Menlo Joe’s Shoe Repair

After my experience with Joe, I came onto Unilocal expecting outstanding reviews. I was shocked to see that he only has 2 stars!
While shopping at Afterwards I found some Kate Spade pumps which I’ve wanted for yearssssss but they were a full size to big for me. I ran over to Joe’s to see if he could help me and he could! and overnight! He also added some new tread to the bottom of them to make them last longer. He charged me $ 60 which I found totally reasonable considering the amount of work and he turned them around in 14 hours.
He was kind and took my credit card. I have no idea where these other bad reviews are coming from. He isn’t my usual cobbler but I would be happy to come back!

It’s hard to believe there could be such an awful business as this. I went in with a nylon briefcase that I’d spilled something in and needed to be cleaned. He said it would be done Monday. I came in Monday and the thing was sitting in a pile of projects that hadn’t been touched. He said to come back Tuesday. I came back Tuesday, and it was «done.» Well, instead of cleaning it like I’d asked, he had repaired a clasp that had worn a little, but was basically fine. I told him that’s not what I’d asked for, and what I’d asked for wasn’t done. He gave me a yarn about that’s what his partner told him to do, and that he spent 2 hours on it. He tried to charge me $ 30. I told him he was out of his mind. He said to leave it another day and I said he was crazy. I told him I was taking it with me, and gave him a few bucks. Awful. Stay away if you value your time and/​or have any expectations for a business.

I’m from out of town and needed a pair of shoes replaced while on vacation, and I was extremely satisfied with the service I received here. I needed soles re-​glued on both shoes, and was only charged $ 20. Additionally, the service was very fast and I was able to pick my shoes up the day after I dropped them off. Better yet, the man that repaired them told me I could take them back to the store when the glue started to come undone again and he would touch them up free of charge.
Overall, the service was great and the quality of the repair was solid as well. I have no complaints and would definitely recommend this place to anyone. Just be specific about what you would like done and ask for an estimate beforehand, and you should have no trouble.

I should have checked Unilocal before I dropped of my Target «leather» bin here. It just needed some glue on one part. I came back to pick it up today, and it’s $ 50! He says he glued all of it together, even though I only asked for one part to be glued. I told him I didn’t even pay that much for it. I don’t think I have ever felt so ripped off, and I told him so. He smiled politely and said, «Bye!»
So his business model is to way overcharge and tick off customers, ensuring they will never return. Doesn’t make sense… oh, but he’s in Downtown MP so we all walk in expecting great and professional service, like the other nearby businesses I have frequented. Let’s do the math:
$ 50×10 walk-​ins/​day = $ 3,500/week = $ 14,000/month. Yowza! That’s certainly more enticing than the $ 7 charge this should have been: $ 7×10 walk-​ins/​day = $ 490/​week = $ 1,960/month. So it’s his location that makes him successful, not that he actually does a good job. Let’s hope he runs out of walk-​ins to rip off.

I am the second woman mentioned in Paul G.‘s review. I don’t know him or his wife, but the story is correct to the last detail. I had taken my matte-​finish, navy oxfords with new brown shoelaces to this shop simply to be resoled. i was shocked to find Joe had changed them to glossy black and replaced the shoelaces with black, too, then charged me $ 63 and complained that I used a credit card. I was in a huge hurry so I simply paid the $ 63 and left, but I am VERY unhappy. I will never take shoes to this shop again. What a ripoff!

HORRIBLE.
My wife was there today to drop off a pair of shoes for repair. After witnessing two customers ahead of her, she walked out with her shoes still in hand. She’ll find another place to go!
The first customer picked up a pair of shoes and tried to pay with her credit card. The proprietor (Joe?) told her that he wanted cash, not a credit card. Apparently, all she had was a credit card so she had no choice. But the way he treated her was not only impolite, insisting on cash — and wanted to impose a surcharge for using a credit card — is illegal. If you have a MasterCard or VISA emblem in your store, you should freely and gladly accept them.
The second customer was a woman there to pick up a pair of re-​soled shoes and presented her claim check. The proprietor could not find them and literally ordered her to «go and find them yourself.» That was a nice touch! Despite looking for the better part of 15 minutes, he couldn’t find them and she couldn’t find them. Finally, she found a pair that looked close to her’s — but they were the wrong color. It turns out that Joe had dyed her shoes from navy blue to black… and thought nothing of it. He charged her over $ 60, a price she found outrageous, especially in light of the fact that he had changed the color! Amazingly, she decided to pay (I wouldn’t have!) and they had a similar credit card discussion.
This guy and his store is a disaster. He is impolite and his credit card issues are probably violating his agreements with the credit card companies.
My wife walked out without leaving her shoes. We will never go back again.

I used to love Joe’s service, but recently he ripped me off. He did not shorten the heels of my boots the inch I requested, yet he accepted my $ 40. When I asked him to do the work I paid him for he said that I should have told him before I wore them. I only realized that he’d done nothing to the shoes because they still hurt my feet AND I was dealing with a man who was not dealing in a fair way with me. Beware of this character.

This is possibly the WORST business I have encountered here in California.
Material possessions are exactly that: material possessions and thus at the end of the day, property and material possessions are not life and death. However, it is abundantly discouraging to take such good care of your things and to appreciate the value of money and hard work, earning the things that you do have precisely because of such work, only to have those things completely and totally RUINED as a result of an incredibly poor business. This aggravation and frustration is compounded when a shop proprietor is cavalier and arrogant and dismissive along the way, taking no responsibility for how he treats people and their property.
I took two pairs of very nice shoes to this shop for repair. Both of these pairs were shoes that were of particular importance and significance to me, and both were very high end pairs. The more trivial errors such as initially losing the shoes (causing me to have to make three separate trips to the place) and not doing the work on schedule is one thing; damaging the shoes quite literally beyond recognition is an entirely different matter. That is what this guy did to my shoes, and to me. And, he was dishonest about it AND wanted to charge me money after doing the damage to the shoes. One pair is irreplaceable; one of a kind shoes from Italy that were made for me for a special event and which I have taken GREAT care of; expensive, yes, but in addition, sentimental and as I have mentioned, one of a kind.
I was very specific with the shop proprietor when I dropped the shoes off initially; both pairs had two different shades and tones of color on the leather as part of the design; in fact, it was the most essential element of the design of each pair. This so-​called shoe «professional» actually DESTROYED the shoes by trying to rub, burn, and otherwise eliminate the second shade from one of the pairs. Likely recognizing his mistake along the way, he then did something indescribable to the shoes that made them look so awful and even not able to be worn, based upon whatever chemical he put on them. The other pair was also destroyed. Enough with trying to convey the details but suffice it to say that these lovely shoes, the pride and joy of my wardrobe are a total loss. What should have been a simple and minor repair has became a total loss solely and directly because of this place and this individual.
It is close to midnight and I have been sick to my stomach all day subsequent to seeing the results of this horrible practitioner late this morning. And to be clear, I am not someone that places great emphasis on anything that is merely a possession. After all, property and objects can generally be replaced. I genuinely appreciate the good fortune that I have in life and am grateful each and every day for every aspect of life. But this situation has made for a bad day, particularly when seeing the arrogance and lack of responsibility taken by this shop.
The shoes are still there because as I indicated, they are a total loss. I am the converse of someone that complains and I certainly have never run to a courthouse to initiate litigation, much less about a day-​to-​day business encounter but in this instance I probably will do exactly that, mostly so others don’t have to experience what I went through.
At the end of the day YES, they are only shoes. No one was injured and the important things in life are untouched or unharmed and I do of course realize and recognize this. But this is such an outrageous disregard for someone’s hard-​earned property that it makes me sick to my stomach. I know how hard I work and quite frankly, I am not the type of person to buy things for myself or to wear «flashy» or expensive clothes or shoes in general. But to have something that I did value and that was reflective of how hard I work just destroyed by a shopkeeper that didn’t give it a second thought isn’t fair and it isn’t appropriate on any level. As mentioned, I’ve never filed a lawsuit over something like this and I wouldn’t even know the way to the courthouse to do such a thing, but I am determined to do so in this instance. Please stay away from this place.

This place deserves NO stars!!! I took in a pair of shoes to have rubber heel caps put on – he charged me more than I paid for the shoes, and had no explanation! This guy is a RIP-​OFF!!! Do not waste your time or money! I hope that he goes out of business soon!!!

I’ve taken several pairs of ladies shoes to Joe for basic repairs… new heels, scuffed toes, etc… Most of the time the work has been OK. On my last visit however he assured me that he could repair a special type wallet that was made with one piece of leather and had no stitching. Instead of repairing it or telling me he didn’t know how to, he simply handed me the unsavable pieces. This was a very sad outcome to what had been an OK relationship. His failure to take any responsibility or to try and make it right, assured me that I will never go there again.

I wish I had read these reviews sooner! Joe is AWFUL. A complete ripoff who does subpar work and charges above average prices. I took a pair of kate spade heels in because the heel on the right shoe had broken in half. He said he could fix it and charged me $ 40. I got them back and they looked fine. I put them on and walked one step and the heel broke in the exact same place! He hadn’t done anything to them! I took them back saying that it broke again and he hadn’t fixed it. He said he would replace the heel and he charged me an additional $ 30. He said that he HAD to charge me that because he would get a brand new heel for both shoes. When I got them back they were this really ugly color and the heels were too short! I literally can’t walk in them. I took them back to get him to replace the heel saying that if I walk in them I’ll injure myself and he said «no, they aren’t too short.» He even got out the old heel and put it up next the new one and said «see, they are the same length as the old one» which they clearly were not. I told him that he had to replace the heels and he said «ok $ 30.» Ugh! I can’t stand this place. I’ve wasted $ 70 and now I’ll have to spend more money to get them done right.

Do Not go here!!! If I could, I would give them zero stars.
I brought in a pair of boots because the toes were badly scuffed and he spray painted some type of plastic coating on them. Now, the toes of the boots are shiny and look awful. He totally ruined them. I told him that he should have warned me that’s what he was going to do before he did it and all he said was «that’s the way we do it.»
Stay away from this place!!!

Unfortunately I did not have a good experience trying to use Menlo Joe’s, zero stars for this shoe repair.
I dropped off 1 shoe approximately 4 weeks ago and asked to have the lining replaced. I was given a tag marked pick up on ‘Saturday’ however no date was specified. I went back the following Saturday but was told my shoe was not ready.
So I went back 4 weeks later and requested my shoe. He could not find my shoe ANYWHERE. He kept asking me over and over again ‘brown?’ Umm, YES. I searched the store for about 15 minutes then it was finally found at the bottom of a dirty laundry basket and was NOT repaired.
I don’t know how he can stay in business. I was completely appalled that my shoe was totally mishandled and that after 4 weeks the shoe lining had not been repaired.
I took my shoe and drove straight to Midtown Shoe Repair in Palo Alto. Fingers crossed for a better experience.

Quick, friendly, and a reasonable price for the area!

DON’T EVER GO HERE !!! I SHOULD have read these reviews before going… but I went here on the recommendation of a co-​worker!
If I could rate ZERO stars I would. I brought 2 pairs of BLACK boots in for new soles — I brought them in LAST FRIDAY. I was assured that they would be ready Tuesday morning (4 days later) — on my way in to work, around 8:30. So, I stopped by yesterday (Tuesday) around 9 am. The guy checked my claim ticket and could not find my boots. He kept pointing to various pairs of boots OF ALL colors — I kept saying NO. Then I asked if he knew what he was doing… he ignored me, then went to look in back. THEN he came back out front, pointed to baskets FULL of dirty shoes and told me to look for mine. I said «NO! I’m NOT going to look through people’s dirty shoes ! YOU look.» He finally found my 2 pairs. I SHOULD have just taken them then, and gone elsewhere. But NO — he said «Come back. 1 hour. They will be ready». I said, I’ll give you 2 hours. So, I in fact came back at NOON — mind you, 3 HOURS later. Then he pretended NOT to remember. At that point, I was really angry. He said. ‘Not done’. I said then just give them to me NOW — repaired or not. He went in back; apparently they were ‘almost’ done. Then he brought them out and had the audacity to STILL expect FULL PRICE— which is pricier than I would have paid elsewhere — for the repair !! Again — save yourself the grief… don’t EVER go here !!!

This place truely deserves ZERO stars! I took a pair of brown shoes and asked that they be died black. What I got back was super shiny (like PATENT leather) black. i was a bit annoyed as that was NOT what I asked for. He literally sprayed some type of shiny plastic coat over them. So I returned to have them properly finished and what I got back was WORSE! They buffed the shine off the shoes and gave me back scratched up black with brown splotches! So, once again, I said these are not right; I can see the brown through the black!!!
Mind you, while I was there, a woman came to pick up her cowboy boots that she’d left to be polished. Oh, and they were polished; two different colors! ARE you kidding???
Why, oh why, did I let this guy talk me out of doing them myself? I’ve once again picked up my shoes and now they are shiny, black splotchy scratched across the shoe and soles.
Save yourself the trouble! Do NOT go to this store. Instead let it die a slow and painful death of those that don’t know diddelly squat about what they are doing. I want a refund!

Go here if you need fast turn-​around.

I recently brought several pairs of boots to be resoled here — what a mistake. The workmanship was awful. The heel of one of the boots was peeling and seemed to have been given a rough paint job instead of a proper repair. The bill was also quite expensive. I wouldn’t have minded if the quality had been there. Lesson learned: Next time bring just one pair to test the place out first.

I love Joe’s. I bring everyone I know to this place. I used to come in all the time with my man, and then brought my advisor in one day. Joe totally called me out and asked me where my usual guy was! How embarrassing.
He does good work, as far as I can tell. I’ve had him replace heels and repair a handbag of mine. I’ve never been disappointed with his work, and his pricing has always been reasonable.

He is a classic because he is the only game in town! Do NOT take your shoes to be repaired here. Menlo Joe’s uses shortcuts and does not stand by their service. I have used them various times (out of necessity) and his work is very mediocre. The last time I used him was for a heel cap replacement. I wore the shoes for two hours and the heel caps shredded. I returned, explained the situation, and Joe repaired them and charged me again! He said it was my fault and not the sub par product he used!!!
Anthony’s on Geary in San Francisco is the gold standard-​really beautiful, quality work. If you have a shoe that you really love, do not hesitate and go to Anthony’s. I have taken many of my husbands shoes there to get resoled and they are like brand new. (menlo joe’s just glues soles on, they do not restich)…Anthony’s will also dye peau de soie shoes to match any color…