‘The infamous Skip’ is walking away after 52 years of selling shoes at Tacoma Mall

If you’ve ever shopped at Macy’s in the Tacoma Mall, specifically for women’s shoes, you no doubt would recognize Skip Butler.

The shoe salesman retired Nov. 1 after working there since Sept. 23, 1970, dating back to its Bon Marche days.

He’s seen generations of customers, with his clientele including “kids that were just like kids growing up, and now they’re adults and some of them in their 50s or maybe even older,” Butler said.

His longevity is all the more remarkable considering the median tenure of sales jobs nationwide as of 2022 is around three years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Butler comes from a family of retailers. As reported in a previous News Tribune interview marking Tacoma Mall’s 50th anniversary, his brother, Dave Butler, sold shoes at Nordstrom for 32 years. Their father managed Leed’s Shoe Store for 44 years, first in downtown Tacoma and then at the mall.

A daughter of Butler’s “started in shoes but then went up to corporate” for Macy’s, he noted. She’s now in real estate.

For 42 years simultaneous to his retail work, he taught sixth grade at St. Patrick Catholic School in Tacoma. At age 75, he said he felt it’s the right time to retire from retail.

Butler said he wants to “take a little bit time to travel and ... remodel my house,” as well as working on his 1967 Mustang.

“I have a place in Maui. So I’ll spend some time over in Maui,” he added.

Angela Davis, store manager, said she heard about “the infamous Skip” before coming to the store.

“I started a year ago here. ... But I’ve heard about him throughout my career at Macy’s, just because I’ve been in this area.”

He’s “someone that the colleagues really respect and treasure. He’s a staple of this store and the community as well,” she added, noting that certain “customers only come shop with him” through the decades.

He recalled a few weeks ago opening a Macy’s account for a customer unlike any he’d served before.

“I opened an account for a lady who was 104 years old,” he said, marking it as one of his career highlights. “To take that time, sometimes people just don’t do that. They appreciate that. And a lot of people will say, ‘We don’t get that kind of service anymore.’”

“Our society is becoming impersonal and really fast-paced,” he added. “And, you know, sometimes just taking that time with people is so important.”

His advice for someone just starting out in retail is to focus on the basics.

“Have a great smile and focus on what the customer’s needs are. ... Always having a positive attitude. You’re listening. ... A lot of times you just listen to what they’re looking for. That makes a big difference,” Butler said.

Asked what his plans were for his first day of no work obligations, it became apparent Butler’s not really one for sleeping in or sitting still.

“There’s a lot of leaves to rake,” he said. “I don’t stay inside, I go outside. You know, wake up, do an extra workout and then go for a run and then start working in the yard and maybe go out and get a cup of coffee later on in the afternoon.”

Looking back, he says he’ll miss the store associates and the customers “who always have come back to look for me ... and give me the sale. I appreciate that.

“It’s been a wonderful, wonderful journey.”