Shoe Repair

He just ruined a pair of expensive custom made cowboy boots. The loop at the top of the boot shaft was digging into my calf badly, so I asked him if there was anything he could do such as glue some suede over the rough part or flatten and secure the inside of the loop… I didn’t think it would be complicated.
He said, «I fix, I fix don’t worry.»
(BTW, I already had non-​slip soles put on the boots, so I couldn’t return them)
He sprayed the boot with water and started banging it with a hammer (to flatten it out/​) That didn’t work, so he took the loop off. That left two holes in the shaft where the loop inserted. He cut a piece of leather off an old coat. The texture and color were so wrong. He started slapping glue on the outside and inside of the boot to glue it on. I asked him to stop right away. He started saying, «What do you want me to do? Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it!» (?) I asked him to just put the original loop back on, and I would just put moleskin on the inside. He said, «I’m very busy and I don’t have time for this. I have work to do.» Handed my boot back to me with the glue smears and holes and told me to get out! I was stunned.
I had gone to him a few times to get soles put on shoes. Never had a problem. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He had told me he was originally a shoe maker but now he does repairs. So, I figured that since he had made shoes, adjusting a loop so it would not scratch the skin off my calf would not be all that difficult, AND I figured he could sew the loop back on after he removed it.
I was pretty shaken up and almost in tears that he was so rude, and that my expensive boots (one of the boots) was ‘ruined.’ I had only worn the boots once. I wish I had taken pictures.
Although this shoe repair place is convenient, I’m clearly not going to return even for simple repairs. I suppose if you are having little things done, he’s probably fine. But, I wouldn’t recommend bringing him shoes that are expensive, or that you love. If you are trying to get a bit more mileage out of a pair of shoes that you would otherwise throw away, he’s good enough for that.
(I took the boots to a place in Manhattan. Hopefully, it will work out.)

The bottom tip of my pin-​heel shoes immediately broke off a day after the repair, and it appeared that they may have cracked the body of the heal in the process of hammering it in… They charged me for the 2^nd repair claiming that I did something wrong, so it’s not their fault. But still, it should not break a day after the repair in standard NYC condition!!! They are more about their way of doing the business and not so much about the customer satisfaction… Take it or leave it, so don’t expect too much when something goes wrong…

They do a very good job on your shoes I must say

Small place, but you don’t need much room to do basic shoe repairs. I needed new heels and sole on some nice leathers and they took care of it for a good price and a good turnaround. Can’t really ask for more from basic shoe repairs. I’ll see how long it lasts but so far so good.

Zero stars. I had a simple repair on a nylon bag – a zipper had become unstitched from a pocket. I dropped it off on Friday and said I’d be picking it up Monday. I actually didn’t go to pick it up until Tuesday afternoon. When I went in he told me it wasn’t ready yet, I said that I’d come back (was heading to work) and that I’d like some kind of discount. He refused and said it would only take five minutes. If it only took five minutes why didn’t you get it done in the four days I left it there? I said I’d like it back with the money I had pre-​paid so I could take it elsewhere and he also refused to do that. Then he did it while I waited and the stitches are crooked and miscolored and he still wouldn’t offer me a refund or discount and he said ‘Well, that’s just business’. Old man is a dick. Total dick.

Look I never write reviews, but this guy is so amazing, I wanted to acknowledge his kindness and his good work. I go to him for key copies, purse, shoe and zipper repair. He is very honest and straightforward and will tell you if the repair is not worth the cost. He works alone and usually has a line out the door — so be patient — his service is worth it as he does impeccable work, and will try to complete the work while you wait when possible. And yes, it might take a few minutes to locate your shoes or whatever in the heaping mounds, but he’s never lost a thing of mine, and the wait has absolutely always been worth it.

Patch work repair, shoes don’t really last that much longer after I’ve taken them in. They might feel good for another year but then to the trash they go. He knows that I’m an opera singer and will go out of his to assist me. I guess I should try learning some Russian arias.

Don’t bring anything you need here in a hurry. I dropped off shoes on Tuesday morning and barely was able to get him to commit to Friday afternoon. I ended up coming in on Saturday morning so naturally my shoes should have been ready, right? No, first I had to wait for him to repair the heels of another girl before I was even acknowledged, only to be doomed to the same fate. He took at least 8 minutes just to find my boots, and kept assuring me not to worry even though he clearly had no conception of where they were and kept asking me to describe them. They were found shoved back into the bottom of a cubby and were of course not fixed yet. Another woman came in while I was there to drop off shoes. Unlike with me, he quit what he was doing to attend to her and I heard her say «Are they really going to be ready? Every time I come in here, you are not ready when you say.»
Look this guy is open pretty much 7 days a week, and he obviously is a worker, and he was very nice to me — although he should be considering that my prized boots were just tossed somewhere unlabeled, to be found and acknowledged only when I bothered to wander back into the place and remind him about the service I made a deposit on for him to do. I just think Unilocalers should know that they should allot a lot of time to drop off and pick up their shoes.
I can only attest to the quality of a basic heel repair which seems good enough, However, the leather in the front of my boots is horribly ripping. I had noticed this beginning to happen before, so I wouldn’t accuse the shoe cobbler of exacerbating things by mishandling them. But it does beg the question — wouldn’t you like to be in the hands of a cobbler who would bother to point out a major issue like that and suggest how to fix it? I basically came home and realized I will have to take them in for repairs again. And I will go somewhere else.

I love you, I love you, I love you and you do not know it!
You fix my shoes perfectly every time I come in and you hold them for me when I forget. You do not judge me for having so many shoes that I may forget a pair for four months. You call me to pick up shoes. You tell me that they are good shoes and not to forget. I love you. You do not fix shoes that are crappy. You say «no good, throw out, waste of time to fix.»