We found their "megastore", where craftsmen were working away at the back, and we fell on the shoes. These were arranged on racks according to size, but ours - 39, 40 and 41- were nowhere to be seen. Neither, apparently, were we.
The one or two assistants completely ignored us, until we finally bulldozed our way into their consciousness with a request for our sizes. No eye contact, and a dismissive wave towards the gloomy interior was all we got. There we found a couple of meagre racks of footwear for giantesses suffering from the delusion that they deserved decent tango shoes.
A day or so later we visited one of Darcos's normal retail outlets, in the hope of more choice and better service. Again we were dismissed with a wave, and when one of us dared to pick out a shoe from the 36 rack and ask if it came in a 41, the gesture was repeated. It might as well have been two fingers.
On the way out, I snapped this surreptitous picture of the couch, where, if you're lucky enough to get to the point of actually trying any of their shoes on, you will be invited to sit. It probably tells you all you need to know about Darcos's customer relations.
To be continued.
An unhappy memory. Fortunately the Great Shoe Hunt has a happier sequel!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to buy tango shoes when I was in Argenitna, but I did not dare since I don´t consider myself a very good tango dancer. Oh god, I think you have to be very talented to dance such a difficult dance. The steps and moves are complicated and there has to be synchronicity. One of the reasons last year I decided to rent apartments in buenos aires for me and my friends to go there and stay for a month was because I wanted us to have a real experience in the Tango country. We were able to go to a lot of Tango shows and also take a few classes. It was great!
ReplyDeleteKirsten