Living a barefoot lifestyle.....

  • Thread starter Humboldt-explorer
  • Start date
Humboldt-explorer

Humboldt-explorer said:
Recently I had a customer complain to a store employee that I was BF.



Did the employee tell you the customer complained or did you actually hear the customer complain?

It is one of the most common lies from clerks/managers to claim that a customer complained.

I always challenge that claim, and so far nobody has been able to produce the upset customer!

I usually follow through with: "A customer complained? Why don't you just do your job by telling the customer to mind their own business?"

Typically the clerk/manager responds by defending their role in bowing to the other customer's wishes, to which I reply:

" And if a racist customer complains that there is an African American shopping in the store at the same time as him which makes him uncomfortable you will also follow through and abide by his wishes? Now please leave me alone and let me finish my shopping(or meal if in a restaurant)."

Works everytime, YOU the customer must take control of the situation, and unless it is an owner usually it will work.

When it fails with a manager of a corporate store, they pay the price in the form of a reprimand after I contact the REAL bosses.
 
barefoot.zumba.runner

barefoot.zumba.runner said:
I hear your frustration Humbolt. Thankfully with the barefoot movement in full swing, there's a multitude of bare minimal shoe options to get you through situations when barefoot isn't an option. AND thanks to the Society for Barefoot Living, there's a great resource out there regarding your rights at a barefooter. I enjoy driving barefoot, and rest assured in the knowledge that it's actually legal in the state of MN, albeit not recommended.

Well that is the thing. I don't like the min shoes on the market. I have to tolerate the ones I own for work. Their should be no need to have to wear them in a store. In fact probably the best footwear I own is what I made myself. I understand my rights, but property owners have rights as well. I just have found my own tricks to bypass these silly store policies. Luckilly the pesky stores are super limited. So often I can ignore the policy with trickery, or go in store during off hours when I know certain people won't be working that would bother me. I much prefer to feel what I walk on. Sometimes though I will wear my homemade sandals. They are comfortable, and frankly they are fun to wear since I made them, but only wear at times they are really needed.......
 
my running huarachesa pair

my running huaraches

a pair of leather huaraches I made to dress it up a little

Soft Star Shoes

old leather moccasins, but even they feel restrictive after going without shoes.

I had to spend this entire week at a conference in Orlando, which meant dressing up. The first day I rolled out the high heal pumps, looked great, but wanted to crawl to the bathroom instead of walking in those instruments of torture.

The second day I slapped on my soft star shoes - it wasn't pretty but my feet actually liked me at the end of the day. As consolation to having to smile at tax professionals all day long, I brought my golf ball and piece of 1/2 inch PVC pipe to roll my feet on all day behind the booth table.

Going barefoot had changed my perspective on life. As a Buddhist, walking barefoot is like being mindful all the time. I'm grateful to my body for hanging in there for all those years I didn't allow it to travel on the ground naturally and I'm even more thankful that with a little conditioning and care, it now lets me run.
 
I go barefoot as often as

I go barefoot as often as possible. I attend classes barefoot most of the time. A few times I've been asked about it, but I usually just respond that I enjoy not wearing shoes. I ride a motorcycle, so I have to wear shoes while riding. Well, I don't have to, but just in case something happens, I'd like to have a little bit of protection. My job requires safety boots so I have to wear those heavy and uncomfortable things all the time. I go into stores barefoot every so often. My partner doesn't really enjoy that I do, but oh well...he'll get over it eventually...or not. :bigsmile:
 
Ugh. Today I was talked to by

Ugh. Today I was talked to by first a grocery store checkout lady, then a security guard at Target who looked ready to escort me out. In the first case, she was rather nice & it was a non-confrontation. In the second case, I was offended but luckily I had a pair of water shoes in my purse. I'm pretty sure a Target customer complained about me to the security guard.

Frankly, I feel like an African American of the 1960s who has been told (twice in one day) to drink at the other drinking fountain.

Oh Dr. Howell...people cannot learn fast enough :(
 
I thought Target was one of

I thought Target was one of the stores who don't have a barefoot policy. Board would know. Maybe he'll read this and tell us.
 
Well, we are at the whim of

Well, we are at the whim of society, methinks. A nosey customer will trump an uncaring employee any day. And there are so many uncaring employees at every business I visit (which is good!!!)

Today just wasn't my day.

I will continue going barefoot in both places & more, as I think it was more of a personal concern for those who criticized me today instead of a store policy/manager issue. Just kind of put a unnecessary obstacle in my day, that's all. I wish somepeople would get the bee out of their bonnet if you know what I mean. :puzzled:
 
I have a line saved for the

I have a line saved for the next rude person i come across. It's an extremely rude reply though so i may have to test it out on a friend who knows my sense of humor.



Warning. You may find this NSFW.



ok, my reply to someone being rude or obnoxious. "hey, next time you go to the bathroom, don't wipe around it, pull that stick out."



Of course guys will have to gauge if the other guy will want to fight after hearing that. I have yet to say it.



Cheers,



Mike
 
Barefoot TJ wrote:I thought

Barefoot TJ said:
I thought Target was one of the stores who don't have a barefoot policy. Board would know. Maybe he'll read this and tell us.



I have never been tossed at Target, and neither has my wife. I don't recall reading many Target complaints in the SBL list, so maybe they have no rule and a higher caliber staff that knows better than to chase away customers.

Remember, Walmart has no rule at the corporate level either, but allows individual managers to set a shoe rule at their own discretion. They never do until some idiot low level associate (usually a loss prevention person or assistant manager) feels the need to confront a barefoot shopper in order to flex their authoritative power.
 
When an associate tries to

When an associate tries to tell me I need shoes at first I completely ignore them, like I didn't hear them, this actually works pretty well. If they keep persisting then I tell them to get a manager and if they tell me to leave I will. Since I have been doing this I have only had one manager ever come tell me to leave and it was at Wally's world (I have also not shopped there since). It's rare a store manager will stick up for their employee to offend a customer. Most of the store managers I know want to stay away from confrontation if they can, especially if there is no reason for it. And if you get to know the store manager it helps even more.

Also, just to be truthful, I'm not allowed to go barefoot in stores with my wife :D
 
I go barefoot as often as

I go barefoot as often as possible buring the warmer months. I'm lucky at work i can often get by with just my Teva's or keen Sandals but on days I have to drive or work the warehouse it's closed toe mandatory. And barefoot is a no no, not viewed as professional.

At home it's barefoot as soon as warm enough. Ihavee bad circulation so in cold weather it has to be slippers, even inside .

As an aside, My wife walked our daughter to shcool barefoot the other day. Was a rare warm-ish spring day in New England. our 5 yr old was loving it, carrying her sneakers and skipping along barefoot with mom.

But when they got to school other moms started making comments, kids were pointing and laughing.. it really upset my daughter and got my wife's blood boiling. It's amazing that such a simple and natural thing can be so baffling.
 
Ooooh Wideguy that's such a

Ooooh Wideguy that's such a sad story! Hope your kid is doing well & still enjoying the feel of barefoot, despite what people say.

It is weird the amount of attention paid to someone who is barefoot in public. I feel like an alien creature. It's also weird when you meet someone who actually thinks feet are gross or insists on not seeing your feet. Strange strange times.

Yeah, since my little incident I've been to Kmart once & Target twice. It was only the customer. A one-off occasion. So often I see employees walk right by me without them taking a second glance my way.
 
Yeah we explained that some

Yeah we explained that some people are just rude and stupid and that bare feet was fun! Typical 5 yr old she bounced back pretty quick. And my wife made a point of speaking very loudly the next time that she "ENJOYED walking barefoot and it was no one elses business "
 
As I'm not a BF tribesman I

As I'm not a BF tribesman I don'tread over here very often. I thought I'd share, though, something I saw in front of the Art Museum in Philly yesterday. It was a whole troop of BF monks ambulating down the sidewalk. Beards, shaved heads, brown robes - the works. I know they were BF and not sandaled because I saw their souls.
 
Well conveyed JosephTree. . .

Well conveyed JosephTree. . . thanks for the visual. For those of you who also eschew shoes, here's an idea. I made my own huaraches from leather I bought from Tandy leather. All you need is a utility knife. I kept the tracing I made for my DIY invisible shoe huaraches and used it for the leather version. rawhide laces were a little tough on my feet, so I bought some white poly utility rope (just like invisible shoe's) at the hardware store and dyed it with black tea (four bags in a cup or cup and a half of boiling water did the job). They work well when I can't go BF and look good with jeans, shorts, whatever. There are some places that I just don't want to go without something on my feet and other people's gum doesn't count!
 
That sucks, WG.  You outta

That sucks, WG. You outta get your wife and daughter a tee shirt with the sole of a bare foot and a smiley face on the foot, so they can wear that to school next time. ;-) Oh, and add that one saying one of the BRS members came up with: "Don't Worry. Feet Happy."
 
I went to both Bristol Motor

I went to both Bristol Motor Speedway races this weekend barefoot. I think I was the only barefoot guy there haha! I never had a single issue with anyone. No shoes no problem. I did have this old lady that is a greeter at WalMart give me a hard time for being barefoot. I informed her I already spoke to the store manager and it was ok. I gave her name and extension. She acted like she got mad because I didn't let her use her power trip on me. But f***k em. It's my personal preference and it's an invasion on my own lifestyle!!
 
Barefoot TJ wrote:That sucks,

Barefoot TJ said:
That sucks, WG. You outta get your wife and daughter a tee shirt with the sole of a bare foot and a smiley face on the foot, so they can wear that to school next time. ;-) Oh, and add that one saying one of the BRS members came up with: "Don't Worry. Feet Happy."



I love that idea! Cafepress here I come!