On May 7th 2026 I dropped off a brand-new pair of boots to get sides straps attached to pull them…read moreon because the manufacturer did not add them and they are pull on tall leather boots at Pete's 208 W Atlantic Ave Haddon Heights. On the bottom of the receipt, it was printed that they'll be done May 29th. My son went in to pick them up in June, and they told him they were not done yet and would call me when finished. So, on July 22nd I called and asked if they were done, they said not yet, and they would call when finished.
The woman I spoke with said they were in a box? I said yes. I did not have a good feeling that they had them so long and they had not been worked on yet. So, I went into the store to pick them up. I am only in the area occasionally, as I live an hour and a half away, and took them to the shop when vising family in the area.
When I got there, they said my boots aren't here, the woman who does the work takes them to her shop in Runnemede, (which is not far away). So, I told her I was going to go to Runnemede to pick them up. She acted like she didn't like this idea much but didn't say no, but I believe wanted to deter me from going there. She called the shoe repair woman to let her know, but she got no answer (or maybe pretended to call her because she did not leave her a message, but I am not sure about that). She turned to me and said, "It's not like you can wear them now anyway." How does she know where I am going and what I'm doing? I have plans to visit my friend in New Mexico and they wear boots all year round there in the desert. I was surprised she said that, as that has nothing to do with the boots being held without working on them for 2 1/2 months.
I asked her for the address and said I would go by and see if she was there, and if she was, I would get them back and take them elsewhere. She said "well she goes out on her run to drop off the shoes she's repaired to all the other many shops she deals with; she is a one-woman operation and has no help or workers. She said maybe she's working on the boots now." I said I doubt it; she's had them since May 7th. She gave me the address and I left.
So, I contended with a lot of slow backed up traffic to get to the shop on the Black Horse Pike in Runnemede, it had a huge dog ferociously barking at the glass door. The shoe repair woman opened the door. I told her I was coming to pick up boots, she asked my name and immediately handed me them to me, so I figure the woman in Haddon Heights must have gotten hold of her to let her know I was coming to get them because it was like they were right there near the door. I did not enter and she did not invite me in. She half stepped out the door and handed me the box. I asked her if they were completed and she said no that she was backed up with repairing sandals. I said to her that I dropped these of May 7th. I told her I paid $30 at the Pete's Shoe Repair in Haddon Heights. She said, I would have to get the money back from them.
I then drove back to the store and the original lady was at the bank, so I told the other elderly woman there that I got the boots back, and they were not worked on, so I wanted my $30 that they had me pay upfront when I dropped the shoes off. She was very flustered, and incredibly rude. Telling all on and on about how the shoe repair woman takes care of all these other places and is backed up. My thought is if the shoe repair woman is that backed up, clearly, she need help and should hire someone to work with her or perhaps should consider taking in less shoes so she can handle it better.
An elderly blonde- haired woman was agitated and abrupt with me. I told her just give me the $30 I paid because I got the boots back (which I brought into the store to prove it). She was very flustered, flummoxed and rude. After stressing and fussing around about it, she handed me the money and told me I was VERY RUDE! I told her she was rude to me! Then as I was leaving, she shouted "Have a nice day! I hope you have the day you deserve!" I told her she was rude, and I hope she has the day she deserved! I then went online and read reviews about their shoe repair, and in the past, they had good reviews back in 2017 and earlier, but many people 2019 and onward were very unhappy, especially regarding boots. I'm glad I took my boots back because I don't trust that whole operation and the way I was treated was horrible.
To wait that long and what I went through to get the boots and my money back was absurd and ridiculous. There was another woman there who was way more congenial. She says no one around here does this kind of shoe work anymore. I did find two other places which much higher ratings locally. I wish I had seen Pete's 2.5 Star rating before I went there. Never again. My son takes his dry cleaning there, he lives very close to the business, and he will no longer go there or recommend them after the mean-spirited rude treatment I received.
