TheCustomer

1. Something went snap in an old pair of shoes. Went into the shop put the two bits of broken metal on the counter and said to the guy, "do you know what this is" he said "No sorry"... I didn't even bother taking my shoes out the bag and went to the next shop. Obviously it was a shank. 2. A nearly new pair of shoes starts to squeak in one shoe. I take it into a different shop and the guy says that will have to be a whole new long sole because he has to scourer it down to get at the problem.. Went to two other shops, also rubbish advise and quotes. Finally i went into a shop in wimbledon and this guy manages to be hitting something with a hammer, sticking a sole on, whilst looking over the counter at the same time and listening to the squeak, and he said no problem mate, can take them apart if needed but its probably better to attack the problem from inside first before undoing the stiching etc., he quoted me between 15-25 which i though was fair. I thought to myself multitasking, we have a proper cobbler here - should have told him about the forum

As above. Proof of purchase is essential, with consumer transactions. Usually taking the form of a receipt although a credit card statment could also do the job. Combine that with a unique UV security stamp on both the receipt and the battery/ watch lid and you have a good solution. see here: http://www.speedystamps.co.uk/stamp-pro ... nk-stamps/ You can get any standard quality small stamp made up and just buy a bottle of UV ink from ebay etc. It would be uneconomical for anyone to forge this security solution, but of course you would have to use it for a few years without inforcement in order to give your existing customers a grace period. H

Hugh, Intact. typo If you’re talking about a midsole in terms of the double-sole-double-stitched all leather quality shoes: then you can clearly see how the midsole interacts with scratches and polishing, as well as natural variations in the leather, as you do with the welt or the main sole. Its easy to tell - at least you do with the shoes I own. maybe guys in the trade see some seriously inked-up items where its hard to tell I guess. 86 is nothing, most are related to mundane questions, follow up or no doubt dealing with this nonsense business.. checkout some of the handyman, electrician or Auto trade forums and you'll find all sorts of people with many post, endless questions haha - probably because they are lazy to do the searching. I work backwards where many of my questions on this site actually come from previous posts anyway hugh, good to see your back. Talking of questions, perhaps you can take a look at this one that's been sitting there a month. My question relating to sole/heel guard viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6582&start=60 Nobody seems to know the answer. and I don't believe supertap soles are the answer. Thanks in advance Harry

The display information in the Barker shop said something about the midsole helps keep the shoes shape when the main sole is repaired. I guess when wet too. This fits in well with other threads I have read about leather shoes moulding to ones foot etc - maybe toe prints stay intacked. All of the leather shoes I have that have a midsole, have a leather one, though quality unknown. harry

Yeah, guess I will have to make do with Hugh2 for now.. Anyway, what's the deal with this sole and heel guard rodey is going on about? Looking at some of the other comments, referring to the already available sheeting. Are there any 1mm sheeting that could be what he is talking about. I have seen some resin sheets but nothing that thin? Could it be a resin sheet, is resin that tough?? I am probably a better customer than most in that I do my best not to knacker up the heel block but, it happens occasionally so, I would like something to stop that happening saving everyone time and money. Any ideas? Harry

maybe... If you love being battered by a shoe beforehand.. my questions about shoe repair are far too amateur to really create any controversy as there are probably a limited amount of answers as to what material to use. If I was hugh, then knowing a simple question of should one use a press or not would cause a multi page debate then it dont take half a brain to work out that those trade only questions are the ones you should focus on. Its been since 2008.. can we lay this one to rest? Harry

Tom, do timpsons charge same in the northwest as down here? I think they are charging £16 for heels now. Although their strategy seems to be to steer people towards those hippo sole things. so the effective customer price after the initial outlay is £16 for sole and heel combined, each time you get the shoe reheeled. I managed to knock out the toe on one of those soles in just a week, rendering a replacement, so at best they are just average in my view. I recon independents could trump that deal by advertising something similar with a quality sos and probably charge slightly more. from what I understand they are replacing the sole with most reheels anyway.

could rodney be talking about the resin sheets? It would have to be a 1mm thin sheet or something. Also, sorry for asking a silly question but what would stop this 'heel protector' sheet from being ripped off when the heel is removed? Do rubber heels stick to resin sheets anyway?

Its interesting to see how this thread has shaped up since 2009. Back then it seemed a recession, but now the real wave has hit. There is a guy on ebay called ecobbler (ecobbler.com) who seems to be doing a full range of home repair kits, sos, heels etc. His products are the trade items that you guys use, rather than those crappy shiny black heels you get with the glue included. A simple search on ebay for sole and Heels shows he is not the only one. Ebay and Amazon are not the freak show they used to be. Its mainstream now with plenty of 17 year old mothers of three, running their own ebay businesses. The amount of 'industrial grade' shoe repair material available in retail quantities on Ebay tells me a lot more people are doing their own shoes, and it can only be to save money. So why point this out and what’s the good news for shoe repairers? For a long time I have thought the Multiple's as you put it, focus on the quality end of the market and are way too expensive for the average joe to get his shoes repaired. Perhaps you can convert the convertible.. Never mind Shoezone......I went into TKmaxx, in high rent, expensive central london the other day and got some full leather, fully leather lined (down to the toe) shoes for £39.99. There are plenty like this always available for £49.99 at the moment. A famous multiple we all know is charging £35 for the very basic sos + heel round here. I found a little guy in Holborn (equally expensive rents) who is only charging £11 for a normal heel or £12.50 for a top topy heel. which seems to be comfortably in line with your Price Survey. I think it was 22-24 for both sole and heel. My point being, could there be a golden opportunity to cash in with advertising like "why buy new shoes when you can get them repaired for £17.50" (or £25 depending where you are in the country) Basic words, to the point. you get the idea.. Multiple prices at the lower end of the market are too expensive for sure. As a customer I instinctively feel it and by reading this forum I know it. Multiple supermarkets are usually cheaper and put corner shops out of business, so why is the reverse true in this business? Also I want to say I hadn't really appreciated it years back, but, what a damn good business model any multi- service repair business is, and what a safe haven in a global depression, if you gear it right . I was kind of thinking the other day, hey why don’t you advertise to repair all kinds of other stuff, but that’s out of my depth and you guys know best how far you can stretch it. good luck, really. Harry

Hi, as was discussed directly with Lee some time back, I am not Hugh. But I would like your opinion on the topic here is someone can help, anyone

press or no press, did we ever get to the bottom of what exactly this sheeting was that went Under the SOS or heel to protect it? rodney seems to go with the supertap durasoles in the end, but that wouldnot make sense as an 'undersole' as one surface has a grip embossed on it. Does anyone else practice putting a thin layer of something onto the sole before sticking the final SOS/heel on?

This stuff looks great, thanks for the tip. I will get some and see how it compares with Stormsure that I was recommended for some job a few years back. It would be interesting to know how you guys get on with it for a professional use. Harry

whaddaya mean, do you mean it's been a long time since I was alive and kicking ? Hugh, " its been a while" new sentence. i.e since we chatted. Dean, A quick check of the posting history reveals Hugh has a solid posting record for 2009, 2010, and 2011 where as I have only posted once since September 2009. So, if anything it is me who has suddenly appeared, all be it I have spent more time reading than posting over the last few years.. As a side note - to everyone- you're probably lucky to have someone like him on the forum, as he is like proper old and stuff, and in any trade/profession no matter how much people write down in books, there is always some bit of knowledge that comes to mind from a live individual in the right circumstance, when the mind is jogged by a unique course of events, when you have been around as long as he has then there has to be some value in that - all be it occasionally. If he was in my business and I had access to him then I would probably bombard him with so many question’s they he would eventually tell me where to go… It’s always worth listening to the whys and wherefores of our forefathers, even at first if it does not appear to fit the modern situation – like the bankers and politicians knew it all when they unravelled the FDR banking reforms of the 1930’s that were put in place for a good reason, without bothering to ask some of the old boys (of which there were plenty still around in the 90-2000’s) ok, not a direct comparison with the multi service industry but, the wise will see a parallel if they think hard enough.

Nah... that joke is over 3 years old.. I spoke to Lee on the phone years back, so unless I either sound like Hugh or Hugh got his grandson to call Lee then I think its safe to say i am a different person.. Then again they will also say the moon landings were staged.. Harry

if I'd have come out for a beer if I had known you were there on the concourse. are you on some kind of mobile gadget H