Used to be a good company, but...

“Hello everyone, I used to lurk around these parts a few years back when I had a real job. Since then I try to stay away from the "in front of the computer" enivrons. But something happened to me today which I am sure has happened to most of us in one form or another and I'd like to maybe start a thread to compile such incidences.

I own a pair of Merrell Wilderness Boots. Last weekend, just after a somehwat uncontrollable slide down a slab of granite, I realized it was time to re-sole them. So I got on the phone with Merrell. What I found out was that Merrell was bought out a couple of years ago and is now basically being impersonated by some other entity.

At first, they told me that the Wilderness Boot was not re-soleable. Which was B.S., the boot was marketed as re-soleable and quite aobviously looks that way. I told them this, and they said they would call me back. Never happened. I called them back, explaining my situation once again. They told me they no longer made that particular sole. When I told them that the sole was made by Vibram, they insinuated that Vibram wasn't actually a company, but it was merely a type of sole that they (Merrell) made. So I asked them what sort of soles they made that were comparable that could be attached to my Wilderness Boots. They wouldn't tell me. When I asked why, they said they don't want people re-soling their boots -- they want them to buy new ones.

It's one of the sad stories of our times, I guess. A good company gets bought out and then customers have to deal with crap like this. I'm sure this sort of stuff has been discussed here already on these threads, I've heard similar things about North Face et al, but my dream for this thread is a compilation of such stories so that conscientious consumers can see what companies to avoid (and which ones to patronize). Thanks.”

“Yes, these companies get passed around so much it's not even funny. REI, MSR, TNF, Cascade Designs have all been around the block once or twice.”

“Jim: My suggestion is to find a local cobbler that does resoling or to send your boots off to a shop that specializes in hiking boot resoling. I know they exist.

But yes, it's a national phenomenon that customer service has gone down the tubes.”

“I cut and pasted this from an older boot repair thread:

Dave Page, Cobbler
3509 Evanston Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
800-252-1229
www.davepagecobbler.com

A veritable legend in the business, Page's 32-year-old Seattle operation is the largest repairer of outdoor boots in the country. Ailing footwear comes to him from far and near, including European manufacturers, Raichle and Asolo, and all 60 REI outlets around the country.

Komito Boots
235 West Riverside
Estes Park, CO 80517
800-422-2668

Steve Komito's repair shop in Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, has been around nearly as long Page's. He does warranty work for manufacturers such as La Sportiva and Five Ten. And while he estimates that nearly 80 percent of his work is on climbing shoes, he can handle just about anything.


The Cobbler and Cordwainer
73 Crescent Avenue
New Rochelle NY 10801
800-788-2668
www.cobcord.com

Good luck!”

“I can vouch for Steve Komito. He did a heck of a job on a pair of Vasques I had... they were done right, in record time, without busting the budget.”

“After my shoes wear out there's always another newer bigger badder shoe on the market I'd like to get my feet into. So I'm for the notion of always upgrading footwear *when necessary*. The old lugs still get alot of use kicking around town, in the yard, at work, etc., and as a matter of fact get used much more now than when they were just my hiking boots. Except now I have a better (imo) pair of hiking boots for the wilderness.”

“Many thanks for the cobbler references and the sympathy. Despite my newfound dislike of the manufacturer, I love the boots. Hopefully they will be gripping soon...”

“I just bought a pair of REI boots with the name Merrel in small print. I wondered about the two names together when I bought em. They aren't the type of boot that'll last 10 years though, just a few....hopefully long enough to get my Montrails broke in well.

Good luck getting those boots fixed up Jim!”

“I used to use GTX Explorers by Rocky. The way they make that boot now is totally different. I wonder if they are being made by a different company now.”

“They just discovered that way too many people had certain types of software than what they actually paid for. Some sweaty IT geek just spent 30 minutes removing stuff that I didn't even use from my computer so they wouldn't get fined! That's just par for the course.”

“I think that bunny is the president of our company!!”

“I had my old Zamberlan's repaired here years ago, they have the Asolo boot machines, they did an excellent job.
Molinaro Cobblers
Address: 5995 S University Blvd, Greenwood Village, CO 80121
Phone: (303) 794-3942”

“i looove molinaro cobblers...especially w/ ice cream”