I needed to get my winter boots fixed before winter came on full-throttle. So, in mid-October, I took my boots to United Shoe Repair. The lone shoe repairman at United Shoe Repair took in my boots, said he'd fix the front part of the soles and said the boots would be ready in a week. It was going to be $20. I came back in a week, and another person was manning the shop. He apologized, saying his cousin had been manning the shop in his absence. Also - not only were my boots not worked on at all, but he'd actually need to do the full soles, and it was going to take longer. He also explained that the type of shoes I had would only last the season with a new sole, and that they would fall off next season. He said to come back in two weeks.The price became $80. Two weeks later. Boots not worked on yet. Advised to come back in a week. It's November, cold and rainy. One week later. The boots are finished. Yes! I pay up (cash only, FYI). I take my boots in one hand, keys in the other, and prance happily to my car where I chuck the boots in the backseat and drive home. Three weeks later. I'm done shoveling the driveway. Frankly, I'd be happy if I were done for the entire season. I stick the shovel by the door and tromp upstairs to my landing. I shuffle and stamp a bit to get the snow off my newly-fixed boots, and then trudge to my room. One shower and a pair of work shoes later, I emerge from my room, ready to face the workday. As I walk back towards the front door, I notice little chunks of wet rubber littering the hallway. There is an especially large gathering of rubber chunklets on the rug where I shuffled around to get snow off. On a hunch, I went and took a look at my repaired boots. Little did I know that, as I was removing the snow, I was also removing bits and pieces of my supposedly fixed shoes. They were supposed to last a season, and they didn't even last a snowstorm. And that is why I'm giving this shop a FAIL. read more

Ok, sort of new to Yelp and previously wrote a review which was perceived by some as well as the Yelp editorial staff to not be specific enough and then removed..My headline is "the truth even if it hurts" so here goes I used this cobbler many times during the first 17 years I lived here and he was great.I have returned on 2 occasions recently and the old proprietor was not there In any case the first time was to have the lace tassels repaired,came back a week later and the employee had to run up the street too the other cobbler who had experience in repairing tassels because he had brought them there to be fixed. i thought no biggie he went out of his way for me, but really we are talking about tassels. On my second visit, for soles and heels they were not ready as promised a week later and when i did pick them up the sole began to separate form the bottom of the shoe after two times they were worn. I returned them and they were repaired. I will not return to this shop because i have found more experienced tassel and sole staff in the area. I DO HOPE MY LONG WINDED DIATRIBE ABOVE NOW MEETS THE SPECIFICITY GUIDELINES OF THE YELP AUDIENCE AND EDITORIAL STAFF. REGARDS TO ALL! PS. CAN WE GET A ZERO STAR RATING read more

I read the previous reviews on Yelp and decided to give this place a try. This was close to being the worst customer service experience I've ever had. Read on... The shop is in a nice area that I frequent, but upon walking inside I immediately felt that the shop wasn't getting much love from its owner. The cobbler was not there, but an "attendant" I interrupted watching TV in the back slowly made his way to the front. I had my 2- and 4-yr old girls with me and they sensed something was off. He didn't seem to work there and even seemed confused why I was there. He took some cryptic notes about the repairs I needed and loosely assured me with a $50 deposit that the work would be done in a week. I paid the deposit and asked for the cobbler to call me to confirm the work to be done. I didn't hear anything for two weeks, so came back with the girls. There was smoke in the air. My older daughter marched first to the counter (since she now knew the place) and froze looking into the back. I walked up behind her and there was a new "attendant" watching TV who didn't elicit any response from us. I stood there frozen and he glanced in our direction (no eye contact) and went back to watching TV. I moved a little and he seemed subconsciously aware of our presence but then back to the TV. I asked is the shop keeper in, and after a 10 second exchange of incoherent mumbling with some mention of "next door" I grabbed the girls and left. I called back an hour later and a person picked up the phone. In broken English he said he had been out of the country for a month and had just gotten back. I gave him the number on my order slip and he had no clue or record of my repair. I described the shoes and repairs to be done and said he would call me the next day to let me know status. Two weeks went by with no call back. So I came in alone and finally found the cobbler, who explained he had just gotten back from a long trip (again). One-third of the repairs were done (rubber re-sole of leather shoes, repair was fine). They charged me for that repair and I took what I could for the rest but one pair of boots had been sent out for zipper repair. I asked that the work be stopped and that I would be back in a week for them. Returning a third time, I asked for my boots. While they aimlessly searched their workbench for them, I noticed them being kicked around on a dusty floor . Mind you, these were $400 suede boots. They were ok upon inspection, so I left immediately. Don't use this place. There is another cobbler four blocks away that I have since started using and they are great. read more

i brought in a pair of clogs to have an elastic back strap added at the beginning of November. I never received a call saying they were done. I went in 2 weeks ago and they still were not done. They said one more week! I couldn't go back last week to get them so I just got them back today. Very sad about this shop. I might give them another because a local shoe store said they were always happy with the service but i doubt it. read more

Went here to have a belt buckle repaired. There was cigarette smoke coming from out back, and it took several minutes before either of the two in the back acknowledged my presence. I had a feeling the place was a bit shady, but wanted to give them a try since I live in the neighborhood. The girl said the belt would be ready the next day, and took my 10 bucks. When I came back the next day for the belt, it was missing. Neither of the two could find it. They asked me to come in on the following monday. Ok, fine. So I went back on the monday, and again there was a bunch of smoke coming out of the back. I just thought to myself, "please let the belt be here." Sure enough it was, and I think the job was done ok, but I am sorry to say I will find another place next time. It really was not a pleasant experience. read more

I was just there. Stopped by on the way home to have the tops of my shoes polished. The woman said they'd charge me $10. Fine. The shoes came back fine, but the guy couldn't get a gash out, he said, without ruining the shiny finish of the shoe. I'm a little skeptical of that claim, but there are disappointments in life. At least the lady only charged me $8. read more

I wish I could give it less than one star. The owner is a thief and I almost called the police on him. The soles cracked on a favorite pair of my boots. I brought them to this guy to have the boots repaired / waterproofed. When I picked them up, it looked like they hadn't been touched. The crack in the sole was still there. There was still even mud on the bottom inside it. On the counter were a few bottles of spray-on waterproofing. I asked him if that was how he'd "waterproofed" my boots and he said yes. I said I wasn't going to pay $21 for that because I could have done that myself. He said "Let me see your bill." I gave him the bill. And RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME he changed the "1" to a "7" and said I owed him $27. I was furious but I loved the boots and just paid him and took them, positive I'd never got in there again. I haven't. I don't know why people do. I think he must own the building or something because everybody in Arlington seems to know the guy's a thief. read more

I have used this place extensively, and never had any problems with it. Once they sewed a zipper and repaired a tear in my ski bag on a very short notice - the price was very reasonable, it took them about an hour. They fixed heels on my wife's shoes, they punched a hole in a belt, they fixed a buckle on a shoe for my daughter - all the services a shoe repair shop is expected to handle. I never tried to repair any heavy duty boots, so I cannot speak to robustness of their work for everyday wear, but my repaired ski bag survived 10+ flights without any problems. I have never seen them behave dishonestly. read more

Awful customer service and shoddy work. I dropped off a pair of shoes that needed to have rubber added to soles. They were for a theatrical production. When I dropped them off, I explained that I absolutely needed them by the following Wednesday (this was on a Thursday morning). The guy said no problem. When I returned to pick up the shoes (on the day when they told me they would be ready), they hadn't been touched yet. The guy tried to blame it on his wife, saying that she didn't put it on his work list. Hey, pal, I've never met your wife. When I was in here last week, it was YOU who I spoke to. The fact that you haven't touched the shoes makes you a poor businessman. The fact that you're trying to blame it on your wife makes you a Grade A weasel. I returned the next day on my way to work, and the shoes STILL were not done! I ripped the guy a new one, explaining that I had to get to work, and that those shoes needed to go on stage THAT NIGHT. He promised me that they would be ready in an hour. I could not wait that long. I had to call my boyfriend and ask him to pick up the shoes in Arlington, then drive into Boston to deliver them to the costume shop where I work. This is not how my boyfriend wanted to spend his day off. I should have known that this wouldn't work out well. I have done this kind of work myself before. (I only used an outside service this time because I couldn't get the materials in time to do the work myself.) The contact cement that is used for adhering soles to shoes is supposed to cure for 24 hours to set the bond. Since the guy did a last-minute rush job on the shoes on the same day that I needed them, the glue did not cure properly and the rubber sole fell off in the middle of a performance. Never again! read more

I don't know how much I can add to what DiDi V. said, but I've also been very happy with United Shoe Repair. I've actually been bringing shoes and boots there for a couple of decades; the store has changed ownership, but the quality shoe repair and friendly service has remained constant. From clunky men's shoes to pointy-toed goth boots, they can fix it all! read more

Brought in my favorite pair of boots a few weeks back. They did it all-replaced a zipper and 2 heels. It was kind of pricey, but hey, they are my best boots and saved me from the time, effort and money of replacing them. Love the customer service and the old school atmosphere of the shop. Keep in mind they only take cash or check. read more

Reasonably priced, friendly and good service. Patrick is main person who I have dealt with I don't know the others mentioned in other reviews. I would recommend them. read more

i would give this place 0 stars if i could. i wish i'd read the yelp reviews before i used them. store is messy and dirty. customer service is horrible. guys working there often smell like alcohol. they smoke in the shop. at one point i was in the back of the shop helping them try to find my boots and saw that customers' shoes and purses are just thrown everywhere, even on the floor. to make a long story *reasonably* short... i dropped off a pair of boots to have the zippers replaced. they were supposed to be done in 10 days. i went back to get them- of course they weren't done. 2+ weeks later of being told "they'll be ready tomorrow. someone will give you a call" every few days and similar stories (they were never ready. they did not call.) i finally was able to pick my boots up the FIFTH time i went in to get them. twice when i went in the person working there was overwhelming stupid. or stoned. i couldn't tell. they would take over 10 minutes to figure out that my boots weren't there. once i insisted the woman working call the main guy. she could not figure out how to make the land line OR her own cell phone work so i ended up calling him on my cell. and the best part: they'd only replaced ONE zipper, and not both yet i was still required to pay the price i was initially quoted. now my boots have TWO DIFFERENT types of zippers. yeah. not great. won't go there again. save yourself the trouble don't go here. UPDATE: the boot that they charged me for a zipper repair yet did NOT replace the zipper on broke again the first time i tried to wear it. i brought it back on 12/21/12 and had to fight to get them to agree not to charge me. i called on 1/8/13. they said it would be ready 1/9/13. i called 1/11/13 having learned my lesson, and of course it's not ready. finally was ready on 1/12/13. TWO MONTHS it took to get this repaired! no apologies from the store, just attitude. i've learned my lesson and will NEVER go there again. read more

I won't go back to United Shoe Repair. I left my shoes, and returned several times (when they were supposed to be ready, during regular business hours) to find the shop closed. The price for the same work kept changing, depending on who was behind the counter. When my partner picked up my shoes, he was charged more than we agreed. When I went in to ask for the difference (all of $2, but it galled me), the man opened the register, and said he didn't have the money. What I want is good service, not drama and acting. I'm going to try the place up the street. read more

I took my shoes there on a Tuesday. They said they would be ready by the end of the week. I was having heels put on. Then, they turn around and tell me they are not ready. They called me and said that they can't do it. They have no heels there to put on my shoes. What kind of cobbler is this? read more

I signed up for Yelp just to write this review. So I had an issue with my girlfriend's snowboard boot. A little plastic part on the boot broke. Burton sent me a replacement part and all i needed was to have the replacement part riveted back on to the boot. So I called this place as it was close to my house. The guy said he could do rivets. I know that working on snowboard boots is not common for these guys, but never the less, I would expect them to treat other peoples property with care. Not the case here. The dude working on it ended up cutting the lace on the boot in a very critical spot. This is not a standard lace up boot, so cutting this lace effectively ruined the entire boot. When I called him on it, he said that I had given it to him like that. I was furious, and I knew I was not going to get any compensation from these idiots. I left with my newly broken boot and called Burton's customer service which rocks btw. read more