Santa Shoe Repair

I saw the bad Unilocal on this place. It is very close to me and I figured how bad can a cobbler be. It is Bad. I took in my shoes for simple rubber heel plates. The clerk did Not understand even simple English. I wanted them in about 10 minutes and she said I could get them the next day. That is ridiculous and then she said 20 minutes. I returned in 1 hour and 40 minutes and they had not even started. I gave her my ticket and she started asking if different shoes were mine. Shoes that did not ever look slightly like mine. I saw them in the cobblers room and finally got the clerk and cobblers attention. I had to wait another 10 minutes in the noisy shop. I asked 4 times if she could turn down the horribly loud Korean TV. She never understood or turned it down. I spoke to her in my simple Korean but it was no help. $ 6 for rubber heel plates, maybe a bit much. One Star

I have been coming here for years and they do a fantastic job on my shoe for a very reasonable price. I get a 1 centimeter lift put into one of my shoes for a leg length discrepancy and have been to several places over the years but none compares to the job these people do and the price they charge. Their work is truly 5 star, but I will take off 1 star for the language barrier. All I did was bring them a sample of what I wanted done the first time and they have done it perfect ever since. They have also sewn my suitcase and the strap on my backpack lawn chair for about 5 bucks. I find them to be very friendly and appreciate their work so much that I always try to bring them fresh fruit and vegies from my yard. Gomapseumnida! (Thank you in Korean)

Family and I have come here for years. They always do spectacular work even though there is a language barrier. Just had my the bottom of my boots heels replaced today and my boots look practically brand new!

I was in tear when i pick up my shoe. MY MIU MIU, special edition!!!
I specific told her that I DO NOT want the black sole too high so when i walk no one can see the black sole. They went too high, ugly… it can not be fix because he cut the bottom way close the heel
.The men was screaming at me and his wife in KOREAN. They messed up my $ 1500.00 shoes.
NO Sorry, No nothing. I understand some Korean and the husband said was very rude. Typical Korean culture but I am their customer. I paid $ 35 and got my shoe f… up.
I highly suggested you should not go to this place!!!
They both do not understand ANY English. I am very mad, upset and angry.

Horrible service. I had exactly the same experience as the reviewers below… funny thing is, I bet the rude lady who runs that place doesn’t even care about 1 star Unilocal reviews on her business — service was that bad. ven’t picked up my shoes yet, but I had a very simple repair so I am hoping that they won’t mess them up.

I wish I didn’t have to pick a star. Horrible, horrible place. I wish I would of gone with my 1^st instinct when I brought my shoes. I tried explaining in English to tell her what I wanted & she didn’t speak or understand but 5 words of English. I took $ 100 pair of brand new Ugg sandals there & mind you paid up front & that she knew how to say in English & they just ruined them. Unless you speak her language I would strongly suggest not wasting your time. So unbelievably disappointed & pissed!

This place is Sooo bad I will be taking them to small claims court. I would rate it in the minus if possible

The woman who helped me spoke zero English. As in, I spoke to her in English, she responded (at great length) in a language that was not English. I tried again using point and act sign language, to which she responded again in another language and seemed to think I was a moron for not understanding. I don’t care as much about the language barrier as I do about the attitude. Okay, fine, there were plenty of shoes and she seemed to understand my concerns, so I assumed she could get them resolved. I don’t need them to speak English — but I do need them to know how to take care of my shoes. I needed 2 pairs of boots polished and the insoles for one pair replaced. I asked for cushioning, pointed to cushioned insoles and asked if they could cut them to fit. She shook her head no and said something incomprehensible while pointing to a piece of leather. I paid upfront $ 48 and when I came back to pick them up, the insoles weren’t cut right, the glue wasn’t applied all around, so I could peel back the leather, and my brown boots were a different shade of brown. Serves me right, but I won’t make the same mistake twice.

I wish I had looked this place up on Unilocal before going there. The lady who runs the place was horrible and rude! She yelled at me in Korean, and intimidated me. I had a special job that needed to be done — sewing a mattress cover tightly around a small foam mattress. She tried to get me to leave only the material for the mattress without the mattress! There was no way I was going to do that, as how would she have known what the dimensions of the mattress were? She certainly didn’t measure the mattress. I insisted on leaving the mattress AND cover there. Then, to add insult to injury, she said, «You pay now.» In the US, we do NOT pay for services in full in advance. I think it may even be illegal. I was shaking all over from being yelled at, so I agreed. I do have to say that the workmanship when I picked it up was excellent, and the price was right. But it was not worth being so shaken up by this horrible lady. Someone from the Korean community ought to tell her that we don’t do business like that in this county.
Also, when she called me to tell me when to pick it up, she seemed to speak English just fine.

I decided to go to Santa shoe repair because it was local and cheap. It’s a little store front in El Sobrante. It’s a small, mom and pop place, owned by a Korean couple. When I went in, it appeared they had a lot of work. I saw the Sr. of the store resoling some shoes and there were quite a few shoes and purses in the place.
I went in to clean, polish, and get new laces for two pair of work shoes. I picked them up the next day. The total was $ 18. The laces look great but the polish was fine but not 100%. I can see the brush marks on my brown shoes and the guy polished the side of the sole of my shoes. It looks a little funny to have brown polish on the side of your black sole.
Either case, I paid about $ 18 total. So, it’s not a big deal to me. FYI, these folks speak very little English. I didn’t have any trouble communicating with them, but we didn’t talk about much.

If I could give zero stars I would. I actually went to this shop twice, but regret giving that benefit of the doubt. They did not fix my shoes, and actually made a white mark on a brown shoe. No more…
My first review from Jan 2011:
When reading my story, keep in mind that the couple who own and operate this shop make it clear they do not speak English, except to say the days of the week and the price of repairs. I have family members who do not speak English, so this isn’t a problem for me. However, this couple is very rude about their lack of English. I took 3 pair of boots to this shoe repair shop for polishing and heel repair. I paid for the work at drop off. When it came time to get my shoes, one pair had white marks (without polish), another pair had one loose heel (that hadn’t been loose before), and the third pair was missing. The woman at the counter told me (via hand gestures) that there was no third pair of shoes – even when I pointed to the ticket and receipt. Since the repaired shoes are stored all along the floor and wall of the tiny shop, it was not hard to spot my beloved black boots. I picked them up (to her protest) and put them on my feet. When I pointed out that the boot heels had not been replaced, she just reminded me (with a frown) that she didn’t speak English. I was helpless to get her to understand. Since I had already paid for the work, I left the shop – with two pairs of poorly polished boots, and one with a loose heel. None of the shoes had been repaired or reheeled, and remember, I paid for all the work ahead of time – so my loss.
Btw, there are reviews for this repair shop on other websites – don’t just look at the stars, read the reviews. One person who left full stars had a story like mine.

Really poor workmanship. I paid $ 20 to have a bit of stitching repaired on a pair of shoes and they came out all puckered and mis-​shapen. I also resent the fact that these people understand English very well when asking for your money, but lose that ability when you pick up the ‘repaired’ shoes!