You know it's funny, I bought a pair of Docs casual boots way back in 2018. Didn't do anything special to take care of them and I beat the heck out of them until late last Spring when the tread caught on something at work and got partially torn from the boot. I really liked them, so I ordered a pair of actual work boots from the company. If you remember in that time frame there was a period where literally everyone wore Docs to the point that it was a little absurd. Well they must have seriously cut back on quality control to meet quotas for that trend because those work boots I bought are on their last leg less than a year later. The heel is all broken, the slip resistance is rapidly disappearing, and the leather is practically disintegrating in some places.

Maybe they've always been shit and I just got lucky with that original pair of boots, but I bet they just said "fuck it" and tried to push out as many of those shiny plastic pairs as they could at the expense of actual decent products.