George’s Shoe Repair

I am so impressed with this place. I went to a different shoe repair store that told me my boots would not be able to be fixed at all and to throw them away, and the next closest place was Georges. I called first and spoke to George, who told me to bring them in. It sounded like he was confident he could fix them. I brought them in was greeted by his son and told it could happen! That was enough for me to be happy. I then was given my ticket and told when I could pick them up and how much it would cost. I received a call a few hours later that they were already done! Not only do I have completely new soles on my favorite boots. They were fixed in one day and for a VERY decent price. They were cleaned and shined, and they even trimmed some lose threads that were bothering me. I would never go anywhere else.

I live very close to this shop. I have had bad experiences as already listed here.
Well, I stopped going there for 10 years and thought I would try again this summer. I have to say that it is worse than ever. Honestly, I don’t know how they pay any bills.
Really something out of an alternative universe and a bad experience all around.
Don’t go there unless you want to be miserable.

I’m in the middle of trying to get my shoes back and my experience has been highly frustrating. Very much like what Sam G. And Evelyn K. wrote about. I have never dealt with a business that closed during the day for no reason and didn’t respond to numerous phone messages. They are amazingly unresponsive and since they are holding your shoes «hostage», there’s nothing you can do. It would be funny if it were in a movie but I’m getting really frustrated at this point. I just want my shoes back. When I met them and dropped off my shoes, they seemed very nice and knowledgeable. But the next three times I stopped by during business hours, they were closed with no explanation. I don’t live near there so each of these trips cost me at least 45 minutes and gas. It’s no use calling to see if they’re there before driving over since they don’t answer the phone even when they are there. (This from a neighboring business). I have called, asking for a return call many times. This has been several months now I’ve been trying to get my shoes back. Beware of these guys. I don’t care how «nice» they seem. Don’t trust them with anything you care about.

Trying to do business with George’s Shoe Repair is quite possibly one of the most pants-​crapping insane experiences I’ve ever had. Let me be clear, here: I’m very satisfied with the actual work they did, but getting them to actually do it was like herding cats.
Day 1: I bring a pair of desert boots that need some stains cleaned off the suede and a pair of my girlfriend’s Chelseas that need new leather heels. I come inside, talk to a young man at the counter, and he assures me this will be no problem. Quotes me $ 48 for both, writes the quote on my ticket, and says the work will be done in four days. I ask to be called when the work is complete, he agrees.
Day 7: It’s been a week. No phone call, which is typical for tailors and the like, unfortunately. I drop by and speak to the same gentleman as before and ask if my shoes are finished. He has no idea what I’m talking about. He searches the shop for fifteen minutes and cannot find my shoes. He shrugs like this has happened before. I inform him that he just lost a couple pairs of fairly expensive shoes and that I will need to be reimbursed. Suddenly he finds the shoes in a paper bag that has been kicked under a shelf. No work has been done on them. He apologizes and asks me to remind him what he was going to do to the shoes, since he forgot to write it down. He says they’ll be done by the next day. I ask to be called when the work is complete. He agrees.
Day 11: Still no phone call. I call to check on my shoes, and no one picks up the phone. I drop by again and speak to the same gentleman. He has no idea what I’m talking about. He searches the shop for fifteen minutes and cannot find my shoes. We have the same conversation as before about how much those shoes cost. Suddenly he finds them. He informs me that he has been «dragging ass» and that they’ll be done tomorrow. I ask to be called when the work is complete. He agrees.
Day 14: Still no phone call. I call to check on my shoes, and no one picks up the phone. I drop by again and speak to the same gentleman. He has no idea what I’m talking about. He searches the shop for fifteen minutes and cannot find my shoes. Is this sounding familiar? We have yet another conversation about replacing my shoes. He finds them. This time, the suede shoes have been cleaned, and I have to admit, it was good work, though the Chelseas haven’t been touched. He apologizes again, and comps me the suede cleaning, which I appreciate. At this point, I should have just taken the Chelseas with me, but I leave them with him. I reiterate, strongly, that I want to be called when the work is finished.
Day 21: No phone call. I call the shop to see if the work is done. An older gentleman answers the phone. He has no idea what I’m talking about. He suggests that I stop by and identify the shoes. I inform him that I’m coming from St. Johns and that I’m getting tired of driving all the way there. I ask how late he will be open. He says «until 5:00.» I stop by at 3:00. The store is closed and locked with no one inside.
Day 23: I drop by the shop. This time, it’s the older gentleman helping me. In the room, a drunk hippie is sitting in a chair, watching extremely loud TV. The hippie asks me if I’ve seen «American Sniper.» I haven’t. I ask the gentleman at the counter for my shoes. He has no idea what I’m talking about. I tell them they’re a pair of women’s Chelseas. The hippie yells at me that I must be a transvestite, then asks if I’ve seen «San Andreas.» No. The gentleman at the counter has no idea what Chelsea boots are. I tell him they’re mid-​height women’s leather boots with a leather heel. He comes back with a pair of cowboy boots. I tell him those are not them. He asks me if I’m sure. I’m sure. He comes back with a pair of ski boots. Still not right. Am I sure? I’m sure. The hippie starts shouting about the new Mad Max film at 180 decibels. I ignore him. This makes him angry and he starts talking louder. The older gentleman comes back with the correct boots and puts a nice shine on them. The repair looks good. I give him my ticket, and tell him that the younger gentleman had comped me part of the ticket. This confuses him. The hippie starts laughing loudly at the TV. I tell the older gentleman to just charge me what he’d charge for a heel repair. This confuses him. We discuss this for no less than 5 minutes back and forth. He tells me that the younger guy «doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.» He says $ 16. The hippie is now shouting at the TV. I pull out a $ 20. The older gentleman revises his quote to $ 18.50. It’s worth the extra $ 2.50 just to get the hell out of there. The hippie wants me to sit down and watch TV with him. I leave with my shoes, leaving tire marks all the way back to St. Johns.
So, the work is fine, but trying to work with them is like being trapped in a David Lynch film.

George fixed my danskos solidly and shined them up too. It was dirt cheap. The shop is dusty and disheveled but he seems to know where everything is by the tags. I appreciate the old school, simple business model and the honest and direct way he looks in my eyes. I am going to bring him another pair of shoes to fix. If he’s great a second time he’ll get bumped up to 5 stars. =-]

I lived near this cobbler for a while. They repaired my doc marten boots as best as they could. They even estimated the cost would be $ 15 and it was only $ 10! They also shined and buffed both my boots as well. Definitely very awesome people who love their jobs.

I stopped in to see if they could repair the strap on my favorite purse that had come unstitched. George was in but his son did the repair while George and I chatted. It was quick, extremely reasonable and he did an excellent job. Both of these gentlemen are funny and kind, it was a great experience.

I took my vintage engineer boots here a little while ago and they replaced/​repaired the heels, but they used what turned out to be a shoddy material that only lasted 4 months with my not wearing them much at all. Also, they said it would be about a week and it ended up being at least three, maybe closer to a month. I toook my boots somewhere else to repair their «repair».

I had a cowboy boot re-​tapped here and it looked awesome. The organizing system is very old school (read: they don’t have one) so I was initially turned off but I didn’t want to walk out on them so I trusted that they must be in business still for a reason. I was happy with the way they cleaned my boots before giving them back.

Do not trust this guy. I came to pick up my. Shoes 3 times and even time they were not ready. Then he leaves the store without letting any one know when he will be back.