New Balance Boston

Since I had such a negative experience at the New Balance Factory Store in Avon, I thought I would similarly post the positive experience I had at their Boylston store. Because I have wide, flat feet, New Balance are the only workout and running shoes that consistently fit me well, and I’ve always gotten good value from them. The staff was extremely knowledgeable of their product line and provided excellent customer service. For some reason, New Balance stock at City Sports and Dick’s has been low as of late. The Boylston location had a good selection of styles and colors, comparable to what you see on the website. I will definitely shop here next year when it is time to replace my gym shoes again.

I went into this place for the first time this week and was pleasantly surprised! I’m not a New Balance regular, I tend to gravitate more towards Nike and Asics, but this store is great. Huge sale while I was there, interesting selection, and very knowledgeable and helpful staff. I’ll definitely be back!

This store has the next customer service I have ever experienced. Love them and love the shoes. Definitely would go here over Nike

Staff seems to be slightly senile when making commitments for a shoe order and then not only not placing the order which supposingly was going to be there next day, but also forgetting about the customer interaction from less than a week ago entirely, when asked by the manager to call me. LOL. #awkward #badservice

Surprisingly large selection of socks. Great products, needless to say. Very helpful staff.

My wife was looking for new running shoes. She purchased previous pair from competitors. I’ve convicted her to checkout New Balance store. Upon arrival we where greeted and offered help immediately. Our sales associate Norm was very helpful and knowledgable. He made sure her new shoes were comfortable and suitable for here needs. He assured us multiple times that his goal is 100% satisfaction and if she doesn’t like them, there will be no problem to return or exchange. He definitely took time and effort to find the right size and color. Thank you! We will be back!

The best department store. Great and helpful staff. Always looking to improve the overall performance.

Demetrius was super helpful in helping me to find the right shoe here. Ended up buying a pair of fresh foam Zantes, the Boston edition. He was knowledgable about the Boracays as well, gave good advice, and was very low-​key and non-​overbearing through the entire process. Great overall experience!

Thx so much Candis! Not only did you help me make the right gym shoe purchase, but also better understand what makes my feet happy and look awesome as well. You rock!

I haven’t directly been to Boston, however, it is on my bucket list of places to go. After talking with headquarters over a style that I was unable to find in Vancouver (see separate review on that) they directed me here are their data base had their shoes. I did talk to an associate over the phone whom confirmed that they had my size and stock number and shipped the shoes to my PO box in WA state.

I had such a great experience here. The sales associate that helped me was great without being pushy. I was having a really hard time finding a pair of comfortable and on-​trend sneakers so I decided to stop here. I had never purchased a pair of New Balance sneakers before and was pretty pleased with my selection. Probably the most comfortable sneakers I have ever worn.

I really like shopping here for workout apparel because they frequently have apparel that you can’t really find online. Especially with the Boston Marathon, I found more here than I did online.
The retail floor is a little sparse because they want to make sure there’s room for people to try on sneakers. I get it, and that’s cool. However, the staff can be really hit or miss. Sometimes, they are practically stalking you from corner to corner of the store and other times, they can’t really be bothered. Sometimes I feel like I have to wave my wallet in front of them and tell them «Hi, I’m here to spend an obnoxious amount of workout clothes!»
Regardless, the quality of New Balance products is superb. The store also sells a lot of accessories. I like coming here for their selection of Heidi Klum for New Balance gear (news flash, you don’t look like Heidi Klum wearing it) and their selection of NB classic kicks.
To an extent, New Balance is still rather a «local» company. I’m really glad that they have a retail location like this.

Very nice selection… Great location. The staff wasn’t rude but not the most helpful. The store is a bit tight but they have a lot of variety for both men and women. Not a lot of kids shoes but they had some cute ones.

The team at New Balance Boylston are on point with their customer service. I’ve been in the shop a couple times and every single time I’m greeted with a smile. Employees are super helpful and are willing to answer any questions. Special shout out to Tim
who helped me out big time! Keep up the good work over there NB Boylston Team!

Wow. I was absolutely not expecting much walking in here.
After a very disappointing experience down the street, I was getting fed up trying to find a good pair of running shoes. On a whim, I just decided to stop in here and see what it was all about — after all, they’ve been emailing me for months about sales etc.
A very friendly sales guy greeted me — and i immediately felt guilty. After all, i didn’t think I’d actually buy anything. He talked me into trying out their machine (a pressure sensitive scale like device that displays arch and balance on a cool LCD screen). I was told I was neutral with a well formed arch. Fortunately, one of the few shoes they had was going to be a perfect fit.
It was. At this point, I’m swearing in my brain — because this is how I end up spending 140 on a pair of running shoes. Turns out, they were only about 80 bucks. I could even get them in a literally glow in the dark yellow (sorry, i didn’t).
The only complaint is that the shoelaces are too short for the shoes… but that’s like a dollar for new ones. otherwise, awesome shoes at a great price for runners. The «scale» alone is worth stopping in to try out.

Visited with my wife for the first time yesterday. Fantastic! Worked with Tim. He is the man. Got me in and out like an ARMY mission: quick and with little damage. I’m sure the other associates do a good job as well, but if you are looking for the best in the shoe world, ask for Tim.
Also, don’t be afraid to buy the socks. I know they’re expensive, but they feel like warm apple pie over your feet. Not in the gross, kind of sticky way, but in a warm, reassuring Thanksgiving type of way.

A few months back, I bought a pair of New Balance sneakers from DSW. I’m a long-​time, tried-​and-​true Adidas loyal customer, because for all the walking, gymming, power-​stepping, and kickboxing I do, they have always done so well for me.
But, I learned that New Balance is made in America. And I like the way they look, and I really feel good when I opt to purchase an American-​made product.
The sneakers I purchased have a huge gaping hole in the side where the fabric split from the man-​made leather upper. So, my toe hangs out.
So I walk into the New Balance store this afternoon, and ask a few questions about how my non-​old sneaker now looks like it should be in the trash.
The gentleman that started answering my questions said that I should bring the box and the receipt in from DSW and he’d see what he could do. Then another employee said that they can’t help me because the sneakers weren’t purchased there, nor do they carry my sneaker in its inventory.
Then two more employees walk over, and explain to me how if I wish to return the sneakers, that only the NB corporation will help me out. I would have to mail my shoes back and then receive a replacement of some sort in the mail.
Seeing as though I had a similar issue with my AirMax in the early 90’s, and it took me MONTHS to get a new pair of sneakers in the mail, and I had to go without a pair, I knew this immediately not a solution for me.
I said to all the employees that I spoke with, «You know, I really wanted to support the fact that New Balance is made in America, and I usually buy Adidas. But I really thought I’d give New Balance a shot, and now they didn’t hold up to normal wear and tear, and I thought you would do the right thing. I’ll just never buy another pair of New Balance again.»
And I won’t. Plain and simple. And of course, no one apologized or really seemed to care that my toes were hanging out of my sneaker.
The fact the shoes aren’t the quality I expect, isn’t really the issue. The issue is that New Balance effectively refuses to stand by its own product by making a return or exchange extremely inconvenient. As a local company, I would expect a lot more, especially of its Boston flagship retail location. The store employees, including the managers there, have no empowerment to do the right thing. And that’s really too bad.

Great reasonably priced shirts for the gym or running, especially considering the area. All of the shirts have been between $ 20 — $ 30 and are high quality. I was really happy to see there wasn’t much shrinking after the first wash.

Agree with other reviewers here– the customer service is outstanding. Friendly and knowledgeable. I gave the salesperson (Drew) a basic idea of what I wanted, but then asked to see pretty much all of the sneakers in the store. He patiently abided. They have such exciting sneakers– even though I wasn’t in the market for many of the styles, I was interested to learn about them. I left with a gorgeous pair of 574s and a springier skip in my step.

New Balance is a feel good story of the little engine that could. This super sports shoe company was once only the dream of one local business man, Jim Davis, Now they are the reality of athletes everywhere. He still privately owns the company, building it up from selling only a handful of sneakers each week. Today, this small company with a big heart puts out products that successfully compete with big corporations like Nike and Adidas. NOTE: You *know* Adidas considers New Balance competition, because they put a HUGE outdoor stand directly across the street from the Grand Opening of NB’s new store, for the entire Boston Marathon, LOL.
I waited outside for 2 HOURS today, during the Grand Opening of the New Balance store on Boylson st in Copley Square, on a broken foot that just had surgery 4 days ago.OUCH. I finally had to give up and go ice my swollen foot at home.
I was not deemed VIP enough to be allowed entrance in the store, so I wish they had a PR person entertaining us somehow outside. They had a cute sneaker mascot, but he was being ignored. I later learned they hired a street team to pass out NB bags containing a promo card to be redeemed at their new store. *That* is good marketing to bring awareness to the new location. How about some love for all the people who stood in line for hours at the opening though? Maybe coupons for the first 100 people?
I saw this event as a BIG missed opportunity for internet marketing.
IE. Take a photo with our sneaker mascot & post it on our Facebook page.
We’ll choose one lucky pic to win a free pair of NB sneakers!
IE. Choose your favorite new NB sneaker from our sidewalk display,
(only put out ONE of each sneaker, and don’t let people touch them)
and one lucky voter will win a free pair of NB sneakers!
THE DEAL: This Pop Superhero always roots for the little guy to «Go Big!»
New Balance has made their mark as a top contender in the running race.
This Boston girl is proud to wish them success on their new store here.
I offer my Public Relations ideas above, for future promotional events,
in the spirit of goodwill and strength through unity. *smile*