First off I'm sorry to have to leave this review, and fair warning, it is long. I don't write many…read moreof reviews and I really expected to leave a glowing A+ one after my initial experience in the store. I also should have spoken up while there and thoroughly looked over my boots before leaving, but I was hitching a ride with someone else and they have a lot of other stuff to do before we leave, so I rushed through my pickup.
For that, I apologize to the business that I was not honest while I was in the store. I'm not the kind of cowardly yelp reviewer who smiles in your face, then writes a nasty review after they leave. I'd rather be a good customer who doesn't cause trouble.
I also want to say that I have no issue with the store, its staff, or management which is why I wanted to leave 2 stars instead of 1. Everyone in the store is extremely knowledgable, friendly, helpful, and polite. The store is pristine, has an excellent boot stock, and competitive prices that far exceed any other store around in terms of quality, variety, and style. So if you're looking for a new pair of boots, make Al's your first and only destination.
That being said, I'm gonna be honest here in the hopes that the repair side of Al's improves. This was my first time going to Al's because I live 5 hours outside of Billings, but I needed a cracked sole repaired before it got worse. I come down here often enough that it made sense to drop them off at Al's. Now, I have had shoes repaired at other "quick repair" shoe places, who usually produce ugly work on resoles. But that's about what I got here and I gotta say that I expected better workmanship from a name like Al's Bootery. I mean, they're a boot specialty store for crying out loud.
These pictures were taken right after we left. As you can see, the edges look like they were finished with a wire brush. Unless you don't have masking tape and a bench grinder with a sanding wheel, there's no reason for that. There's polish or dye all over the white stitching (why not just use brown?) There's also a gap between the welt and the sole, glue residue, and the dye looks hastily applied. There was even more glue and wax (polish?) residue before I took the photos, but I peeled/wiped that off because I originally wasn't going to take pictures or leave a review, so that's my mistake. I wore them out of the store, and basically just wanted to hide as much of that stuff as I could once I noticed it.
I'm not trying to be unreasonable, but if I handed work like this to someone, no matter how much I charged them, I'd be embarrassed. I make cowboy hats as a hobby, and am very familiar with leather working and how boots are made. So I can understanding how much sweat, time, and hard hand work goes into repairing a pair of boots, while still recognizing clean work. But if I knew the repair job would end up like this, I would have just spent an extra $100 and change and gotten a brand new pair, cuz in the end I didn't really end up saving any money.
If the repair was for a pair of work boots, I probably wouldn't be as bothered. But these are my only pair of dress boots. My goal is to have them look sharp for weddings and events and such, so I take care of my boots. I condition and polish them regularly, so I at least expect them to look nice even if nobody else is looking at them because I'm the one who is wearing them out, and I'm the one who is seeing them all the time.
Now, I do acknowledge that the turnaround was quick, and that $120 isn't very much for the work done, but that isn't an the excuse to justify poor craftsmanship. And to be honest I'd rather have waited longer if it meant better results. I know Al's is the only game in town because Eiseles no longer does repair, but that is no excuse either. I could see that if Al's wanted the customer to expect better work, then they might charge more. I don't run their business though, so I can't really say.
What I can say is please do better, guys. Maybe nobody else around here is looking for a clean finish, so you just do what your customer expects. Maybe nobody has said anything until now. Maybe a review like this doesn't carry much weight nowadays. Or maybe I'm just too old school. Whatever the reason, I was really hoping to be a return customer, but unless things improve, I guess I gotta got to Miles City.
