Alex’s Shoe

I just experienced why I see all the one star reviews. I arrived at 10:05 am and he didn’t show up until 10:20. When he opened the shop there was no apology for opening late despite that I told him he had 3 other customers that showed up earlier with me but left in frustration to do other shopping. Then to add insult to injury he told me my shoes were not ready even though he had promised them yesterday. He told me to come back late in the afternoon. Also no apology.
Alex seems to have a chronic customer service issue and will continue to lose business if not corrected.

I support all the 1-​star reviews. I had been going to Alex’s for a number of years because it was close and convenient, and I put up with the marginal service and marginal workmanship. No more!

I have been going to Alex since I relocated to San Clemente in 1999. Great service and workmanship keep me coming back year after year. Recently my daughter was visiting and preparing for an overseas trip. She needed shoe repair immediately. Alex was there for me. He completed the work promptly and efficiently. The shoes looked brand new. And, for the record, not just shoe, but leather repair of all kind. He is great with my horse tack as well. Thank you Alex!

So fed up with this place. Awful
Customer service/​weird hours and they ALWAYS try to up sell for unnecessary services. My wife will not even go into this place because she feels like she is being taken advantage of…
I went in today with 2 pair of shoes for a simple shine and he tried to up sell me for an entire «leather conditioning» service (which he scammed my wife into last time btw –so why am I back again so soon– hmmmm)
First he tells me a shine won’t work on the first pair so I take them back and say «ok just do these then” — so he then proceeds to tell me that a simple shine won’t work on the second pair either… so I say «forget it» and walk out. He says «fine» These are business shoes that simply need a shine — not rocket science!!! Why even offer a shine service if you refuse to do it?!! Any other establishment would simply give the shoes a nice shine and call it a day. I will go to Anthony’s from now on in CDM on my way home from work– even if less convenient– because they know how to provide a good service.
STAY AWAY from ALEX’s!!!
TQ

I’ve been a customer of Alex’s for more than 10+ years. I have always received great customer service and more than timely repair. Shoes promised for a date and always ready. The quality of the repairs keeps me coming back as well. Never disappointed. Always look better than when I dried them off.

Shoe Repair Place «From Hell»! Stuff is never ready and they aren’t true to their posted hours! What took the cake for me was. I brought in a pair of boots to have a little glue work done on the left front boot.(a no brainer!). they ended up talking me into getting new heels etc. Went in to pick them up when they said were going to be done… Not! Then I finally get them back and evidentially he gluing was never done. Because the first time wearing them out I almost tripped. They looked like they were done. but whatever they did didn’t hold right! Now he wants to charge me again!!! Bye-​Bye…

Came in once to ask if they repair luggage with a popular make and model. They said to just bring it in so they can look at it since they didn’t know. I came back with my luggage and store was empty, doors were locked (but the open sign was on!) mid day during open hours. Annoying since this is out of my way. Happy I came on Unilocal to see other reviews before I gave my luggage over! Not going out of my way for this place again.

Lousy service. Work completed a week after it was due. No call to say it would be late. Found out he sent it out somewhere else to do the repair. His prices aren’t inexpensive either. The workmanship was okay… but who did the work… not him. Wouldn’t go back there if he was the last repair shop in town. Go elsewhere… you’ll be much happier.

After reading all of these reviews I am at peace with my decision to Unilocal.This was the worst customer service experience I’ve ever experienced. Rude. Late. Awful. DO NOT GO TO ALEX’S!!! I hope I was clear. This place needs to be closed down. ZERO STARS!!!

How does this place stay in business? Have been here about 10 times but never again. Quality of work is okay, but the service is horrible, work typically not done on time, they often have trouble finding my shoes, they frequently aren’t there during the hours they say are open, and their communication skills are terrible. DO NOT GO HERE!!!

Horrible experience. Zero stars. I took a pair of riding boots to this place for new zippers. I was told that the new zippers would be far superior quality to the old ones and that the boots would be ready on a given day and time (I had a horse show I needed them for). Well, when I went to pick them up, when I arrived, the main guy was on the phone and didn’t even acknowledge me. And it was on his cell phone, so who knows if it was even related to business. Then, when he finally finished his call I told him I was there to pick up my boots. He tells me they are not ready and that I will need to come back tomorrow or the next day. No Way! I need those boots! He says there is nothing he can do and that they are not stitched back together, so I can’t even take them. Grrr… come back the next day and they are done, but still get attitude from the main guy. No apology or anything for my major inconvenience. Fast forward exactly 95 days (90 day warranty on all work), all of the stitching he did is coming apart and one of the zippers broke. Oh sorry, I am past the warranty, so if I want them fixed, i can pay again. No thank you. Do not take your stuff here. The guy is rude and his work is shoddy and expensive.

My experience was horrible from start to finish. I took a very expensive pair of boots to replace a broken heel. I was told it would take a couple weeks because he had to special order the heels. He charged me $ 116 which I thought was pretty steep but paid it anyway because he guaranteed his work. Well, two weeks came and went. I called multiple times and each time he had a new excuse as to why they weren’t ready. It ended up taking well over a month for him to finish the repair. When I picked them up the replacement heels were shorter than the original heels which he acknowledged and gave me another excuse as to why. After wearing the boots twice the left boot heel felt unstable and I noticed the heel was crooked and separating from the boot. Again he guarantees his work but I wouldn’t trust that he could repair them properly. Today I took them to a different shoe repair place hoping he can clean up Alex’s messy work.

Rude service!!! Wish I never went there, waste of $ 40!
Went to pick up my purse when promised, wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready the next time they told me, asked for my money back, wouldn’t do it.
When I finally got it, my purse looked the same. I’m more upset about the way they treated me then the lousy work. I have never been treated worse in a store. Don’t go there!

If I could have left no stars… I would have.
I left 4 pairs of shoes and two pair of boots with them for heels + polishing. I told the «gentleman» at the counter that i needed them back at a certain date because I was going out of town. He said no problem, but it has to be paid for upfront. I paid over $ 200. due to the amount of work. Had the work actually been done, it would have been expensive, but ok. When I showed up at the appointed time, he told me not everything was ready because he did not have the proper soul material needed to fix one pair of boots. I explained that i was going out of town and could not come back three days later as he requested. I told him to just give that one pair back to me and credit my card for the one pair and he went BALLISTIC. He told me they do not give credits and went in the back and disappeared for 20 minutes and then came out and told me they were done. Both of the boots (one Cole Han and One Marc Jacobs) were done SO poorly that I had to take them to be redone when I got back from my trip. The attitude and service was AWFUL. They are beyond rude and the quality of their work is TERRIBLE. I found Anthony’s shoe repair in Dana Point and they do a fabulous job, are very pleasant and are far less expensive. DO NOT TRUST ANY OF YOUR GOOD SHOES TO ALEX’S!

Horrible service and expensive… attempted to pick up three pairs of shoes (at $ 9.00 each to shine). First attemp, not ready as promised, second attempt still not ready, third attempt, had to wait while Alex finished the job in the back. Also had healed replaced on one pair, which was sub-​standard work at best. Drive a littel further for alternatives.