Another shoe repair question

[Dan G]

Hey Guys, I have a tendency to prematurely wear out the outsole near the tip of the toe, especially on my left shoe. I'd love to know if there's anything to prevent this, other than having something tacked the front of the shoe. Please take a look at these pictures, so you'll see what I mean. http://www.geocities.com/frocious2/dscn0391.jpg http://www.geocities.com/frocious2/dscn0396.jpg http://www.geocities.com/frocious2/index2.html Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[j]

I guess that's what those metal sole tip things are for. I always wondered why people got those...

There have been lots of posts debating and explaining these. Look through the Men's Clothing forum for some info.

 

[Phil]

on the topic of allen edmonds, I have had my first bad experience with them, after years of great service. I sent a pair of cordovan leather fairgates (in cordovan color) back to them to install a mini-lug sole. Thats all I asked, nothing more, nothing less. I got them back a month later to discover that whoever was asleep at the wheel over there decided to basically spray paint my shoes. Covering what was a beautiful patina of cordovan leather was now some kind of spray finish. I sent them back and they told me the technician mistakenly sprayed them as they would a pair of merlot calfskin shoes (i dont understand why any shoe would be sprayed, but thats a different thing altogether). So I walk into my office this morning and see that they sent them back to me (after the lady swears the problem has been fixed). I open the box, and its the same deal, nothing is diferent, the spray is still on there. What do you think my recourses are at this point? I am going to call them this morning and voice my displeasure. The shoes are 9 months old.

 

[shoefan]

Seems to me they have an obligation --certainly ethically, if not legally -- to either return the shoes to the original finish or replace the shoes at their expense. Perhaps you should send an e-mail to John Wollenwerk (sp?), the CEO of the company.

 

[Phil]

what is making me nervous is they said they had fixed the problem. In all honesty, they look nothing like they used to. I am worried that they are going to cause a fuss when they get them back, saying the problem had been remedied. I will keep you posted.

 

[AlanC]

I certainly would stay on them about that. They've screwed up basically new shoes. I've only heard good things about AE in the past, so surely they'll make this right. I would call and ask to speak with a manager. Going up the ladder often helps.

 

[FIHTies]

Seems to me they have an obligation --certainly ethically, if not legally -- to either return the shoes to the original finish or replace the shoes at their expense.  Perhaps you should send an e-mail to John Wollenwerk (sp?), the CEO of the company.

Dont send an email. email is too easily overlooked and labeled as spam.

Go Snail mail here , maybe registered RRR or maybe ecven overnight it.

Good luck.

JJF

 

[JohnMS]

Phil,

Up front let me say I would be very displeased with having a shell cordovan shoe sprayed and would hope they would supply you with a new pair of shoes, but then again perhaps the spray can be removed.

I've worked with AE customer service on a number of occasions and sometimes it's a matter of getting the right person. Perhaps a call to someone in the Customer Assistance Center (number on their website).

Something I have found worked with getting some AE customer service is to go through an AE store itself when doing recrafting.

For example, I had a problem with a pair of Sheltons in which the color was flaking off (this of course before learning of corrected grain shoes).

I went through an AE store in Chicago to get them fixed, even though I didn't purchase the pair their. They were more than helpful and made sure that the job was done right BEFORE sending the shoes back to me.

I had a pair of shoes with a mini lug sole that started to come off the shoe. The store sent it into recrafting and when the same problem happened a second time, they let me chose a new pair of shoes from any of their calfskins.

Might I suggest Rusty Ortiz in the Washington D.C. store or Kim in the Chicago (LaSalle) location.

 

[Phil]

Well, I talked with the lady to whom I sent the shoes at AE. Apparently she didnt get to see the shoes before they were supposedly fixed. She offered to pay for fed ex overnight shipping back to her, and she is going to replace the shoes if they cant remove the spray. I was confused about one thing she said though when I asked her about it. She said they spray the calfskin shoes when they come back in for recrafting. Seems odd to me. The thing I like about older shoes is the burnished spots and the little nicks they pick up over time. This spray was very uniform looking and covered any irregularies, it looked silly.

 

[JohnMS]

I had a pair of Shelton's refurbished and you could smell the spray. However, they are a polished cobbler.

Thanks for the heads up. I will specifically ask what they do with the finish BEFORE I have my next pair recrafted.

Doing a FedEx overnight and offering to replace sounds like the Allen Edmonds I know.

Can anyone tell me how Alden's customer service is? Any time I've approached a place that sells Alden shoes, just to look at the shoes, they make it feel like they are doing me a favor to see their shoes and like I'm walking in rarified air.

I spoke with the head of marketing for Alden one time, letting him know of this as being my typical experience, and he said it shouldn't be typical.

What has members' experiences been with Alden customer service?