Red Wing, Des Moines IA

The customer service was horrible, I spent over $200 on a pair of boots that I use for work and it was never explained to me that there are two different types of boots that they sell. The lady that was there today was acting very standoffish from the very beginning and escalated to confrontational by the time I was leaving. She had told me that I must not have been listening when this was explained to me and when I was asking simple questions she was super rude.

Went to this store and had a great experience, they had a variety of boots and shoes t0 choose from and the staff that worked was just incredible, knowledgeable and friendly!

My husband got a pair of shoes at Red Wing. He had some issues with one foot and they were very accommodating with trying to fit the shoe correctly. Good and knowledgeable people.

Best work boots around! Very comfortable and less wear and tear on your feet, knees, hips and back!

Very professional and customer friendly. Products are top of the line and worth every penny. I highly recommend. If something is wrong they make it right.

A great place to get a great pair of boots. The salesperson was knowledgeable and very helpful. They knew the products very well and the transaction was smooth.

I've been buying my work boots at this Red Wing store for almost 40 yrs. And although it has changed locations and ownership over the years, l still get the same knowledgeable help when I visit the store as I did from day one.

Really good quality boots if you're willing to pay the price there was nothing in there under 140 bucks

Horrible customer service, ordered boots thru them and twice the size was not accurate. No help in trying to find a diffrent boot that would fit.

Sales did an excellent job of finding what I needed, that my company would pay for. Great boot!

Excellent selection of boots and free lace replacement even if you did not purchase boots from them.

Helpful and knowledgeable staff, and good selection. I managed to scuff up my relatively new boots and they helped get them looking good again.

Mixed reviews.the staff knows what they're talking about when it comes to boots.good quality boots as well. I took a pair of boots there that I bought there as well to get cleaned fixed and new laces.the guy did a horrible job fixing them as they came apart 2 weeks later.my 2 year old could of cleaned them better.and they didn't have the laces for my boots on hand.sorry but the bad out weights the good.and now I go elsewhere to buy boots.

Expensive boots, but you get what you pay for. You can spend $50 - $75 every 6 months or a couple hundred for boots that last for years.

High price higher quality. I have gotten three pairs from these guys and my last pair lasted over 6 years. The customer service is top notch the moment you walk in the door. I really like being able to walk in and get your laces taken care of. They will condition your boots as well. I like taking my boots in and getting the souls redone about once a year. Their selection is pretty large. The sales staff are very knowledgeable about the boots and your feet in general. They want to sale you a quality boot that is going to fit and fit correctly. They don't seem to be nervous about being honest to you on what will be a good fit or bad fit. Even if it's not what you want to hear and that quality is hard to find.

Excellent boots, but bad retail store. Horrible salesman, seething with confrontational IDGAF attitude. I'll spend my 200 bucks elsewhere.

Side note; some Red Wings now made in China.and still $220? !? Good for their profits, bad for you. Guess I'll start looking at Thorogood now.

Went in to get get my boots cleaned up, guy took them, spent about 7 minutes doing a terrible job. 200$+ boots I bought from THEIR STORE! So I'm browsing around while he's cleaning the boots a blonde lady who works their comes out and ask me "Can I help you with something" very nasty and rude. I will never go back to this store again and wouldn't recommend anyone else to spend their money at this place.

Was able to get what I needed here. They were very helpful in getting what I wanted from the back and it only took a couple minutes.

They sell shoes with a larger toe space which is nice if you have wide feet or need the extra room.

I have to have steel toes for work and they had ones that work for me and I can wear the shoes with no problem all day. My old shoes were hurting my feet and toes. Glad I went to look.

Good quality and service (please note, I'm speaking from 5 years of experience with shoe model 8703 Oxfords).

My job requires me to purchase one new pair of black, leather shoes per year, and they must have slip resistant soles. I literally went to every store in town looking for the best pair, and finally found them at this Red Wing.

First, I will only buy full-grain leather, because bonded leather deteriorates quickly, isn't comfortable, and doesn't look right. These shoes had full-grain leather.

Second, I won't buy shoes that are glued instead of stitched. Uppers that are glued together, and not stitched to the sole, almost always pull apart well before they otherwise would have worn out (that's why most of today's Nikes are a rip off). These shoes are stitched to the sole almost all the way around. I've been buying one pair per year now, for the past 5 years, and have never had a seam blow out or pull apart.

Third, you need a long-lasting, comfortable sole. These soles, although they don't have deep treads, are made of quality rubber, don't scuff floors, and are slip and oil resistant. Out of the five pair I've purchased, there was one where the soles were defective, and split in the middle of the ball of my sole. When I took them in, the associate looked at them for about one second, then walked back, got a new pair, and handed them to me, no questions asked. That problem never happened again, but if it did, I'm confident they'd make it right.

These shoes also come with decent insoles. They have just the right density, and maintain comfortable support for the whole year. There's nothing I hate more than paying for an expensive pair of shoes, and then having them try to sell me a $30 or more pair of insoles, because the shoe comes with a cheaply made one.

This is also one of a few models of shoes which come in a 12B. I can't wear regular width, because they eventually won't draw tight enough without the eyes coming completely together in the middle. I've had other places try to sell me a half-size smaller pair to fit the width, but then the insole doesn't line up with your arch, and it kills your feet. Someone in these reviews said one of these Red Wing associates tried to sell them a pair of 13 sized shoes to compensate for extra-wide width he needed. You just have to say no to that, and find a model that comes in your width.

About the expense, yes, the cost of these shoes was about $120, five years ago, and is now around $140. However, my friend opted for a cheap, $50 pair of shoes, and blew out three pair in a year. Red Wing also gives our company a 10% discount, and our company reimburses us for some of the expense. On top of that, you get a free, monthly cleaning and conditioning of your shoes, and free shoe-strings when needed. That alone pays for the shoes. After trying several pair of alternate shoes that were cheaper, I ended up disappointed, and returning to these shoes. They're still cheaper than Ecco.

One problem I've had with these shoes, is that on a few of them, the leather dried and cracked on the top, where your foot bends when you squat with your feet under you frequently. I'm not sure if that was my failure to properly condition them, or the leather itself, but I even tried weekly mink oil rub-downs on one pair, and it still happened. The last time I bought a pair here (April of 2017), one associate wouldn't say much about that, noted the model was being discontinued, and told me I was lucky to get the last pair of 12Bs. Another associate, however (the one in the picture I previously included, who is at the register), acknowledged the issue and said they had some come in with leather issues they were aware of.

All-in-all, five years of experience with this model of Red Wing shoes (8703 Oxfords), and this Red Wing store, is positive. They gave me what I believe from experience to be a high quality shoe, a good value for the money, and good service. I hope they offer a similar replacement model for the Oxford, so I can keep doing business here.