Sam’s Shoe Service

I had to get rid of my shoes after taking them here as they looked worse than when I took them in. And I was charged a ridiculous amount.

5 stars! Fixed and made almost new a pair Born mary janes. Heel cap was missing and other threatening to pop off. He hand made the odd shaped replacement, reinforced the other and repaired every tear and scuff. For $ 20! And was done in 30 min. And he’s just the nicest guy.

Not sure what all the negative reviews are for. I went here for a very simple repair on a pair of heels, and he fixed them in 15 minutes for a very reasonable price. Shop itself is pretty messy, but there’s no reason you need to spend time there.

DO NOT GO HERE.
I asked him to change a broken zipper in my white expensive sneakers. Guess what, he used BLACK thread *lol*. Also very sloppy work. I really like to support small local businesses, but this place is really a joke :(I am sorry to have to say this.

Fast and cheap ($ 30 to put rubber soles on leather-​soled shoes) but you get what you pay for – mediocre quality.

Sam’s is great! I literally called him, took a 5 minute walk to the shop and had my bag done (admittedly a simple sewing procedure) within 10 minutes after arriving. Nice.

I do not know why every one is complaining… must not be any street smart people or yuppie city folk, because I made sure I looked him in the eyes and said about 8 times, «BE VERY CAREFUL AND GENTLE. THESE ARE MY FAVORITE BOOTS. DO NOT RUIN THEM PLEASE.» And when I felt he understood my English and complied, I felt secure and that was even BEFORE I read all these reviews. He was very sweet and WELL priced. He made my 1960’s dead stock boots look amazing and a pair of my years old, worn cowboy boots, even better. It wasn’t the most fancy job, but they were not ruined and look like they will last a long time. = $ 60
I’m sure he has ruined items if you didn’t put a little aggression on how important it is to keep your belongings in tact. It is definitely worth the money that you pay and he seems to be a very loyal local shoe repair man.
:)

WTF was I thinking? I’ve been in the neighborhood for 19 years. I strongly believe in supporting local businesses. I also work 80 a week, so I figured this was a good idea.
DO NOT GO NEAR THIS PLACE, HE WILL RUIN YOUR SHOES!
I took one of my favorite pairs of Fluevogs in to get the heels fixed. I cannot even articulate what he did to my shoes. In plain English… he fucked them up!
The other pair was a pair of black boots that needed a simple stitch in the seam. He used brown, thick thread to put a stitch in the middle of a black boot… where there was no need for it, but left the spot that needed the stitch untouched.
Not only is he CLUELESS about shoes and repair, he is also really insulting. He was so rude, that at one point I stepped outside to take a breath or I would have punched him in the face! What a douche bag.
I will have to take my Fluevogs to Antonie’s in hopes they can revive them. I’m so pissed I’m seriously considering suing this jerk for the cost of my shoes.

I feel unnerved and regretful that I was foolish enough to bring something I love to a place I knew nothing about. Sweet guy (Lee?) but ladies note!~ this is not a place to bring a purse you care about.
Brought in a bag with an oil mark and got it back with the oil mark, less $ 5, and heavy scoring on the bag where he attempted to do what I am not sure (see photo). Feel like I need to walk it off. yuck!

I cannot say anything that any of the other 1-​star reviewers have said: It’s unfair that I can’t rate him negative stars, he’s rude, absurdly expensive, etc, etc. Is this buisnes some kind of elaborate prank? How he managed to stay in business is beyond me.
At best, the man is mentally ill. At worst, he’s a sadist.
DO. NOT. GO. HERE; Urge friends to stay away.
(If any doubts remain, check out the photos I’ve uploaded.)

This guy is a JOKE!!! I patronize Delirium Bar next door and I happen to walk by this place. I felt sorry for this guy so I walked in there and asked him if he can sew patches on shirts. He said «YES» and I brought my shirts over there the next day. He said it will take only 20 mins. I had a few beers next door and when I went to check up on him, I noticed that he was struggling with the shirts. I taken any hour and 20 mins to sew to name tags on my shirts. Not only that he ruined my shirts by getting oil and shoe polish, but he had the name tags crooked! He had the nerve to still charge me $ 17. After arguing for 10 mins with this bum, he then said Free. I will post picks soon. DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS BUSINESS!!! @ Basketball J, You should change your rating to one starts. Your post is only throwing his rating higher.

I did not give Sam 5 stars because he is a good shoe repairman. He is not– If you take your shoes to him, as certain as the cart follows the ox, he will fuck them up.
I gave Sam 5 stars because he is fabulous entertainment. He is like a dark, Dadaistic joke on a neighborhood which, day by day, deserves it more.
As the Mission continues to gentrify, a new generation will stumble into Sam’s, fresh from artisan food carts, beard-​trimming salons, couture skateboard shops and 45 minute long ice-​cream lines. They will entrust their shoes to him and he will fuck them up.
Go Sam!

This guy is a scam, rude and unprofessional. Do NOT support his business. I took three pairs of shoes to have 2 of them glued together and one to have the soles replaced; he was asking me to pay $ 100 for that. By the way, he doesn’t have any prices posted nor he gives you a receipt. Although I didn’t agree with the charges I went ahead and got money from the ATM. When I got back pick up the shoes, he handed the shoes no polished and with glue all over the place. I tried to speak slowly and tried hand gestures but he pretended not to understand English; very frustrating. A few days later I called him again to see if I could make him understand that I needed my shoes clean and polished if I was going to pay for his fees. He said forget it; I threw them away. This guy is complete jerk! How does he survive?

well, i had some similar experiences as others — the business owner was of few words and didn’t really check in with me in terms of what he was doing or the cost. But I asked him to shorten the hip belt of my camera backpack and he did a great job in just a few minutes. so it all worked out fine.
i mentioned cutting and sewing but he just tucked the straps and sewed them and that was really a much better solution.

I wish i could give Sam no stars, but sadly i cannot. I left two pairs of shoes with Sam, a pair of dressy shoes and some boots, the dressy shoes needed the sole repaired, the boots need the insoles repaired.
First bad sign was the fact that he was cagey about giving me a price on the repairs.
The second bad sign was when he couldn’t find my shoes when i came to pick them up.
The third bad sign was when i wore the dress shoes and found myself walking on a nail that he hammered directly through the insole into the heel. The boots are now unwearable because they’re too small now, which is weird and confusing to me. So now i’m 35 $ down and have 2 pairs of shoes that still need to be repaired.

4 trips back there, $ 15 poorer and he still couldn’t get it right. All I wanted was to have a timbuk2 phone pouch sewn on the shoulder strap of my camelbak, not rocket science.
Sorry this place sucks, I hope other’s don’t get their stuff ruined
Engrish no good either

DO NOT take anything to this guy!
It was a nightmare. He ruined my nice pair of leather shoes. He STITCHED ACROSS THE TOP of my shoes. My shoes weren’t fixable and wearable afterwards ;(He clearly didn’t know what he was doing, had no common sense and must be retarded.

If I could give this place no stars, I would. And I wish that I had had the common sense to Unilocal it first because then my tears of frustration at this moment could have been avoided.
I brought two purses into Sam’s for repair. One was a simple, but nice leather bag from Express. It needed minor work. The other was a vintage handbag that had come apart at the seams. I chose Sam’s because I live around the corner. He asked for my name, but didn’t write it down and when I asked for a quote, he said «don’t worry about it.» I should have worried.
I went to get the bags and the first one was done fine – there wasn’t much to fuck up there. But the vintage one is ruined. Whoever «fixed it» either him or his wife, didn’t even follow the stitching – it’s all cockeyed. And the bag’s leather is now all scuffed like it was scrapped on concrete.
Although I think I have a way with words, I have no way to describe the frustration and anger that I feel right now. He only charged me $ 20 for both bags (which should have told me something), but I am crushed. And now this vintage bag is ruined. Stay away from Sam’s for anything more than getting a key copied.

This place should be called «Sam The Butcher»
I’m all for supporting locally owned and local serving businesses, but Sam’s Shoe Service is making that very difficult. Learn from my mistakes:
1) Always get a quote in writing
2) Never, every bring your shoes to Sam’s
I simply needed four stitches made to an old pair of Vans and two stitches made to some old panniers. How difficult or expensive could that be? When I came to pick it up, the Vans were stitched all to hell in a color that didn’t match any of the other stitching on the shoes. One side had one stitch the other side had seven. It looked as if they were stitched by a drunk. I said the work was unacceptable. He replied «$ 60» Again, I pointed out that the stitching was in the wrong color and completely off and asked him to do it again. Again, he replied «$ 60» I said I wouldn’t pay so he reached into a stack of cash and threw a $ 20 bill at me.
Learn from my mistake and my experience. Skip Sam the Butcher and take your shoes up the hill to Pioneer Renewer on 18^th and Douglass.

I live right around the corner and wanted to support the neighborhood — and all I needed was a resole. He, too, told me it would be ready «this afternoon» — and it wasn’t, of course.
I came back today, and he didn’t seem to recognize me — my boots were there, and thankfully the damage isn’t undoable — but the new soles are cheap, hard plastic, tapped on with nails that aren’t even flush to the sole, and don’t line up properly — nevermind that they’re already beginning to fray.
He charged $ 45, and I paid — but I will go get them redone.
NEVER AGAIN.
I too, however, had an amazing experience with Frank’s —
-
So I’ll be going there again…