Complaint Review: Nike

I will never purchase another Nike Sporting goods product again based upon my bad experience with a recent purchase of Nike Men’s Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tennis Sneakers. I suggest you don't either. Here's the actual letter I sent to the CEO Mr. Parker on 2/3/2015 which will explain my sincere dissappointment in their sneaker design:

February 3, 2015

Attention: Mr. Mark G. Parker, CEO

Nike Inc.

1 SW Bowerman Drive

Beavertown, OR  97005-0979

Dear Mr. Parker,

I was overly excited as I opened up my 2014 Christmas gift from my wife. She bought me your latest tennis sneaker, the Nike Men’s Zoom Vapor 9.5 ala my favorite tennis player Rodger Federer. As an avid tennis player, I couldn’t wait to try them on. The initial comfortable feeling I felt while slipping my toes into the soft, plush sneaker quickly faded away as my big toe slammed into the toe box. I had to “shoe horn” them onto my measured size 13 feet. I was somewhat surprised that they weren’t even close to the correct size as indicated on the inside label of the shoe. It prompted me to look online at customer reviews and it was then that I discovered the various customer complaints stating that this latest brand of Nike tennis sneaker has severe durability issues. More than one customer indicated that they wear out prematurely. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t worth spending a premium on a sneaker that will only last a few outings on the tennis courts. Sadly, I returned them for a full refund.

I decided to purchase a similar brand of yours called the Nike Air Vapor Advantage (Charcoal/Volt) Men’s tennis shoe from the Tennis Warehouse for $69.70. The good news is that they were half the price. This time I thought I’d be smart by ordering the next size up-a size 14. Luckily I did because these also ran on the small side. Doesn’t your company follow a standard US shoe size chart? Once again, I felt my big toe digging into the toe box but not nearly as bad as my last pair of Nikes because of the bigger size. I decided to keep these because I thought that once break-in had occurred, they would stretch out a bit and work themselves into a perfect fit. Wrong!

What I didn’t realize until I played in them is that your shoe design engineers blundered on multiple levels in regards to what constitutes good sneaker design, Sneaker Design 101 if you will. First, the rubber tread was found to be excessively hard. Rather than an impact absorbing ride, I found the rubber you chose to be not much different than the hardness of a car tire. Maybe you have customers who can run 30 mph while cornering on pavement, but I can’t. As I ran on the indoor court surface for the first time, I could hear the hard rubber slapping against the floor as if they were made of hard plastic. As a mechanical design engineer who has been designing new products for over 30 years, I would venture to guess the rubber sole hardness (durometer) that your team chose jumped the scale from what should have been a Shore A to a Shore D. I no longer had to imagine what it would be like to play tennis barefoot. I purchased a $15 set of Dr. Scholl gel inserts to help dampen the impact but even soft gel pads couldn’t compensate for the poor choice in rubber material that your engineers made for this tennis sneaker brand. But wait, it gets worse…

I discovered how uncomfortable your tennis shoe really was. After 1½ hours of play, the outside edges of my feet were in so much pain, I literally had to swallow a prescription pain killer that I normally use to quiet my back pain. Who would have thought I would need one of my Percocets to numb the outer edges of both of my aching feet. I felt like my feet had been clamped in a vice. Really?

I thought your tennis sneaker design would impress me over my worn out Adidas Adipro Barricades,  but your design doesn’t even come close. (No wonder the world’s number one tennis player Novak Djokovic chooses the Adidas brand over Nike). My new pair of Nikes now rest in my closet never to be worn again. Since they are used, Tennis Warehouse will not refund my purchase. Interestingly, while playing in your sneakers, one of my tennis buddies noticed the prominent logo and complimented me on the black/neon lime color. He then asked how I liked them. I told him they were the worst tennis sneakers I’ve ever worn and that they are very painful to play in. His comment? “That’s why I will never buy Nike tennis sneakers, they run too narrow and they are very uncomfortable.” Looks like you’ve already developed a reputation amongst tennis enthusiasts!

I’m not sure if your design staff has ever played a game of tennis in the sneakers they designed because if they did, they would have quickly realized that there are several critical characteristics to take into account for quality tennis sneaker design such as: quick break-in period, forgiving upper, light weight, fast response for on-a-dime quick turns, flexibility, soft heel, breathability, non-jamming toe box, and durability. These are critical success factors when designing a great tennis sneaker. It goes without saying that player comfort has to be at the top of that priority list! I guess Nike missed that one! 

I’m looking forward to receiving my new pair of Adidas Barricade 2015 tennis sneakers. I’ve read various reviews they are extremely comfortable right out of the box. I suggest your engineering team purchase a pair of them if they haven’t done so already, so they can reverse engineer the Adidas technology and learn what it takes to design a great tennis sneaker. May I start with measuring the durometer rubber they used on the tread?

You’ve taken firmness in tennis sneakers to a new level unmatched by your competitors and that’s not by any means a compliment. Sadly, I feel the Nike Air Vapor Advantage men’s tennis sneakers would be better suited for rock climbing rather than playing tennis. As I look forward to enjoying the comfort of my new plush, lightweight and cushy Barricades I can only offer you the following. I would be open in the future to trying a newly designed pair of Nike tennis sneakers at your cost. That is of course, if you ever want to win back my business. As a minimum, you can start by refunding me the purchase price for your poorly designed sneakers.

Until then, I’ll never buy a Nike sneaker again in my life and I will continue to influence my tennis friends to avoid Nikes based upon my miserable experience with your sneakers. As an accomplished design engineer, I’m very good at what I do and I have no doubt I could design your next generation tennis sneaker much better than your current team. Let me know if your engineers ever need any design help.

 In closing, I find it interesting that you chose the name “Air Vapor Advantage” for these sneakers. Could it be that your design engineers came from the automobile industry? If so, you might want to contact Michelin to propose their next generation car tire material. You may also want to change the spelling of “Volt” to “Jolt” because that’s how my back feels after playing tennis in your poorly designed footwear.

Sincerely dissatisfied customer,