Shoe Lab

My wife has taken my shoes here a couple times and they’ve come out looking brand new each time. This includes a pair that I’d taken to another reputable shop but their work didn’t hold up well.
Seriously, I was on the verge of throwing out these shoes. Now they look brand new. This shop is a great value and I give it my highest recommendation.

I went here because I was calling around and they had the best prices. The personal are very polite and they do a great job. You will be happy you went there, I am.

5 stars for Shoe Lab. I bought my Johnston & Murphy’s a year and a half ago and have been wearing them for work 40+ hours a week. Over time the inside portion of the heel area had worn away and started giving me blisters. In addition the soles had been torn in several places making it uncomfortable to walk.
I called Shoe Lab on a Thursday morning and they had my shoes fixed that afternoon with a free polish! Great communication, very friendly, amd thorough work. I work at a hotel with a lot of business travelers passing through. I will definitely recommend Shoe Lab to them!

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!! They lose your items… They claim they’re ready for pickup when you call, and when you get there, they ARE NOT FINISHED or they can’t find them! This place is a bunch of losers! If you value your leather goods or shoes, go somewhere else!

The work is good. Guys are nice. Just CALL BEFORE YOU PICK YOUR STUFF UP. Three separate times I’ve come to pick up and three times NOT READY. Very unorganized. Simple fixes guys!!! Add more time to your jobs AND get someone to help you organize your stuff.

Rudy is from a long line of cobblers. He is very good at shoe repair and his prices are reasonable. I have been looking around for a shop like this for years!

Don’t even bother with this place.
This used to be a the Redwing store and the shoe repair was fine.
My experience is similar to other’s and I won’t be back.
I took two handbags in with really simple repairs. If I had a heavy duty machine, I could have done them myself.
He after explains the fancy repair needed for one bag, «adding a piece of leather» blah, blah, blah he quotes $ 18 for each one and when I decide to only get the more expensive bag fixed he starts trying to make a deal for a couple of bucks less. I declined. He filled out the two part ticket and tells me it will be ready in a week. I’m thinking he must be really busy to need a week to squeeze in a simple repair though I didn’t need it so no big deal.
I forgot about the bag for more than a month, then asked my husband to pick it up when he was going to be in the area.
He takes the ticket in and the guy can’t find the bag. My husband tells him it is a turquoise bag. The guy finally digs it up then says he didn’t fix it because the tag was lost and he didn’t know what to do. My husband glances down and points to the one inch section where the zipper is unstitched. «This?»
The guy agrees that must be it and says to come back the next day.
Luckily it is finally fixed. The repair is fine but there are not bits of «added leather» just a simple restiching of the zipper.
I will try some other local repair shops in the future.

I took a pair of boots in to get new heel caps put on. I was given a rather high quote ($ 14.99) but I didn’t want to drive all over town to find another shoe repair. The proprietor of the shop (Bobby?) was telling me how my boots were leather… I kept telling him they were NOT leather and were even stamped with «all man made materials» on the inside. He tried to upsell me to get my boots re-​dyed and to have new leather wrapped around scuffed heals… first he said he would charge $ 38 plus the $ 14.99 for the heel caps. I explained to him I didn’t even pay that much for the boots. He tried to bargain with me by lowering the price to $ 25 plus $ 14.99 for the heel caps. Something definitely did not seem right about this.
What I thought was really odd is they expected payment BEFORE the work was done. Even dry cleaners do not expect to be paid before the work is done.
We agreed that I could pick up the completed boots 3 days later as was marked on a ticket stub he gave me. He kept the other half of the stub. I go there 3 days later, hand him my ticket stub and he can’t find my boots!!! He tells me I must have the wrong day even though it was marked on the ticket stub. After looking around for a bit in a very unorganized area, he finds them.
Did I get my money’s worth. They are ordinary heel caps that had aggravation added to it.
This is one customer who will not be back.

We have been going here for decades and get very good service on shoes and other leather items. The original owner (old Europe artisan) has been gone for a while and I believe it’s his son that now runs the shop. Still personal service and great results if anything can be saved of you old worn out treasured stuff. Wife just got fancy shoes redone a week ago — they fixed a delaminating sole and then did the other to match and didn’t want to charge for twice the work — we didn’t argue just added a big tip.

I’m writing this review while I’m seating at shoe lab waiting for my shoes to be fixed… for the SECOND time! The first time I came to pick them up a week after they were supposed to be done they had forgotten! I returned a week later (today) and guess what… they forgot again. I only not give them 1 star just because the guy is very nice and means well, they are just a mess. Also he didn’t charge for the work + gave me a shoe stretcher I wanted to buy for free.

I brought in a leather bag for repair. The person I spoke to said he’d rip out the entire seam and reinforce it with leather. When I picked up the bag there was no leather inserted; the repair consisted of re-​sewing only a small fraction of the seam. I called this to the attention of the person there, but he dismissed my concern. The «repair» is showing signs of weakening and I am reluctant to take it back. I don’t feel that I got my money’s worth (the repair was very expensive). Can’t say the I recommend them.

Rudi (the owner) came to my house to repair a large leather chair that we have which was damaged badly by our cats. He worked for hours on end and was able to restore the chair to its original glory! We were so grateful due to the fact that I thought the chair was a lost cause.
Rudi was professional, courteous, clean and I am just thrilled with what he was able to do!

Good work. Brought in a pair of Hugo Boss shoes to be re-​soled. When I picked them up, the heel had a squeak. They fixed it without any hassle. The work was done when they said it would be done. Happy with the result.

The Shoe Lab was recommended by a local dry cleaner for leather repair on a motorcycle jacket which needed a new zipper. The shop is in the Janss Marketplace near Toys R Us and easy to find.
Their shop is very clean, well organized and the staff were extremely friendly, helpful and courteous.
The work took one week with payment required in full up-​front and the results were perfect in every way. They used a brass YKK zipper that matched the jacket and other zippers perfectly and it works great. I also had them give me a quote to resole some motorcycle boots with Vibram soles while I was there.
I only ding them one star because their prices are definitely on the high side. Similar work at shoe shops in the SF Valley are 25% or more cheaper. The cost to replace the zipper was $ 80 and they wanted that much to resole the boots as well. Pricey…
However, as they say — you get what you pay for and I can’t argue with the high quality work they performed.

so i’ve been to the other shoe lab chains. i took in my boyfriends gucci wallet and backpack to be taken care off. they did a great job. now i have another shoe lab to go to if im ever in thousand oaks. They do take a bit but good job. Rather go to the shoe labs then a less experienced repair shop.

The Shoe Lab was great. I had a pair of hiking shoes that needed to be re-​glued. When I got them back, they were as good as new! They are a bit pricey ($ 30) but they really extended the life of my shoes. I’ll be a repeat customer.

One isn’t low enough! I have several reasons and stories about why this place is so bad… There’s not enough room. Simply put, no matter how easy the job, these people will figure out how to do it improperly, at twice the cost and triple the time! I have given them 3 different chances all with the same outcome. Total dissatisfaction and frustration. Go somewhere else.

At your Shoe Lab at the Janss Mall in Thousand Oaks, CA, I recently took three pairs of right shoes to have ½″ lifts put on the bottom. The first question was bazaar – «do you want the same height on each of the shoes?»
Then the shoe repair guy bragged about cheaper services and better quality. I was shocked at how high the prices were and then, he did ½″ on one of the shoes, 3/​8″ on another shoe, and 5/​8″ on the third shoe. Can your workers measure???
I will be taking them back to be redone. But what a hassle!

Dropped a case off for a handle repair. I was told that the repair would be done on two days. that was nearly a month ago, I been there (6) times to pick up the suit case after I was promised a competion date. Each time I get a lame excuse why the overpriced job is not completed or why he did not call to state there would be further delays. Last time the manager told me that the case was out getting worked, then I saw it under the counter. While I was in there there was other poople in there complaining for similar resons. Half way through this process he did call to milk out some extra cash.
Do not pay this store for work ahead of time… Also there are other other options and «sole» proprieters in the area. I paid for convenience and this turned out to be a total disaster.
Stay Away.

Egh, is this standard for this neighborhood? WAY overpriced, no good reason.
The Place– Tucked in the Janss Mall. Head to the left side of the complex, park past Rite-Aid’s and walk through that tunnel to Toys’R’Us for the most direct path.
The Service– Meh. Not great, but not rude, per se. He took one look at the coupon I was holding (two sets of heel caps replaced, for the unnamed price of one) and charged me $ 16! To replace ONE set of heel caps! What the heck? My old cobbler did TWO sets for $ 12… There are no prices listed anywhere in the store, either, so I don’t see what’s stopping them from naming their own prices whenever they want. Downvote.
The Work– Meh. Not impressed. Replaced my heel cap, but it took a day and a half. My cobbler shop in San Diego did em in 30 minutes… AND they fixed up all the scuffs for free. Just a touch of polish, you know? Not so, here.
Really not impressed!!! I’d definitely look around before coming back here.