Extremely disappointing experience with false advertising and poor customer service

I need a very particular running shoe that is not easy to get hold of. The Athlete's Foot advertised and sold this very shoe through their online shop last week during the period of "Black Friday" specials. Well, it transpires that they never had the item in stock - a clear case of misleading advertising. After completing my purchase and payment, I missed and returned a call and was informed that the item was both unavailable and also had never been in stock in the first place :-o

During the call, when I insisted that the onus is on them to source and supply the product they advertised and sold, their staff made inappropriate attempts to push unsuitable alternative shoes and also tried to convince me to come to the store to purchase "something else" instead of addressing the fundamental problem. Their handling of the situation showed a concerning lack of product knowledge and customer service skills.

The timing of this incident has caused me significant inconvenience, as I missed out on other special offers during the period when I believed I had secured these shoes. Now, unless they come to the party and supply what they sold me, I face the hassle of having to source the shoes elsewhere and the cost of having to pay both premium prices and likely additional delivery fees too, as I will soon be travelling to a small town outside Cape Town.

The company's failure to honor what they advertised and their subsequent handling of the situation falls well below acceptable business practices. Instead of taking responsibility for their error and finding a solution, they've offered only a refund, leaving me to bear the burden of their mistake. I strongly advise potential customers to be wary of making purchases from this retailer, as their online inventory appears unreliable and their customer service is inadequate when problems arise. They are in fact still today advertising the extra wide shoes of which I was told they do not have in stock!