Do not use Cecil's. I've been taking things to Cecil's for 30+ years and I'm done. Worst service…read moreever, with extremely rude personnel and an overall lack of respect for their customers' time and money.
I took a winter coat there 7 months ago for repair. A very pleasant lady showed us how it would be fixed and said it would be a couple of months before the repair would be complete. I checked in after 3 months and was told by them that they were behind and would get it to me soon. That wasn't a problem with me because it's a winter coat and it was spring at the time I called to check on it. I checked in a couple of months later-- it's now May--and was told that it wasn't even started. I was also told they were working on things in the order in which they were received. I know they are busy and a small business, but all I received were a lot of excuses for not finishing the job they handedly took. Because of this, I asked if they could give us a more concrete timeline of when the coat would be repaired, since we had been waiting since January now. They proceeded to tell me that they would talk to the woman who does these kinds of repairs and get back to me with an update. After one month of receiving NO contact from them, I decided to stop in to see what was going on. However, I was greeted with more excuses for why the coat was not repaired: they are busy, working on getting people's sandals done, a small business, etc. As someone who has been going to Cecil's for 30+ years, I was disappointed to receive excuses rather than solutions for my coat repair. Nevertheless, I wanted to remain hopeful it would get done, despite the fact that I certainly was not happy with how they had handled the situation thus far.
We stopped in 10 days ago after once again receiving NO contact from Cecil's regarding my coat repair, and that's when I really began to see their decline in real-time. We were greeted with familiar news that the coat repair had not been started, along with the usual excuses regarding their status as a small business and how busy they were. I respectfully pushed them to get working on my coat, since they had had the coat for nearly 7 months now. However, I was told that the woman who does these kinds of repairs was on vacation and would be back on Wednesday. They specifically told me that she would reach out and give me a more concrete timeline for when the coat would be repaired. So, I waited until the end of the week, and unsurprisingly, I heard nothing. I called back today to try and understand why they couldn't get my coat repaired in a timely fashion, and yet again, the woman I spoke with provided many, many excuses for why it wasn't done: the woman doing these kinds of repairs was out on a family emergency, they needed to get sandals done first (I guess first in, first out doesn't apply or at least not consistently), they aren't doing coats anymore, and the usual small business one. In addition, she noted that everyone working there has been continuing this work at low pay. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the woman I am speaking with begins roaring in laughter and a moment later says, "oh I just saw something really adorable."
At this point, I realized the coat would never get done; I guess the customer she was talking to wasn't important enough to listen to. She proceeded to ask me what I wanted from her, and I simply asked why they would do this (referring to how they strung us along and didn't honor their commitment) and was accused of being an angry customer-I never raised my voice or used a cross tone. Even though I had every right to be an angry customer, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt as much as I could. However, she continued to make excuses by blaming this entire predicament on their status as a small business. Apparently, she claims, they tend to take in more than they can actually fix, and that their underperformance was a part of their status as a "small business." I know plenty of small businesses that do NOT share this same attitude and therefore don't find that claim excusable in the slightest. However, what really irked me about this entire situation was that there was NO apologies given for this terrible experience, as well as NO accountability for their actions; just excuses.
I picked up the coat today and took it to Monroe Street Shoe Repair - exceptional service, friendly, helpful and organized. If you have a repair, I highly recommend you go there instead.
It's truly sad to see what Cecil's has become, and their inability to take care of their customers. I don't see them recovering from this in the long-term, so save yourself the time and refrain from utilizing Cecil's.
