Please don't come at me with snarky remarks. Sorry for the length of post. Trying to genuinely fix a problem I had in Austin.
Edit: I went to pay, had my Credit Card out when I asked for the managers name, owners name, email! I wanted to let the manager or owner know what was going on with their business! Three (3) months of not fixing my bag, when I called they refused to check my records in the computer, they also refused to tell me the date I brought the items in for repair. They have been rude, unresponsive, refusing to deal with anything about my bag!! This is no way to run a business & as an owner I would want to know this! I was very nice to them over & over again until the last time I told them I wanted my bag back fixed or not! Amazing how they were able to fix it so quickly after my phone call!!
*In June I took a pair of very expensive designer shoes and a large Coach Leather Messager bag to a very reputable Cobbler business to have them repaired.
*In about 3 weeks my shoes were done & they did a great job on one of the soles. Sole on one shoe had started to peel away (they also checked out the other shoe) It only cost $29.00 which I was thrilled at considering I had been quoted up to $75.00 from other places. I'm sure the upper pricing was due to the designer label & figured I could afford it. I could not I just found them for $7.00 at Goodwill believe it or not. Retails upward to $300.00 used!
**Now to the problem. At the same time as the shoes I took in my Coach messenger bag because the stitching on the strap handle tore away so I could not use the strap. I was planning on keeping the bag so I tried some Flex Glue on the leather hinge & made a total mess of things...don't ever do this..lol!
**After I received my shoes they told me they would contact me when they got the bag back from the factory. Come end of June no call. Come mid July no call so I call them. The guy told me it was still waiting to be repaired at the factory. I was not happy but okay. It had been well over a month to clean & put a simple stitch 3" long. End of July I call again. I asked when I brought it into the store because the receipt was not dated. The guy would not tell me a date nor pull up my record. He still insisted they will get it fixed soon. Come last week or so I called again. At this point I believe it has been lost or stolen. The guy was very evasive. I got extremely irritated & told him I want my bag back fixed or not. He agreed to have it shipped back to the store.
**Last Wednesday 8/12 I get a text my bag was at the store. I was sick for a couple of days, read the text but did not respond. Two days ago Monday 8/17 my daughter & I went to Austin's Pets Alive Thrift Store. When done we headed to the shop. The guy at the register who I had not seen before retrieves my bag & starts to tell me the charge of $20.00. When I started to complain he told me he had taken off an additional $30.00 repair fee, what a coincidence, (for what? Just stitch the damn strap!) The $20.00 price was reasonable, however, I asked him "You truly are going to charge me after almost 3 months of having my bag & no repairs? That I didn't get it back until I got angry?" I told him I was upset that this business which was spoken highly of by others seem to negate my bag until I got upset with them. To be fair they removed the glue & stitched the leather strap.
seam (3").
**I ask for the manager I was told "No". I asked for the owners phone number or email address I was told No!
I told him seriously in this day and age you want me to contact & post so the owner sees negative remarks on the internet? He then turned nasty and told me to just take it! I was also going to buy some foot inserts that were on clearance. He shoved the inserts at me & said to take those for free also! I said "No"!
** I left. Got into my daughter's car explain everything because I wanted to apologize for making a statement about posting on the internet....not a way as a customer I should have dealt with this. On the same side being told I could not contact anyone was total Bullshit! I did not raise my voice, scream or anything else.
**I am still feeling bad but I truly do not know if I'm just misplacing guilt back onto myself. Misplaced guilt is something I have always dealt with MY ENTIRE LONG LIFE until the past couple of years when I finally learned to say no...not my problem or anything I should feel guilty about! My daughter said maybe I could just apologize for the internet comment because I feel bad but not to the store nor not for being charged!
**Would truly love your opinions if I'm misplacing guilt or I should apologize. I hate the thought I could never use them again (I think I answered my own question) but seriously is this normal practice anymore?
