WHEN TOM Boddingham saw a slipper at an online site and ordered one special pair he did not know he would land himself the biggest slipper in the world  - as he called it. Since he had two different feet sizes, Tom ordered a 13 size for his right foot and a 14.50 for his left, that was prized at £15.50. However, the Chinese manufacturers did not read the decimal point, in 14.50, and delivered a seven-foot long slipper. When the manufacturer was asked as to why they didn’t double check the order as this is quite an unusual feet size, they said that they thought that the slipper was for the shop display and not for any person in particular.

While the customer has taken the incident in his stride and finds it amusing, it does indicate that miscommunication in English was the problem more than not understanding the size of the ordered slipper. The Chinese government has taken many efforts to make English known at the grassroot level. Perhaps, the knowledge of factory workers and managers when it comes to commercial communication in English and knowledge of consumer tastes has much to be desired. Nevertheless, the person who got the giant sized slipper is super excited as he said that he would make a few pounds from the slipper by selling it on ebay. As reported in telegraph.co.uk, the retailer has apologised profusely for their mistake. They have also revealed that they are making a pair with the correct measurement for Tom.