Where's the green shoelaces?!

Look closely and you'll notice green laces on the shoe. See 'em? 

How can green shoelaces be that important? Well, that's just the point. Seemingly trivial, but because they're just shoelaces is what makes them so terribly important. Let me explain.

Companies need to understand that every facet of their business is open game, however big or small they think it might be. Everything can be unearthed and dissected, as your customer will have a very wide range of wants, needs and gripes. 

I recently picked up a pair of wingtip brogues (pictured on the left, but with the left shoe also included) from Kenneth Cole. To be honest, I hesitated to buy anything from Kenneth Cole's website at first. That's because the company doesn't offer (as of this writing) free shipping (unless there's a special promo going on) and returns. To get free shipping both ways (a la Zappos), you have to sign up for ShopRunner, where you'll be required to "add payment" (which probably means providing your credit card number). Simply lame, Kenneth Cole. Get with the program like all the other online retailers!

I first checked out the shoes on their website as the Kenneth Cole store at my local mall closed down (not to mention that going to the mall takes too much time and effort).

I placed my order, received the shoes and they fit perfect (thank goodness or I'd have to fork out some dough to ship 'em back). But I did notice that they didn't include the green shoelaces featured on the website. True, I got the black ones (and seeing the green laces is not why I purchased the shoes); but where's the green shoelaces?! 

To my initial point in my post, they're just shoelaces, so why didn't they just include them? So naturally I'm going to bring this up to customer service. Which I did. Below is a copy and paste of my communication with Kenneth Cole's Client Services Team if you're interested.

Have you had similar experiences? If so, please do share. Or you can just tell me I'm nuts or nit-picky.

Me:  

Hi there. I received my shoes and really like them! However, I noticed that the laces they come with are black; which is fine, but I did notice on your website that the shoes are featured with green laces. Is there any way to get a pair of the green laces?

Thanks...Giovanni

Client Services:

Dear Giovanni, 

We understand that website shows the shoes with green laces and we have submitted an inquiry to see if we can send you a pair. Your reference number for this inquiry is 12167022. We will contact you through email within 3-5 business days with a response. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

If you have additional questions, please visit our online Client Services section. Again, thank you for contacting us.

Best Regards,

Melissa F.

The Client Services Team

www.kennethcole.com

Client Services:

Dear Giovanni,

We appreciate your order 3045753086. We apologize, but upon double checking our inventory, we have found that the Rig Wall oxfords do, in fact, come with black laces, not the green laces as pictured online. As the embellishments on our merchandise are manufactured specifically for the item, we do not have the green laces and are unable to provide laces to you. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you.

We are very happy that you like the shoes, but we will certainly assist you with a pre-paid return label should you wish to return them due to the incorrect laces. Please let us know and we will process your label within 1-2 business days.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We value each one of our clients and look forward to assisting you again soon.

If you have additional questions, please visit our online Client Services section. Again, thank you for contacting us.

Best Regards,

Marci C.

The Client Services Team

www.kennethcole.com

Me:
 

Thanks. I'll keep the shoes. Is there another shoe lace color you can send me? 

Client Services:
 

Dear Giovanni,

Thank you for contacting us regarding the laces from order 3045753086 and we have resubmitted your inquiry. We assure you we are doing everything in our power to provide you with a timely resolution. Once this inquiry is completed, we will contact you through email at kgella@yahoo.com with a response. Please refer to reference number 12167022 for this inquiry. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

If you have additional questions, please visit our online Client Services section. Again, thank you for contacting us.

Best Regards,

Karen W.

The Client Services Team

www.kennethcole.com

Client Services:

Dear Giovanni,
 

Thank you for contacting us regarding additional shoe laces for the Rig Wall Oxford. As a fashion brand, the majority of our styles are seasonal and made in limited quantities. At this time, we unable to provide replacement parts and we do not maintain inventory of additional parts that can be mailed to you. These parts include, but are not limited to: buttons, zippers, wheels, hardware, snaps, shoe laces, etc. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

If you have additional questions, please visit our online Client Services section. Again, thank you for contacting us.

Best Regards,

Virginia S.

The Client Services Team

www.kennethcole.com