Highland Shoe Repair Shop

I experienced a level of deceit at this shop that simply cannot be forgiven. My bill was $ 8.15 for laundering two dress shirts and dry cleaning one pair of slacks. I paid with a credit card and was charged $ 8.60. It occurred to me as I was walking out of the shop that there was a discrepancy between my voucher, which was in my wallet, and how much I was charged. I was only a few steps from the door so I immediately went back in to question the cashier and only then did she tell me that they charge 45 cents for credit card transactions less than $ 10. I confronted her about this shady dealing and she admitted that she should have told me about this hidden fee before swiping my card, which makes me think that they regularly and purposely withhold this information to literally nickle and dime their customers. It’s worth pointing out that there is no signage notifying customers of fees and/​or credit card minimums. The money isn’t the problem here. It’s the principle. I refuse to do business with a cobbler who needs to cobble together his living by ripping off customers 45 cents at a time.

I have been a consistent client of Highland because of the consistency in their service. The shop’s 3 reps I have encountered were accommodating, understanding and very honest. They will let you know if something is repairable and how it will likely turn out so that you can make a more informed decision. Prices are fair and service is quick. I have never experienced any of the negative situations described below and find Highland to be a reliable place to make high quality alterations, repairs and get work clothes cleaned super fast! Will continue being a happy client.

If you love your shoes dont go there, really really bad costumer service also really bas shoe service, he made my shoe even worst, I gave my Giuseppe Zanotti boot he returned a boot that i just wanna cry, i didnt even get my refund, Arlington county should consider to close that kind of place

He has repaired soles on a couple of men’s dress shoes for me and just did an excellent job replacing a zipper on a super duty wetsuit for me. He will tell you what he’s going to do before doing it, so just be sure to talk it out with him. Has always stuck to price quote.

Surprised to see all these bad reviews. Have been getting expensive jeans altered here for years and have always been happy with the alterations and original bottoms being added back on.

I’ve been taking my shoes here for new heels and half-​soles for the past 3 years or so. Never had a bad experience, service is pleasant, I always get an explanation of service, and I’m satisfied with the results. My shoes get pretty hard wear since I do a lot of walking, and I’ve made them last a longer than they otherwise would by bringing them here. Can’t say I’ve compared their prices with anyone else’s but it’s definitely cheaper than buying new shoes all the time.

I went to them for 3 years for dry cleaning and shoe repair. I found them to be pleasant, prompt and talented. They got stains out of clothes I thought I’d never wear again. Fixed shoes I thought I’d destroyed. Were patient with reminders when I forgot to pick things up. And, honest… when they couldn’t fix something (in this case a broken heel on a favorite pair of stilettos) they told me so directly and refused to take my money for what would at best be a temporary fix.
I’d take into account some of the negative experiences below… I just never experienced that.

This is the problem with a small sample size. It conveys the impression of uniformity. While I am sorry those who posted have had such negative experiences, ours has been entirely positive. We’ve been using Joe for nearly five years, month in and month out, and have nothing but glowing reviews. Buttons are magically fixed without our asking, and shoes that might have been thrown out have been restored to fine condition. Everything is done with a smile and a nice conversation.
At the same time, I have witnessed numerous customers talking down to Joe and his staff, and his animated manner suggests anger at times. My experience has been that if you take your time to explain things, recognizing that there is a language barrier, things are resolved without hassle.
People will do what they will do, and I imagine these horror stories will chase customers away. It’s too bad, because we’ve never had a complaint and even after two moves, we go out of our way to use Highland for shoe repair and dry cleaning, and will continue to do so. It’s a pity reviews usually only are written after bad experiences. We see numerous long-​time customers in the shop who are not with the Arlington Police, and I’m sure many of them would write positive reviews of their own.

Wow. I’m kicking myself for not reading these reviews sooner. I agree with the previous reviewer (Carrie B.) — ZERO STARS. Also, like Lizzy Z., I went here off and on for about a year — just for pants or shirts that needed dry-​cleaning. Then I took my lovely new winter coat here to have 2 buttons sewn on and three more buttons reinforced. HUGE mistake. I came back the next day to pick up my coat, and the 3 buttons weren’t reinforced. The owner played the same charade that the other reviewers describe: he pretends like he doesn’t know what happened, all while the lady stands behind him and rolls her eyes at me and says, «Hmmm. That’s strange.» — and they just stood there! I waited for 5 long seconds and then asked politely, «I’m sorry, but could these please be fixed too?» which I didn’t think was a huge problem since I asked for that in the first place… and then the owner said, «yeah yeah, come back in half an hour.» So I come back 40 mintues later — and it looks fine. The owner says, «ok you pay now» and rings up the bill before I even had my card out to pay, and after I give him the card he still doesn’t tell me the price he just hands me the paper to sign. It was 21 dollars. (21 dollars for how many inches of thread!!! 21 dollars for 5 frickin’ buttons to be fixed?!) I said shocked, «Wow! How much does it cost to have 5 buttons fixed?!» He said, «Well it’s a lot because this is a heavy coat and it takes time and the buttons need to be fixed…» I stood there blinking, still waiting for a price. Then he said, «It’s 4 dollars per button.» I said, «Oh, ok.» Then I left, vowing NEVER EVER to return. I wonder if he would have charged me less if there were other people in the shop to hear how much of a rip-​off he is…
To top it all off — when I took my coat home, I noticed that 2 of the 3 buttons are reinforced and the third one was reinforced THOUGH the inside breast pocket of the coat — so in order for me to use the inside pocket, I had to take the button off myself and re-​sew it on. ARGH! At least I know that one of the buttons was sewn on properly!
There is a happy ending though — I found a better dry-​cleaner/​alterations shop (Georgetown Valet on Washington Blvd.) and even though it’s further away — it’s worth it to know they won’t RUIN your clothes.
I would warn anyone who frequents Highland Shoe Repair Dry-​cleaner to STOP going here! Don’t feel bad, because they definitely have enough business from the police station across the street.

ZERO STARS. DO NOT GO HERE. I went here at the suggestion of a friend who said Joe, the shoe guy, is «amazing.» I had a pair of heels that I had worn one time before deciding the heel was too high for me and decided to take them here. When I dropped them off, Joe was not there but one of the women who works in the dry cleaning part of the shop told me that she would ask Joe if he could take them down a half inch and have him call me when he returned. He called me promptly and told me that it would be very simple and that he could take them down further if I liked. I told him a half inch was fine and I was told I could pick them up a few days later.
When I went to pick them up, a chunk of the coloring was missing off of the one heel. It was very clear to me that the plastic on the heel split when he cut it. When I pointed this out to him, he then became a thespian. He began scratching his head saying, «How does this happen?» And began a charade that went on far too long. I think he expected me to believe that elves sneaked in and did it. He also kept scratching the other heel trying to get the color to come off of it and I repeatedly had to tell him to stop before he ruined both of them. I also explained to him that I had only worn them once and he responded that he could tell that they were brand new. He told me to leave them with him for a couple of hours and he would try and touch them up.
When I returned later, the shoe still looked like crap. If the story ended there, I would give the place one star but then he began accusing me that the heel had looked like that when I dropped them off and that I clearly had worn the shoes many times; completely changing his tune from earlier. He refused to accept responsibility and I still had to pay half of the charge for him to ruin my $ 80 shoes that I wore one time. I wish I had waited and taken them somewhere else or just dealt with the heel being too high. The only reason I can figure this place stays in business is that they are right by the police station and probably the officers take their government-​issued items here for cleaning and maintenance because they don’t care how meticulously the work is done. Whatever you do, STAY AWAY!!!

I frequented this dry cleaners and cobbler for about a year because it was cheaper than the one in The Meridian. The owner is nice, but only if you are happy with the results. I had a bridesmaid’s dress tailored there and the result was that it still didn’t fit properly. I never brought it back because I wore it to the wedding and that was that.
However, my big problem arose when I took my coat to be relined. I spoke with the owner several times about the process and wanted to make sure that they had the ability to re-​line my very nice coat. I took it in and wound up having to take it back. I didn’t want anything changed to the coat – I gave it to them once and they ruined the line of the coat, the slit in the back hung incorrectly, the lining was pouring out of the sleeves – it was a job I could have done myself, it seemed. After showing him the problems and asking for at least some money back, he refused, started laughing at me and basically threw me out.
The dry cleaning there is fine, but DO NOT get anything tailored there. You may regret it like I still do.