There are two cobblers within walking distance of my house in Wakefield. This is not the good one.
Before I go into my experience I'll make clear that my my husband and I both play competitive roller derby and spent at least $700 on our skates each. They're not the cheapies you'd buy at Dick's. The skates that needed to be repaired are hand-sewn, soft-grain leather and needed two small holes and/or rips repaired in each skate The usual cobbler does this in half an hour for less than $10 and they look good as new every time.
I went here because my main cobbler was closed (it was Patriots day and I had all but forgotten). So I walk up to my usual cobbler and the store is locked, dark and empty. No big deal, I figured, I could just walk to the other one this once and if they're open I can get the skate's fixed today. If not I'll come back tomorrow. One day isn't going to kill me or the skates.
I get to Main Street Shoe Repair and the door didn't budge when I gave it a light pull so I take a peek inside, see it looks pretty dark and start to walk away. The owner pops out after I'm about three steps gone and informs me that she's closed because it's a holiday. "Okay," I say. "I'll come back tomorrow.
She takes a look at the skates in my hand and says, "Oh, you have rollerskates? Come in." I'm not sure why this was a deal maker for her, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and went in.
I show her what's wrong with the skates and tell her that they're my husband's and he needs them for a scrimmage that night so if she can't fix them today that I'll just come back tomorrow. I stress that I'd be happy to just bring them back tomorrow. I also mention that I have physical therapy in less than ten minutes and really only had the time to drop off the skates.
She says to me, "Well you may have physical therapy, but I'm on vacation today."
"I understand that, but I really can't be late for my doctors appointment. And I'd be happy to come back tomorrow."
She's left the door to her shop open and now another person has come in to conduct business with her. She tells them firmly that she's closed and then asks them what they need and helps them, all while I'm staring at the clock and getting worried that I'll be late to my PT appointment. The office is a two minute drive from where I am, but I still need to get out of the cobbler to get there. By the way, before the other costumer left, the cobbler berated her for not knowing the exact cost of her repair. I always thought that a business owner would know how much they charge for various services. Silly me!
She comes back and starts peeling the tape that was previously holding the ripped part of my husband's skate together off, telling me that her machine won't sew through the gunk (I know, duct tape is bad for leather, but there are only so many quick fixes when you're sitting on the bench between jams). I tell her that I know that and offer to peel off the tape while she fixes the other, tapeless, skate to save some time. She ignores me and tells me that I have to unlace both skates (a request I've never gotten from my regular cobbler) and walks away with one of my husband's skates.
About now another woman comes in and get's the same, "I'M CLOSED! But how can I help you?" treatment. While she's away I finish unlacing the skate, all the while thinking about how if she hadn't taken the other I'd have run with them both, retaped the one skate and brought them both to our regular cobbler the next morning. When I finish that skate she takes it and promptly replaces it with the one she had taken in the first place, still not even properly de-taped, mind you; again leaving me no way to escape with both skates.
About how I see that my PT appointment starts in thirty seconds and call the office to let them know that I will be running a little late. I guess cobbler-lady hears the annoyance in my voice and says, (While I'm on the phone, by the way. Super rude.) "Oh, you can go if you have some place to be. Just pay me now and I'll leave the skates at the cafe across the street."
....................... Fine. Most unprofessional thing I've heard in a long time, but fine.
I finish unlacing the second skate, write her a check for $10 and leave; getting to PT 5 - 10 minutes late and apologizing profusely on my way in. I'm a fairly punctual person and I hate running late.
I pick them up after PT, the woman at the cafe heard the word, "rollerskate" and gave them to me tied up in a recycled plastic grocery bag and they WEREN'T EVEN FIXED! One small rip on each skate is still there, and the way that she fixed the other problem (instead of re-sewing the seam) was to slap a piece of ill-matching leather to the top and sewing it with crooked lines.
Bad service AND no skill at her trade? Never going there again.
Update: My husband just came home from practice and informed me that what she did prevented him from closing the skate properly and needs to be un-done. read more