Kerrisdale Shoe Renew

I’ve had several pairs of shoes re-​soled by Joon Lee over the years. I’ve also had keys made and knives sharpened. Although Mr. Lee is an excellent cobbler, it’ll be a long time before I return to him. Be warned: to get your shoes fixed, you must put up not only with Mr. Lee’s inflated prices (to be expected in Kerrisdale) but with his pride (of the Korean variety) and drama queenness (think Soup Nazi from Seinfeld).
On my last visit a few weeks ago, I dared to politely question whether there was any way he could re-​sole my shoes for a little less, since the price he quoted was more than double that of other cobblers. (I’ve had this and similar shoes redone several times, both here and in the U.S., so I have a sense of reasonable rates.) Immediately, Mr. Lee flung his arms toward the door and yelled at me to go elsewhere. «This is a very difficult job!» he shouted. (Remember, all other jobs I’ve inflicted upon him have likewise been called «difficult.») «Very difficult!» he continued. «Takes a lot of time. Not worth my time!» Uh… so I went elsewhere. And got the job done for half the price, half the time, none of the drama, and even some friendly customer service.
The reason I can’t completely deny Mr. Lee credit is that he does do a good job — if you only care about results. The pair of dress shoes that he re-​soled for me years ago is still good. I just wish he didn’t have that Seinfeld-​Soup-​Nazi complex where you must practically prostrate yourself to receive his services at whatever price he feels like naming.