classy sweater that looked to be a silk/cashmere mix.  His wife was early forties, well dressed and extremely elegant.  He was European, though I will keep his nationality deliberately vague. 

The man told Ian that he was a long-time customer of Church’s and had many pairs of their shoes.  That, because of a foot problem he now had to wear insoles which made his shoes too tight and wanted to know which Church’s he could wear.  He (the customer) was very precise and knew a lot about Church’s shoes. 

Ian was able to tell him immediately which Church models he could wear, which fittings would be comfortable in which model, and even produced two shoe models in a wide “H” fitting which the man could also wear.  If I thought that his knowledge was good before, now it appeared encyclopaedic.  He was like a magician, producing shoes and styles that the man/customer could wear.

I really enjoyed watching this great piece of service in action and the customer was obviously pleased.  The punch-line is that Ian is a young guy, and it was inspiring to see a young man who was so proud of his product and of an English craft tradition.     

And that is why we buy from these great shoemakers like Church’s.  The shoes are beautiful and beautifully made and with care will last a very long time.  But it is the service, their willingness to find the shoe that really suits you, that makes buying these shoes such a special experience.  You know you have got the right shoe and that alone is worth the purchase.

Hats off to Church’s for their shoes and their service!

Details:

Church Shoes (Canary Wharf Branch)

Cabot Place East, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4QT

Phone 44 (0)20 7538 9730

Email: london.canarywharf@church-footwear.com  

Website: www.church-footwear.com