Shoe Repair Destroyed Favorite Boots... now what?
January 2, 2012 11:30 AM Subscribe
Cobbler ruined my favorite boots. What can I do?
I live in NYC and walk a lot. My favorite Bass boots, purchased last year for over $100, were worn and peeling apart on the heel. Otherwise, the boots and leather were in great condition. I looked up cobblers, found one in the West Village with great reviews, and brought them in.
I told them that I'd like a new heel only (no sole replacement), rubber this time. They said it would cost $45, which seemed steep but worthwhile for my favorite shoes. Got the boots back, they looked great...
After a month of wear (and nothing unusual) the new heel started to crack down the center and peel off. Not only that, but it became apparent that the cobbler unstitched the actual sole in some places when installing the new heel and glued it back together. As the glue is no longer working, the sole has become detached from the leather shoe in some places and it's clear that some stitching was cut out.
The obvious solution is that I can take them back, they will glue them back together, which will last another month if I'm lucky. I know that they destroyed the original construction of the shoe by removing stitching-- and worse yet, these shoes have been discontinued. I'd originally asked them not to tamper with the sole and just glue a new heel on, but doubt they will remember our conversation.
My question is-- what can I do? Do I have any rights as a customer? Note, I do not have my original receipts, but do have a bank statement reflecting the $45 payment.
I live in NYC and walk a lot. My favorite Bass boots, purchased last year for over $100, were worn and peeling apart on the heel. Otherwise, the boots and leather were in great condition. I looked up cobblers, found one in the West Village with great reviews, and brought them in.
I told them that I'd like a new heel only (no sole replacement), rubber this time. They said it would cost $45, which seemed steep but worthwhile for my favorite shoes. Got the boots back, they looked great...
After a month of wear (and nothing unusual) the new heel started to crack down the center and peel off. Not only that, but it became apparent that the cobbler unstitched the actual sole in some places when installing the new heel and glued it back together. As the glue is no longer working, the sole has become detached from the leather shoe in some places and it's clear that some stitching was cut out.
The obvious solution is that I can take them back, they will glue them back together, which will last another month if I'm lucky. I know that they destroyed the original construction of the shoe by removing stitching-- and worse yet, these shoes have been discontinued. I'd originally asked them not to tamper with the sole and just glue a new heel on, but doubt they will remember our conversation.
My question is-- what can I do? Do I have any rights as a customer? Note, I do not have my original receipts, but do have a bank statement reflecting the $45 payment.
Which model of Bass boots do you have? Unless they're constructed in a strange way, there would be no reason to remove the sole to replace the heel. Are they definitely re--sole-able boots? Not many shoes are anymore.
posted by brozek at 11:42 AM on January 2, 2012
posted by brozek at 11:42 AM on January 2, 2012
Response by poster: I can't even find a photo or name of the boots since they were taken down from their site-- they are black wingtip combat boots with a zipper up the side and black soles that were released winter 2010. No, they are not resole-able. That's why I wanted just the worn-down heel replaced.
And no, I can't figure out why they unstitched the sole in order to replace the heel, but they did... not the whole sole, but just around the heel. I don't think they can stitch the shoes back together. I would love it if they paid to replace the boots, but doubt that they will.
posted by dreamsofhorses at 11:51 AM on January 2, 2012
And no, I can't figure out why they unstitched the sole in order to replace the heel, but they did... not the whole sole, but just around the heel. I don't think they can stitch the shoes back together. I would love it if they paid to replace the boots, but doubt that they will.
posted by dreamsofhorses at 11:51 AM on January 2, 2012
Response by poster: Opps, got the name. They are Bass Bradly Boots
posted by dreamsofhorses at 11:54 AM on January 2, 2012
posted by dreamsofhorses at 11:54 AM on January 2, 2012
I wouldn't trust the West Village guys to have another go at your boots. If you're willing to sink in more money to save them, I'd take them to Arty's. People trust them with their $700 Laboutin blah blah blahs, and they've done some admirable reconstructive work for me on some favorite shoes and vintage purses. They will take a careful look at the shoes and tell you what your options are, and they will do the work they say they will do right.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 12:21 PM on January 2, 2012
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 12:21 PM on January 2, 2012
Oh yes- and some really shoe-obsessed folk (after all, it's New York) ship their stuff to Pasquale's in LA.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 12:27 PM on January 2, 2012
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 12:27 PM on January 2, 2012
1) If you go back and ask, they'll probably try to fix it for you. But if they messed it up once...
2) Maybe you can get a refund. I doubt it.
3) Take them to a better shop. The Firm is supposedly excellent: http://www.yelp.com/biz/firm-shoe-repair-new-york#query:the%20firm%20shoe
posted by User7 at 12:54 PM on January 2, 2012
2) Maybe you can get a refund. I doubt it.
3) Take them to a better shop. The Firm is supposedly excellent: http://www.yelp.com/biz/firm-shoe-repair-new-york#query:the%20firm%20shoe
posted by User7 at 12:54 PM on January 2, 2012
Response by poster: this is where i took them originally (great reviews!)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hector-shoe-repair-new-york
i plan to bring them back tomorrow and see what happens. updates soon!
posted by dreamsofhorses at 12:58 PM on January 2, 2012
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hector-shoe-repair-new-york
i plan to bring them back tomorrow and see what happens. updates soon!
posted by dreamsofhorses at 12:58 PM on January 2, 2012
For future reference, when reading Yelp reviews, always check the bottom of the page to see if there are any "filtered" reviews not showing up. Often, these are just obviously fake raves planted by the business, but other times Yelp unaccountably hides thoughtful, apparently legit reviews from upset consumers.
Reading the three filtered reviews, I find your negative review about your Bass boots hidden from sight, as well as two other one-star reviews from spring 2010. The review from 1/3/10 of two failed boot repairs might have warned you off, as might the sad gal who cried "Learn from my horrible gut-wrenching lesson: do not trust Hector's with your shoes!"
Good luck tomorrow.
posted by Scram at 1:34 PM on January 2, 2012 [2 favorites]
Reading the three filtered reviews, I find your negative review about your Bass boots hidden from sight, as well as two other one-star reviews from spring 2010. The review from 1/3/10 of two failed boot repairs might have warned you off, as might the sad gal who cried "Learn from my horrible gut-wrenching lesson: do not trust Hector's with your shoes!"
Good luck tomorrow.
posted by Scram at 1:34 PM on January 2, 2012 [2 favorites]
Are you sure those soles were originally sewn on? For Bass boots at $100, there's a pretty good chance the sole was originally glued on. Its possible they used heat to pull off the heel, and that weakened the sole bond.
The best shoe repair in NYC is B Nelson shoes.
posted by OmieWise at 2:51 PM on January 2, 2012
The best shoe repair in NYC is B Nelson shoes.
posted by OmieWise at 2:51 PM on January 2, 2012
Best answer: ...it became apparent that the cobbler unstitched the actual sole in some places when installing the new heel and glued it back together. As the glue is no longer working, the sole has become detached from the leather shoe in some places and it's clear that some stitching was cut out.
I can't figure out why they unstitched the sole in order to replace the heel, but they did... not the whole sole, but just around the heel. I don't think they can stitch the shoes back together. I would love it if they paid to replace the boots, but doubt that they will.
I think I can speak to this:
Over the holiday break I brought a pair of boots and a pair of shoes in to our regular shoe repair place to have new heels put on - I wanted the whole heel replaced with solid black rubber heels, as the plastic heels (I didn't know it was when I bought them) on my (over $100 year-old pair of Land' End boots and over $80 Zigi shoes) wasn't pleasant to walk on; and the covering peeled after being scraped when going down some stairs, revealing the white plastic on the boots.
What was great was that they explained what they'd have to do to fix them. It also would have been $45 or more (each), which wasn't worth the investment, comparable to the cost of the original items. I'd rather have the money toward a new, better quality pair of boots that can be repaired indefinitely. I've been buying shoes for half my life now, and there's been a noticeable decline in the quality within that price range in modern shoes, whereas all my vintage shoes have leather soles and better quality manufacture from the get-go. The repair guy confirmed my suspicions of planned obsolescence in these - he said "These are only built to last a season, and aren't made for bad weather."
But, what I also love about my shoe repair guys is that before they touch anything, they explain what they're going to do and how they're going to do it. As they showed me, the way the heels are attached is that they are nailed or screwed from the other side of the sole, before the rest of the shoes/boots are assembled. So, they would have to re-sole the entire bottom with a thicker piece of hard rubber to do the repair I wanted, or go through the inside with longer nails or screws, taking up the inner sole and possibly needing to replace that. If there hadn't been a zipper at the base of the tall shaft of the boot, there wouldn't have been a way to work that at all. So I decided just to go with the $20 patch-up job on each, that being a thicker new softer and more dense rubber heel pad, and wrapping new leather around the plastic part - because, sadly, shoes even in that price range from pretty good manufacturers aren't meant to be worn hard and repaired often.
My advice is (since I used to work in a field where I dealt with jewellery to be repaired, an even more sensitive issue) and in my experience with having a repair shop I use regularly and trust, is always to ask "How is this going to work?" before going ahead, if they don't offer to tell you. It might not have changed the outcome, but you'd have been prepared for it. Good luck with yours!
posted by peagood at 5:41 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
I can't figure out why they unstitched the sole in order to replace the heel, but they did... not the whole sole, but just around the heel. I don't think they can stitch the shoes back together. I would love it if they paid to replace the boots, but doubt that they will.
I think I can speak to this:
Over the holiday break I brought a pair of boots and a pair of shoes in to our regular shoe repair place to have new heels put on - I wanted the whole heel replaced with solid black rubber heels, as the plastic heels (I didn't know it was when I bought them) on my (over $100 year-old pair of Land' End boots and over $80 Zigi shoes) wasn't pleasant to walk on; and the covering peeled after being scraped when going down some stairs, revealing the white plastic on the boots.
What was great was that they explained what they'd have to do to fix them. It also would have been $45 or more (each), which wasn't worth the investment, comparable to the cost of the original items. I'd rather have the money toward a new, better quality pair of boots that can be repaired indefinitely. I've been buying shoes for half my life now, and there's been a noticeable decline in the quality within that price range in modern shoes, whereas all my vintage shoes have leather soles and better quality manufacture from the get-go. The repair guy confirmed my suspicions of planned obsolescence in these - he said "These are only built to last a season, and aren't made for bad weather."
But, what I also love about my shoe repair guys is that before they touch anything, they explain what they're going to do and how they're going to do it. As they showed me, the way the heels are attached is that they are nailed or screwed from the other side of the sole, before the rest of the shoes/boots are assembled. So, they would have to re-sole the entire bottom with a thicker piece of hard rubber to do the repair I wanted, or go through the inside with longer nails or screws, taking up the inner sole and possibly needing to replace that. If there hadn't been a zipper at the base of the tall shaft of the boot, there wouldn't have been a way to work that at all. So I decided just to go with the $20 patch-up job on each, that being a thicker new softer and more dense rubber heel pad, and wrapping new leather around the plastic part - because, sadly, shoes even in that price range from pretty good manufacturers aren't meant to be worn hard and repaired often.
My advice is (since I used to work in a field where I dealt with jewellery to be repaired, an even more sensitive issue) and in my experience with having a repair shop I use regularly and trust, is always to ask "How is this going to work?" before going ahead, if they don't offer to tell you. It might not have changed the outcome, but you'd have been prepared for it. Good luck with yours!
posted by peagood at 5:41 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: thanks everyone. great answers. i appreciate the yelp advice... i was looking for my review and it really is hidden.
sadly, Hector didn't tell me ahead of time and i surely would have taken a $20 patch up job that would get me through the season over the pricey replacement that didn't work. i've learned the hard way.
i went in yesterday and very calmly showed him the problem. he mumbled angrily that the glue didn't stick because the soles are plastic, as if that's my mis-judgement (they feel like rubber, but i do believe that they were originally glued on-- but when he took them in, he never said it would be a problem). i asked him if the rubber heel was a bad idea and he just kept mumbling the same thing-- "they're plastic! it doesn't work!". he took them back and said to come in friday. his customer service/communication wasn't the best and i'm safe to assume he glued them and i'll get another month of wear...
i guess it's time to call it a loss. i'm trolling for marked down frye boots for the new year. the pair i own have lasted years with inexpensive heel replacement, even beyond going out of style ;)
posted by dreamsofhorses at 2:38 PM on January 4, 2012
sadly, Hector didn't tell me ahead of time and i surely would have taken a $20 patch up job that would get me through the season over the pricey replacement that didn't work. i've learned the hard way.
i went in yesterday and very calmly showed him the problem. he mumbled angrily that the glue didn't stick because the soles are plastic, as if that's my mis-judgement (they feel like rubber, but i do believe that they were originally glued on-- but when he took them in, he never said it would be a problem). i asked him if the rubber heel was a bad idea and he just kept mumbling the same thing-- "they're plastic! it doesn't work!". he took them back and said to come in friday. his customer service/communication wasn't the best and i'm safe to assume he glued them and i'll get another month of wear...
i guess it's time to call it a loss. i'm trolling for marked down frye boots for the new year. the pair i own have lasted years with inexpensive heel replacement, even beyond going out of style ;)
posted by dreamsofhorses at 2:38 PM on January 4, 2012
My empathies, dreamsofhorses! Here, by the way, is an amazing "glue" that I've used for flapping shoe bottoms in the past. For some things like shoes, it works best when it's fresh and new - for other things, like securing a plexiglass table top into an old metal table, it can be used when it's thickened. But it's pretty weather-resistant, and okay for most plastics. (I am Frye shopping too!)
posted by peagood at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2012
posted by peagood at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2012
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posted by asphericalcow at 11:37 AM on January 2, 2012