Cecil’s West

I thought I wld try this place to have my leather pumps stretched for funeral I went to on that Friday. I bought the shoes in on tuesday, picked them up on Thursday, the owner said about three days to stretch my shoes. When I picked my shoes up, first he couldn’t find them I even had the little yellow ticket. Eventually, he found my shoes. Charged me $ 8 for the service. Got home and put the shoes on, my shoes were just as «tight» as they were when I dropped them off to be stretched. Well, I couldn’t wear my black pumps that day! Because the old man & his black cat were lounging a bit too much, I think he needs some needed help in his shop, and I don’t think the black cat can offer any help. The little old man seemed to be very nice. Just a tip for everyone

Stopped in to see if he could fix my dog’s leather leash. He didn’t say much, but, he took the leash to the back, sewed it up, and didn’t charge me a thing

Cecil is a nice man. I took 4 pairs of women’s boots and heels in for minor repairs. I am happy with the service, but it took a very long time (5+ weeks? it was around the holidays) for all 3 to be complete. It was a little more pricey than I expected (I think $ 14 – 20 per pair for heel ‘cap’ replacement, gluing the sole, etc). The operation isn’t overly sophisticated, which is part of the charm of the place, but is also confusing to me and his employees. If you bring in 4 pairs of shoes, you will get 4 different phone calls telling you they are done– usually from different people, so I had to explain that I have 4 pairs, waiting for them all to get done, etc 3 times. It’s not a first in first out, so there was a 2 week span between the first call and the fourth.
Make sure you do not lose your tickets!!! Save them and protect them like a baby kitten. Or take a picture so you have a record.

Clearly, this place is a «love it» or «hate it» establishment. I had no issues whatsoever.
I had recently bought my son snowboard boots off Craigslist. Our first time out, we realized that a lace hook was broken (whether it happened after we bought it or it was like that already — doesn’t matter at this point). Instead of getting rid of them and buying something else, I checked with Cecil’s. They are very near my workplace, so they got first crack at it.
The lace hooks on these boots were very custom (white diamond shape) and he looked at it with a «probably not» head-​shake. I beat him to the punch and said «any hook will do, I don’t care» — that changed things and he was all «no problem — when do you need it?» I gave him a couple days and it was ready as promised. The new hook was in place and rock solid. Perfect. No, it didn’t match and I was fine with that. He came in under the $ 10 estimate, so I was happy. Great, quick work. Granted, it was a pretty easy fix for them, so I shouldn’t expect any less.
Service was prompt, friendly (enough), and (most importantly) — honest. I’ll take that any day. I’ll continue to use Cecil’s when the need arises. They are just too dang convenient and, so far, excellent. Until they wrong me, I’ll be a loyal customer.

I just needed a snap fixed on a hand-​me-​down leather jacket, and the guy in the store fixed it while I waited, in probably 5 minutes. $ 3.50 — I spent more in gas driving out there. I know this is a trifling repair, and not much to base a review on, but I did want to acknowledge the good experience I had.

I went to Cecil’s based heavily on all the positive reviews here on Unilocal.
Having just purchased my first pair of nice leather boots, I was looking for a place that could install some half-​soles onto my Wolverine 1000 Mile boots.
After a simple and smooth transaction of dropping off my boots and picking them up about a week later, I was pretty happy with how things worked out. Cecil’s had applied some gross looking black polish to my dark red colored boots, but I was able to clean it off and figured things were good.
About 3 days later, whilst wearing my boots, the soles installed by Cecil’s fell off while I was wearing the boots.
I took them back and Cecil’s was quick to offer to fix them, and again I returned about a week later to find them «fixed».
Flash forward a few months, and now my boots are falling apart, the half soles are peeling away and now the leather is split on the soles of both of my boots.
I’m disappointed that my boots were ruined in the process of getting soles installed and now have to attempt to get them fixed, if that’s even possible.

Prices are ok, quality is so-​so, but the owner is the worst part. Lucky you if he likes you — you got better services and quick turnaround, but for everyone else — Cecli doesn’t give a damn. Want you shoes repaired quickly — prepare wait for 2 months. Want to check status of your order — «we cannot do that over the phone — come and search by yourself». I had to come 3 times to search for my shoes or to hear that it would be ready next day (it wasn’t of course). Please, people, save your time and money and skip this place.

Shoe repair takes forever. They promise two weeks and it takes months. The place is a mess. They lose shoes all the time. Service is poor. I’ve walked into the store and have waited several minutes before I was greeted. I was the only customer in the store. The female prefers to chit chat and is very ditzy. She doesn’t even know how to run credit cards so Cecil has to do it. I’ve brought several pairs of shoes and boots to this store and all but one pair turned out beautiful. The last pair were garbage. It’s not worth the headache, go somewhere else if you can.

Yes, I am a sucker for nostalgia and that is what you get when you walk into Cecil’s. In today’s throw away society, cobbling (is that even a word?) is a vanishing business.
When you enter, you will notice nothing fancy or high tech, the air smelling like glue and whatever else they use to repair things and items laying askew on the shelves waiting to be picked up. Cecil’s always delivers when we bring things in for repair. The prices can’t be beat (and at times, I wonder how they stay in business charging such a low amount).

Always great service and a good value. Highly recommended for many repairs including shoes, luggage, and clothes.

This is a toughie to write because their work in spot on. So for that alone I want to give them four stars. It’s seriously some of the best I’ve seen not solely (heh, heh, solely…) in Madison, but anywhere I’ve lived.
But they sort of, maybe, I’m pretty sure, kind of lost then found a pair of lace ups, and for that reason I want to give them two stars.
While I don’t have a deep personal connection to my shoes I was pretty bummed when I thought that one of my oldest pairs was lost and gone forever.
It makes sense, the inside is a maze of rights and lefts, lined up as far as the eye can see. And the gent has probably been working on shoe repair since people started to cover their feet in the days of yore.
Again, the work is awesome, but maybe don’t do what I did and after the proposed time of completion goes by let another two months go by. Maybe give a jingle if you feel it’s been too long and check-​in.

My family has been patronizing Cecil’s for over 40 years, when there still was a Cecil. The current owner has been on the west side for years and we’ve been going there, too.
Well, it might be time to pass the torch. He is obviously infirm and not spry, but that’s no reason to be completely rude. I walked in just to get an estimate on sewing a stitch across a handbag strap. After I asked how long it would be and mentioned I was just in town for a few days, he took my ticket and ripped it up in my face. Seriously. What? Did that just happen?!
I walked a few feet down in the same strip mall to Express Alterations, a family-​run shop, where the owner took my bag, ran it through her machine and called it good at five bucks, faster than I could write this review. She wished me happy holidays as I left and I thanked her in kind.
So long, Cecil’s. Also, the repair you just did on my mom’s shoes looks like crap and she’s pissed, too.

I travel a lot and my roller bag zipper broke on the way home. I had a week before my next trip and didn’t think there would be any way it could be repaired in time. It was done in less than 48 hours! $ 12.50 instead of $ 150 for a new bag. I was so grateful!

Fast, very reasonable price. Re-​attached straps on a fancy leather backpack purse that broke within the first month of purchase (shame on the original manufacturer!). Cecil had it repaired with no evidence. Now it’s usable again. The ultimate green is to keep using existing stuff.

The best! Emergency baseball glove repair between tourney games. No one else could be bothered with such a trivial repair — but Cecil respects his customers.

Needed a simple repair to a shoe and Cecil fixed it very quickly (less than 3 days, originally promised in a week). Price was quite reasonable as well.
PS there is a pair of red white and blue boots in the window that look like they are Go Go boots from the 1970s. Wonder how old they are and the story behind them?

My mom showed me Cecil’s recently when a favorite pair of high heeled boots broke. She has taken all of our shoes there since we were little, and I am so glad she showed me! I thought that my $ 60 shoes were about to be garbage until she took me to Cecil’s. It took him less than a week to fix, and only cost me $ 10! Thanks Cecil, you’re the man!

We have been taking our shoes for repair here for so many years. He’s amazing and a very friendly man too, I recommend Cecil hands down!

Just got my leather boots repaired here. There was a rip in the leather on the toe, and he said that although he couldn’t completely fix it, he could make it look much better. He originally told me it would take about a week, but called me 2 days later to tell me they were done! He managed to match the color perfectly, and you can only tell they were fixed if you look very closely. It was also very affordable — I only spent $ 14 on the repair!

Cecil’s is an amazing resource. There aren’t many people left with this level of craftsmanship, honesty and value. I bring them everything leather that needs fixing: shoes, jackets, pants, motorcycle gear, purses. They’ve taken old, beaten up biker jackets and refinished them so they look good but still have the vintage patina. If it’s anything you wear or carry (including luggage) they can fix it or make it look good. And their prices are amazing — it’s like stepping back into the 1970s. Thanks Cecil (and crew)!

So to be honest, I didn’t even know if there were shoe repair places around anymore; but Cecil’s is the best. They are always fast and do a great job. I took two separate pairs of boots to Cecil’s with broken zippers and booth were fixed like new in less then a week. They also have very good pricing.

I always take my shoe/​boot repairs to Cecil’s, they’re friendly and helpful, and honest, too. They’ll make suggestions about caring for items and tell you if they can’t fix something. One time I brought a boot in for a new grommet, he attached a new one in about a minute, and said it was one dollar. I didn’t have any cash on me, and he said «pay the next time you’re in.» Of course, I ran to the car and borrowed a dollar from my mom, but you don’t get that kind of service any where anymore! They’ll even polish your riding boots, and they’ve fixed my half chaps a few times – no comment on their work, I’m just really hard on my riding gear.
Be sure to say «hi» to Felix the shop cat (and real boss of the place).

I love going to Cecil’s. They are so nice and they do quality work. I’ve taken shoes, belts and purses up to this point and always been very happy with the work. We will continue to go there for as long as we live in Madison.