VIP Shoe Restorers

José and Nick are great guys and the service they offer is even better! Do not hesitate to bring your expensive designer shoes here for top quality work. They do magic when it comes to repairing shoes!

Although I agree with some of the comments about the attitude, I am somewhat surprised by the poor results noted by other Unilocal reviewers and am writing to report a different (if somewhat out of date) experience.
I had three pairs of shoes re-​soled here in the 2012 – 2013 time frame. They did a great job re-​soling Allen Edmonds shoes with Rendenbach soles, and Mephisto shoes with a Vibram style sole. I was slightly less pleased with a resole/​lining repair of a rubber soled Ferragamo shoe — this was the second re-​soling and the first job, done by an old Italian craftsman (since retired) in Harrison was better.
I hope the problems reported are anomalies.

Go ANYWHERE Else
These guys totally messed up my Ferragamo shoes. They used to be pretty good but now terrible.
I brought in a favorite pair of Ferragamo oxfords. I was quite clear with the guy that I wanted them to resole and reheel like the original (i.e., without the stitches showing). The guy said no problem but it would be $ 130. A relatively high price I feel. But I agreed.
When I went to pick them up, the bottom stitches not only show but they are big, think stitches that would look weird even on casual shoes. I explained to the guy (a different guy) that this was different than agreed. He was totally unreceptive.
Since they require pre-​payment, his attitude was, basically, «if you don’t want them leave them here.»
It’s the bottom of the shoe, it’s not the end of the world. But they not only didn’t do what was agreed to (and paid a premium for) but they really didn’t care that they hadn’t.
Never again. There are a number of better places (and even high-​end, high quality Leather Spa is no more expensive). If you actually care about your shoes, save yourself some heart ache and go somewhere else.

My go to place when I’m here. I’ve always had a great experience and left very satisfied. Fair price for a great product. I’ve never done shoe work, but can vouch for the best shine ever!

These guys may have been good at one time but they are absolutely horrendous now. I have no idea why but I have sent them multiple pair of shoes and they’ve messed up every single pair. They take even the simplest repair and do things that are completely nonsensical, they make «repairs» that would never ever make any sense and are in no way what I ordered. To top it off when I ask for even the simplest thing to be done like a polish I get them back and obviously they haven’t been polished but the owner Nick swears they have been, it’s just their special «dull, we like to leave unpolished areas» type of polishing. Complete BS. They charge a fortune, take forever and do a terrible job. So if you want your shoes ruined this is definitely the place for you.

Just go to Moulded Shoe on 39^th. Better work, better customer service, and less expensive pricing. There is no possible reason I can think of why you would bring your shoes to VIP.
VIP has done decent work for me for about a year (mainly working on Allen Edmonds and Alfred Sargents), but recently messed up a sole protector job that should have been really, really simple. They refused to admit they had done poor work and I wasn’t comfortable leaving the shoes for them to «fix» after they tried to fix it while I was there by grabbing a pair of scissors off the counter and attempting to scratch off the black spot on the leather. These were $ 700 shoes and given their reputation for taking care of expensive shoes, I was shocked.
It’s not the first time they’ve tried to pull something: they 1) routinely quote much higher than their prices posted online, 2) regularly close the store early without warning and 3) and overall have really poor customer service.

I work nearby and needed straps cut on shoes I ordered online for my wedding. The owner is kind of short with customers — at first this didn’t really bother me as long as they do a good job. But they quoted me $ 45 to cut and sew some straps! I thought this was way overpriced. Did some more research and ended up taking my shoes to Giovanni’s on the UWS close to my apt (85^th st) who quoted me $ 20 and did a great job. So I guess if you are in a bind you can come here but you’ll pay waaaayyy too much for any easy job.

Rating: Zero Stars
Reason: Liars — Disreputable Business
Recommendation: STAY AWAY!
I was referred to the folks at VIP Shoe Restorers (BNelson) after hearing great stories about their work.
I shelled out $ 170 to repair my shoes, which were Brooks Brothers branded shoes with a rubber sole guard and rubber heel that had worn down. Nick’s partner (whose name I do not know) told me that he would fix the shoe and I specifically asked if it would be the same and he said yes he would replace the soles and in addition would reinforce the back.
When I received the shoes I saw that he did reinforce the back, but he DID NOT put on a rubber sole guard. After speaking with the store manager and letting him know that I was told the sole would be replaced as if it was the same, he looked into it.
After confronting them about it, they refused to acknowledge their error and told me I would be charged another $ 40 to add on the sole guard (WHICH THEY SAID BEFORE WAS INCLUDED IN THE $ 170 PRICE).
Effectively they lied to me about the goods and services I paid for and had the gall to ask me for more money for a service that they misrepresented.
This complaint is not about the price, but about the bold faced misrepresentation of their services and then the refusal to make it right. Regardless of their craftsmanship, do not send your business to this disreputable business.

Avoid this place! I think the guy that runs the place is an arrogant jerk! He has a very rude, dismissive attitude. I’ve been in there twice. The first time I came in I had a very simple repair, but in fixing one part of shoe, they damaged another. I just decided to let it go, I paid, and left.
Today, by accident, I went to the same place again. Was about to walk out when I thought, why not give them a second chance? Big mistake: The guy gave me the same arrogant dismissive attitude. While I was explaining what need to be repaired on my shoe insert, he took and walked off into the back, mid-​sentence. I was like, WTF? Are you going to listen to what I’m saying? When he came back, I tried to talk to him about about another repair on a different pair of shoes. I tried to explain I just wanted the sole glued back on, but he kept trying to get me to agree to a more expensive repair on the top as well. It was a sandal. The top was fine. I just wanted a bit of rubber on the bottom glued back on. Not a big deal. I can do it myself.
Then a worker comes out of the back with my shoe insert. He has ripped the bottom off of it. NOTE: This wasn’t wasn’t the problem when I walked in. The top was starting to wear out. That’s all. The bottom was fine. The the insert probably had another month or two of everyday wearing left in it.
Then the manager tells me it will be $ 120 to fix what they just damaged! What!!! It costs me $ 30 at my doctor’s office to get them refurbed. And by the way, that $ 30 is the actual cost. They are not covered by insurance so that is not a discount price.
So now I have inserts that he damaged so badly I can’t wear at all, and he wants 400% more than what it should cost to repair the damage that his employee caused!
I guess I was stupid to give them a second chance. I’m going to drop the inserts to my doctor. It’s a little less convenient to get to him, but it 4 times less money and I know it will be done right.

I brought in two pairs of shoes, one to get the leather color evened out, and I was happy with what they did — even though it was very pricey.
The second pair of shoes they completed messed up. I asked for a specific rubber sole to be added to the shoes, and they put on the wrong one. They never apologized, didn’t offer a discount on the work (it cost me $ 125 for something I didn’t want). They did offer to fix it, for which I would have to pay $ 165! The customer service is terrible — the two men I spoke to were both condescending and difficult to understand, and clearly they didn’t understand me either. I will never take a pair of shoes to them again.

Had my shoes polished and «waterproofed».
The polish job was a bit messy. One shoe has some dark polish get on the sole (upper was different color than sole) and it also was inexplicably not applied for a quarter to half inch from where the sole meets the bottom. On the other shoes, black shoes with ivory lining, the black polish ended up smeared inside on the ivory lining, apparently from the tongue. The polishes used here are higher quality than other places, but Pavlos Shoe Repair definitely does the neatest polishing job for a much cheaper price.
Also, I was warned after the waterproofing treatment was applied, that the waterproofing does not actually make the shoes waterproof and that I should be careful about wearing the «waterproof”-ed shoes in the rain. So why did I pay for the waterproofing treatment?
Overall, they sell nice products, they have some good knowledge, but the service is not always clear in purpose or as high quality as the products they sell.
—
Additionally, I later read Nick B, the owner of VIP Shoe Restorers and B Nelson, wrote:
«A good operator would rather give tips and advice to the DIYer on regular maintenance. This way you help the customer while saving yourself time for your talented staff to work on jobs that require the best of their skills.»
Based on my experience and this quote, my take-​away is that polishing and treatments are not what this store considers the best use of their skills.

They transformed an old pair of well worn Church’s into a brand new set of shoes, enough said?
They are not cheap, but they are trustworthy and do an excellent job. I had the shoes resoled and polished; it took one week, cost $ 175 (note there are less expensive soles you can select), and they literally doubled the life of the shoes. I will absolutely return with other shoes when the time comes, and will go out of my way to bring them to VIP.

Worst experience… ruined my shoes that were over $ 300 – 2 days before my wedding. Made a trip into the city just to approve the color and the final shoes were at least 85% deeper in color. I wanted tiffany blue and chose from their swatches. They matched the sample I approved. When I picked up the actual shoes, they were bright teal, like a mermaid. I lost $ 50 for their dying service and $ 660 bc I had to buy another pair and pay to overnight the shoes to be in time for my wedding. I do color for a living and the difference in the color I approved next to the final product is inexcusable!!! Horrible, horrible color match!!! Would never do business with again!!!

I wish I could give it zero star:
impolite, pricey, unskillful…
Worst experience ever…

I brought my bridal shoes to be dyed and asked for their opinion if they could do a good job. Will was not helpful. He said that he would dye a sample (of one portion of the shoe) charge me 20dollars and if i like it i could dye the shoe. He said he did not know if they could do a good work or not — very hands off. Me not knowing anything about it, decided to go ahead after seeing the sample which was fine. When I went to see the sample I got a joke about it being ruined (i did not find it funny). When I came for the 3^rd time I got my bridal shoes, now useless. It was patchy dying, not behind the bow, patchy throughout — horrible job and i have attached a picture. They charged me 50 dollars for this and took no responsability for it. I have now to get a new pair.

The worst and rudest service ever experienced in New York. I live near by and decided to try them a few months ago-​BIG MISTAKE! I had a pair of suede shoes where the sole was coming off of the leather. I took it in and they re-​stitched the sole and re-​glued it to the leather shoe. Everything seemed fine, but after wearing it 3 – 4 times, I was having the same problem. I had another pair of shoes that needed a new sole, so I decided to take it back in and see what they could do with my suede shoes.
I told the gentleman at the counter what had happened, and he said he couldn’t tell me why it was coming off. When I asked if it is a sole or glue issue, he firmly said, «I DON’T KNOW!». I said okay, but he suggested I resole the shoes for another $ 80. I asked if he thought that would fix the problem, and again he shouted, «I DON”T KNOW!». Being demeaning, he said let me better explain, and wrote on the ticket, «I DON’T KNOW,» and then asked does that help you understand?
I was shocked and upset! I’ve never been treated with this little respect and humiliated in front of his employees. It wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t tell me how to resolve the problem, but the fact that he thought it was okay to talk to people like that.
I’ve been in some pretty bad places. I am a U.S. Army Officer and service-​disabled Veteran who served in Iraqi Freedom and feel that he spoke down to me more that foreigners in a combat zone.
I will never go there again, and I hope whoever reads this heeds my warning that this establishment doesn’t deserve a dime of hard working New Yorkers. Customers should be treated with respect and not treated like children!!!

These guys know shoes… I brought in a pair of Michael Kors high leather boots that were having some zipper trouble. The gentleman helping me explained very patiently what he was going to try and what he would do with the boots. We ultimately decided the zipper needed to be replaced and the boots needed to be stretched. When I came to pick them up, they looked great and now fit perfectly! I was not able to wear them with jeans before and now I can.

For the very few pairs of quality shoes I own, I come here. The staff is friendly (but definitely proud, I’ve seen one manager tell off a particularly obnoxious customer, and good for him!) and they tell it to you straight if the repair is even worth making. The most complaints I’ve seen come from people who want to get their shoes stretched… but really people, just buy a shoe that fits. You can’t tailor shoes! They also sell these things called foot petals, a must have for the NYC girls who wear heels. They are wonderful.
All in all quality service for reasonable prices, the clientele consists of the 1 percent of NYC so bear that in mind when you come in with your converse.

This shop performs well in terms of both customer service and in work product. I brought in a pair of beat up tassel loafers for an overhaul. The salespeople listened to my concerns and helped me put together a resoling package suited to my needs, one that combined elements from 2 different packages. Like other posts mention, VIP is not as cheap as its competitors. However, I picked my shoes up this afternoon — only a 1 week turnaround time — and found my investment to be well worth it. Expert quality work on par of superior to other in-​house refurbishing and/​or re-​crafting services.

The best of the best, If you have nice — really nice — shoes, get them fixed here. You don’t want them fixed anywhere but here — where the experts are.
If you have not-​so-​nice shoes, throw them out, donate them, or go somewhere else to fix them (the price here is not right for you).
Period. ‘Nough said.