Sammie’s Shoe Service

Sorely disappointed. Took them over a week to «fix» the heels on two pairs of boots and they did a chop job. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
$ 55 for a half ass job. And didn’t even shine the shoes up as they had in the past. Needless to say – I will not be returning.
Though I’d prefer to go here because it’s closer, I will be heading back to Texas custom boots on south side for future repairs.

The people were very pleasant to deal with and did what they said they would. Even finished my boots a day early!
They removed wax that was spilled in my suade boots.
When I was picking up my shoes I also found a really cool pair of old school boots that had been refurbished. Bought them for a nice value. Will definitely continue to go to Sammie’s

I’ve had several pairs of shoes repaired at the old original Sammie’s and I was a fan. Besides the shoe hospital’s which are inconveniently located from where I am, there are no real cobblers in town save for Sammie’s.
The place is a dump however let that not deter you. The people are super friendly and helpful and they do great work. The one sad fact is that Sammie, the original owner is no longer there. Their prices are not over the top meaning, not charging more than in LA or SF.

Had two dress shoes re-​heeled, and one of the heels clicked after heel replacement

Closed! I hate when someone tells me they’re open, and then when I get there, they’re closed.

Boots looked better than when I bought them! This place is cash or check only so keep that in mind.

Lemme preface this with saying that I have nothing to compare Sammie’s to. I’ve not had shoes or boots repaired before so take my opinion of the work and pricing for what its worth — maybe not much.
TL:DR: It’s a decent place to get a pair of boots repaired though nothing seemed particularly remarkable. My BF is happy with the new soles and says the re-​condition is alright but not spectacular.
The full monte:
I dropped three pairs of mens boots off on a Saturday, with instructions to re-​sole and re-​condition. I had also authorized the matching and repair of a small patch in the back with a material that wasn’t exactly the same color. My BF decided to hold back on that — and so I attempted to call Sammie’s to make the change. In fact, I called them three times. Each time, I got an answering machine that «wasn’t set up yet.» There was literally no way to get a hold of them. I drove all the way back over to 38^th, walked in and made the change. While in the store, I told the front desk ga; about the problem. She seemed completely unaware and doubtful of my claims. So I called them while i was in the store. It rang… and rang… and then their system hung up automatically. The reason I tell you this rambbbling story is: Know exactly what you want when you go in because there’s no calling to change anything. Also, as a business who doesn’t have a website or any other method of contact, maybe get your phone situation straight.
The three pair repair was about $ 280. While it’s certainly cheaper than buying a new pair of boots, it seems on the pricey side. (However, that might be because I’m still smarting from that annoying trip back.)

I have been going to Sammie’s since 1997 when I moved to the neighborhood. I have always recommended Sammies. However, he retired and sold the place to some new folks about a year ago.
The new owners are crazy expensive, the work is shoddy and the prices change depending on the day when you walk in. $ 20 to shine a pair of shoes? Really? Sammie would charge $ 5 for shoes and $ 8 for boots.
I’m a loyalist when it comes to whom I frequent in town and I’m incredibly disappointed that Sammie is gone and I’ll have to find a new place to bring my stuff.

I brought a pair of suede ankle boots in for repair last Thursday and they were done exactly when he quoted me, this Monday. A seam had popped on the back, and first the gentleman told me he straight up couldn’t do it – it had been sewn from the inside. What he could do, he said, was stitch it from the outside – a zigzag stitch in a comparable thread color.
You can tell it’s been repaired, but only if you look very closely. The thread color isn’t an exact match, but he said it would darkened a little as it got dirty. I’m really pleased with the results; I’ll be mostly wearing these boots with jeans, so I doubt the repaired section will even show. It cost $ 3.50, which is probably more than I spent in gas driving back and forth.
I am super pleased with the service here. I called on the phone the day I picked up the shoes, and Sammie didn’t even need to see my ticket when I showed up – he remembered my name and which pair was mine. It was definitely worth the traffic!
EDIT: Just posted this review but had it done back in 2012. These shoes have almost worn out, but the repair is holding steady!

I’ve been going to Sammie’s since I moved into the neighborhood 8 years ago. I have consistently been happy with the quality of his work and the prices.
HOWEVER, this is not Sammie’s. I don’t know when it happened, but the ownership has definitely changed sometime in the last year.
I took a pair of boots in to be re soled and have zippers replaced. When I came back 2 weeks later, the work had still not been done, in fact the girl at the counter had a hard time finding my boots (despite me bringing in the original paper tag/​receipt). 2 weeks later, work still hadn’t been done. 2 weeks after that, 6 weeks after dropping the boots off, they were finally ready. I was out of town, so my boyfriend picked them up for me. He didn’t notice that one of the zippers was misaligned and both boots were missing a leather strap that had been removed for the zipper repair. When I went back in to look for the leather strap, «They were here so long there is no way of knowing where that strap might be. Sorry» was all I could get.
Please be aware, those of you who are coming here because of past glowing reviews… this IS NOT the Sammie’s Shoe Service of the past. BEWARE!

Took my red leather ferragamos here to get some minor marks buffed out. When I picked them up they looked worse than when I dropped them off. There is a dark gummy residue where they tried to polish the toes and looks like they didn’t even touch the rest of the shoes. They said I would have to leave them longer if I wanted the rest of the marks buffed out. That makes no sense.
They did manage to get red shoe polish all over the inside (cream suede) of the shoes that will never come off.
Don’t take your shoes here. The original owner Sammie is retired and whoever owns it now does not know what he’s doing.

I took 5 pairs of heels in; 3 needed new caps, 1 had a broken sole and 1 had a broken zipper. I came back 2 weeks after dropping off my shoes to pick them up. My shoes that needed a zipper had been repaired with mis-​matched zips and my shoes needing heel replacement had been damaged. I asked that the repairs be completed and left my shoes there. I went back yesterday, about 4 weeks later and the zippers had not been replaced or changed but I took my shoes any way because I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wore the shoes today and the zippers on both shoes will not stay up, they are more damaged now, somehow.

Sammy is a very talented man he repaired a pair of shoes I love that I thought were a lost cause. I highly recommend this place to everyone !!!

Amazing quality, very fairly priced, and Sammie «doesn’t takes tips, just more work!» He sped up my shoe repair time at no extra charge, definitely getting more work from me!

New Owner, poor service and very poor workmanship! I picked up some sandles to be repaired and they literally broke in the same place 5 minutes after I put them on. I also had several paired of heels replaced the workmanship is poor, sloppy, and quality is lacking. New owner is not Sammie. I will not go back. I now know of no shoe repair place in Austin I can use. Disappointing!

New owner is no good.
Gave him a pair of python Noconas to patch based on pictures of prior work he showed me.
Took longer than promised to do the work. The patch looks nothing like the surrounding material, and the scales on the skin used for the patch are oriented in the opposite direction of the original skin. How is anyone supposed to buff a boot with scales going in two different directions?
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, when I brought them back I asked if there was a reason the patch needed to be installed with the scales backward. He said it didn’t matter what direction you buff python scales.
That is factually and inarguably incorrect. Don’t have to take my word for it: Try rubbing a python boot – with even the lightest touch – from front to back.
After discussing my concerns about the feasibility of cleaning the boots with the backward patch with me for a few minutes, he said he could guarantee the patch would be fine regardless of the direction in which it was cleaned or shined and walked out of the room.
Mystified, I asked the clerk if I could have that in writing – nothing fancy, just a note on the back of a receipt or something. She said she’d go ask him and headed after him in the back of the shop. The first time she returned she relayed to me that this «guarantee» could not be written down. The second time, she said the work could only be written to be guaranteed for 15 days.
At this point, I felt bad for her. The store’s policies regarding the quality of their work are not up to her, and she shouldn’t have to serve as a buffer between a dissatisfied customer and a proprietor that doesn’t want to deal with them.
I picked up my boots and left.

I will be picking up my boots from reheeling on Wednesday (two days) after dropping them off on just now. I explained my situation on how quickly I needs them, and they were so understanding and said they could do it! AND for 75% less than everyone else quoted me. This place is completely the real deal as people say!!! Thank you guys, I am counting my lucky stars to find this place! Ill update Wednesday.
Edit: just picked up my boot! Perfect I suspected! What a angel Sammy is! Thank you!!!

I’ve gotten many a heel tap replaced over here. Sammy’s very honest with what he can and can’t do, and his prices are very reasonable. The service here is great, and I feel comfortable trusting Sammy with my preccciousssss…
shoes. Ahem… sorry, had a Gollum moment.
Anyhow, there are sometimes times where I wish he could do more, but I appreciate that Sammy only does work when he is confident that he can deliver. He’s great at the basics, which ends up mostly being heel taps for me. Also, he doesn’t take cards, so be sure to bring cash before you pick your shoes up!

Sammie’s was recommended to me by several different friends. So when my beloved boots were in need of some TLC, I decided to try out Sammie’s Shoe Service and was very pleased!
I had the heels redone and he did a great job! I pretty much destroyed the heel, so not only did the heel cap need to be replaced, but I had also gouged out layers of the heel itself. At first, he would only be able to replace the heel cap, but when I got the shoes back, it looked like he had added a layer of shoe putty or something to make the heel not look so sad and damaged! :D
Also, you can definitely tell he runs his business very efficiently. When I stopped by, he’s very quick to come to the front and gives you all the information you need right away.

After reading all these 5-​star reviews, I thought this would be the place to go for my shoes, but what’s up, Austin? Where can I take my purses and shoes for magic repairs like I did in Vegas?):
The service here is good, but heel tips on one pair of shoes cost me over $ 10, which is roughly double what I paid at my two favorite shops in Vegas (and what I assumed as the norm.) Not bad, but not blown away, either.
Oh, and cash only.):