I have had shoes & sandals repaired here and my shoes shined as well! They do a helluva job!!!! After they finish, my shoes are like mirrors!!!! read more

This location is OPEN. Luckily I called to confirm. Please update their status. This is a great shop with a convenient location. I'd hate for them to lose business because of an error. read more

Scenario: Fri. 6/25. On vacay. Stopped by this location in hopes of dropping off heels to be repaired. Potential problem: Last day of vacay. Usually work M-F from 7:15 am to 5:30 pm. Noticed the store is open M-F from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. Yup, conflicting hours. My only hope was the closing time. I ask the woman behind the counter if those store hours listed in the shop were correct, specifically the closing time. She just smiled and said, "Oh, nooooooooo........we're walking out the door no later than 4:45 pm!" Thinking that statement sealed the deal (or lack thereof), I said, "Well, I probably shouldn't have my shoes repaired here then because it conflicts with my job." She says, "Oh no, honey, I'm here M-F every morning at 6:30 am! Just come on in!" She didn't quite look like a morning person to me (don't ask me why, gut feeling), so I asked her, "Are you SURE?" She says, "Oh yes, honey, your shoes will be ready by Monday morning! Just stop by in the morning, I'll be here at 6:30 am!" I ask AGAIN if she's sure. Same response. I pay my $12, grab my receipt, walk out the door. Fast forward to Monday morning at 7:00 am (note: 30 min LATER than the time she gave) and the store was absolutely dark. No sign of ANYONE. I was livid. That lady that worked behind the counter flat out lied. I ended up having to take leave from work to pick up my shoes later that afternoon (at 4:30 pm). Ridiculous. That lady better be glad she wasn't there when I stopped by to pick up my shoes. The shoes looked great, but nothing can compensate for the absolute poor customer service and inconsistent hours. Will never be back. read more

In this economy, I am turning to fixing up my old shoes rather than buying new ones (I know, oh the horror!). I had a pair of pumps that had run down to the metal on the heels (even beyond)-- there was no rubber (or whatever that material is) left. I brought them in this morning before work and the lady asked if I wanted to wait. I figured this meant 15, 20 minutes. But no, the man took my shoes, I paid the cashier, and literally within seconds of me getting my change my shoes had bright, shiny, thick new heels for me to traipse all over town in! They have always done a good job of fixing my heels, and the shoes have always been done when promised. They also offer shine services, and sell miscellaneous items like inserts, polish, even umbrellas. read more

So...I walk. A lot. In heels. And often times, before I realize it, I am walking on the little metal nub of my heel. I tolerate it for as long as I am able until I nearly wipe out while cutting through the Thompson Center. I then retire these shoes to a drawer in my office "to be repaired." The other day, I realized that I had seven pairs of unwearable shoes. So, Sam to the rescue. I dropped my shoes off at around 10:00 a.m. and on Monday, they gave me a call, letting me know they were in tip-top shape. No metal nubs here. (I suspect they were ready on Friday, but I just plain forgot to go pick them up.) Hooray! All for the very reasonable price of $12 per pair. I'm gonna go take a slip-free stroll through the Thompson Center. read more

I'd worn several pairs of heels down to the metal nubs, and I finally motivated myself to do something about it. I came to Yelp to find the closest place to work, and this happened to be it. I will definitely agree with other reviewers--NOT the friendliest place. The lady mumbled so much I couldn't understand what she was saying, and made it seem like me giving them business was a bother to her. Definitely rather awkward. And she refused to take my out of area cell phone number--really?! So two stars knocked off for that. In terms of the work done, I can't complain. I've been walking on the new heels and they appear to be good quality. Two pairs of shoes were also done same day, which I definitely was not expecting. Pricewise, I assume it's comparable to other places (though I haven't been to another cobbler in Chicago). $12 for new tips on heels. So they get the job done. I just wish it was a bit more friendly of an experience. Jury's out on whether I'll be a repeat customer, or if I'll try another place. read more

I invested in some leather boots a few years ago and wore the soles and heels down to nothing. I took them to a dry cleaner/shoe repair place in my neighborhood and they did a crappy job. They just put a flimsy pad on the bottoms of the boots. So I brought them here and the guy working was totally sweet and understanding. They were expertly fixed and I havent had a problem since. And only $20 for the pair! The boots are back in business! read more

I showed up at 5:15 and they were closed. (Don't advertise your hours as being until 5:30 if you close early.) So I walked to the drop-off location near Merch Mart. Dropped off 2 pairs of shoes, one with a scuff, and one that needed re-heeling. I had a Groupon for each pair (one was a friend's pair). Three days later, I went back to pick them up. Mine were returned to me in the same condition I dropped them off in. ("They said they couldn't do anything for these shoes," the lady said. Lies. I had them re-heeled perfectly at Beehouse.) My friend's shoe that was scuffed was patched up with a heavy glob of shoe-shine. It wasn't even applied evenly! They took her $10 for $20 Groupon, too - and I KNOW that wasn't $20 worth of service. They could have at least FINISHED shining the pair. Absolutely terrible. read more

Worst service ever. I pre-paid $54 to have my leather purse re-dyed. I was told it would take 1.5 weeks. I gave them 2 weeks, rushed after work in a cab to get to their store during their limited 9-5 hours. When I got there they couldn't find my purse, so I went to the back and saw that they hadn't even started the work. I asked for a refund and to take my purse to another place. They wouldn't give me my money even though they hadn't started. I waited for 30 minutes while the person on staff called the guy supposed to do the work. They said they would get it done and messenger it to my building the next week Monday. Fast forward, after several of their calls confirming the purse would be dropped off, it took them an extra week - so 3 weeks later got the purse. NOT the right caramel color. Don't come here unless you want them to dye a $300 purse the wrong color, and if you want work done. read more

Sure the shoe-shine is indulgent. But if you've got $5 to spare, why not let these pros fix you up right?

Highly recommend! Quality, quick work done in house by a true expert. Bring in more than one pair for a discount. He threw in a shine for free and even repaired a pair of old pleather boots he had initially said were past their time, free of charge! read more

DO NOT GO HERE TO GET YOUR UGGS CLEANED. I REPEAT! DO NOT! I have posted photos to show you how destroyed my boots are now. I just got these Uggs for Christmas, so there were only 3 months old with just a bit of salt on the edge by the toe.. that's it. I figured any dry cleaners can simply just clean them... so i bring them to this store being its on my way to work. They charged me before they even did the service which i thought was odd but i didn't think much about it... i went back over a week later being that i didn't hear anything back yet and i see that they scrubbed the whole bottom of the boot to the point where the fur is gone and it's just shiny spots all over.... there is even scrub marks on the top of the boot even though there was no need for that. As you can see in the photos i posted, the boots are completely destroyed, discolored and hard as a rock. They told me that spray painted the boots to make them look black again... first of all WHO SPRAY PAINTS SHOES!? And second, they are not even close to being black! I was almost in tears when i picked them up. I told them that they were pretty much brand new when i brought them in and now there is no way i could wear these again. I asked for a refund and they refused. Told me to take them else where if i thought someone else could do better. How am i suppose to do that when they already did this to them?.. I did bring them somewhere (Lucky Dry Cleaner & Laundry Service on School Street) to see if they could fix them and the person stated Uggs cleaning 101 is to NOT SCRUB. That ruins the fur, and there isn't much they could do since that is what Sam The Shoe Doctor has done to them. They at least dyed them black at no cost because they felt so bad for me. It didn't change the fact that there is bald spots on the fur. I brought them back to Sam The Shoe Doctor and demanded a refund, which they finally gave but didn't take any blame in ruining my boots and even walked away from me. I am so frustrated with this store. If they didn't know how to help, i wish they would of just refused the service, because now i have $200 boots that are completely ruined. :( read more

Sam The Shoe Doctor - DO NOT GO HERE TO GET YOUR UGGS CLEANED! They destroyed them - Shoe Repair Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

This place is great. They have repaired many many many destroyed shoes for me over the years to almost as good as new.

above and beyond! went to them with a legitimate custom shoe emergency. am a high heel, high end lady, who broke her foot and needed help! help i got. al rallied the troops and took care of me in no time. kindness, respect, fair prices and a genuine knowledge of the craft of cobblery is what i found as i went to several of their loop locations. can't wait to use them again, hopefully for less of an emergency. thanks to all! read more

The RUDEST 2 guys I've ever experienced in a service industry. - they tried to mark up a $2.99 pair of laces to $ 8.95!!! (The label was marked $2.99) - wouldn't let me sit down to change the laces I JUST purchased from them - told me they don't work for or provide service for people who only buy laces read more

It's hard to believe that this place is still in business. I went in today with two pairs of shoes that need polishing. I was ready for the usual shoe repairman upsell efforts, warning you that at the first signs of wear on the heal you had to replace the heals, etc. But the Shoe Doctor takes aggressive upselling to a new level, at least at the 175 Randolph St. venue. Not only was I told I needed heals, I was told that for both pairs of shoes I needed $20 desalinization service, never mind that one of the two pairs has not been worn outside this winter. I persisted with my request that I just would like to have the shoes shined, but the surly lady running the shop insisted that the shoes would not look good unless I paid the $20 upcharge. Of course, I just took my shoes and walked out of the shop. So, if you want a minimum charge $25 shoe shine, and grumpy customer service, this is the place for you! read more

This place is horrible. The woman at the front desk is rude and abrupt with every customer I saw on 3 visits. She mumbles angrily and is rude to the shoe shine men and there is obvious tension and laziness in the shop. My shoe repair was rather expensive and then the method they used caused a painful bump in the shoe that made it unwearable. I returned to the shop and they did fix it for free (after a lot of grief from the woman who was convinced I was lying!!), but now there is a blob of glue on the toe of my shoe that I can't remove. Other "Sams" may be fine, but steer clear of this one - absolutely awful. read more

Note: This review is for the lobby shop at Franklin and Monroe, but I think all of the stores are related and just send the shoes out, so I doubt it matters. Anyway, I brought in my favorite pair of leather high heels and asked the lady to do what they could to make them look somewhat new again. While yes, they were fast, I can't believe what a crappy job they did, especially considering the extraordinarily high price. For $20.00, all they did was add a heel cap, and polish the heel of the shoe itself. They not only did not polish the actual shoes (the leather portion) they got some of the darker polish from the heel on the back of the shoe, basically ruining it. I will NEVER be back, and if you like your shoes, I'd beware. I've decided to buy polish and take care of that myself, and find another store to reheel my shoes for me. SAM'S IS A MASSIVE SHOE REPAIR FAIL. read more

The place is just plain rude. It used to be if someone gave them a 20% tip ($1 on a $5 shine) they would ignore it and sneer. Now they ignore a 40% tip without a thank you . Their shine is ok but I no longer need the indifference and ungratefulness and will go to the new place around the corner on Adams. Can't be any worse and maybe you will get a thank you. read more

Took two pairs of boots here to be re-heeled They did a great job at only $12/pair, and best of all they were done the next day.

I would prefer going to Sam for every pair of shoes for the rest of my life. I'll start off with a scenario to set the scene: First walked in with a pair of pricey blue dress shoes. The wooden heel was beginning to crack off and the bottom tip of the rubber sole was peeling down from the base. I asked Sam if he had any ideas, he immediately went to the back and came out with all the supplies. He proceeded to nail the heel of my shoe in with miniature nail--talk about precision--then glued the front sole back to the base of the shoe. I asked him how much and he refused to take any money from me. This guys character goes unmatched and he truly lives to help. His business expands far wider than just a "shoe shiner", always putting the customer first. He checks in on my other pairs of shoes when I drop in and makes sure I leave looking squeaky clean every single time. Spectacular man, spectacular business. read more

I brought in a pair of light-colored suede flats that needed cleaning, re-soling. The guy looks at them, suggests they could also use new heel guards and seems to arbitrarily decide that it would cost about $65. I balked at that price and said don't do the heels, and he stated it would be $50. For $50 I expected a thorough cleaning. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the results as they still had areas that looked dirty. I can't help but wonder how careful and thorough they were, especially as they were handling the shoes with very dirty hands. I will not be returning and I will not be recommending them. read more

this is great place for a shoe shine and if you need your shoe fix they recommend me Sam the shoe Dr at 132 s. Franklin. I took my Allen Edmond for full sole and heel and the next day my shoes were ready it was a great job and a great price read more

Had my wedding shoes dyed here - they came back with parts broken and dyed the wrong color. The part of the strap that intersected with another part of the strap wasn't dyed at all underneath. Parts of the shoes ended up looking almost black when the color I wanted them to match was a lake blue color. They refunded my money but the shoes are still ruined. Now I have to buy new shoes and get them dyed somewhere else. read more