Any one do good rock shoe resoles? Givin' up on Rock n Resole!!!!!

In years past I used to use Yosemitebum exclusively and sent them a ton of referrals. I still think they do a fantastic job but I'm tired of waiting up to a month to get my shoes back.

Rock n Resole is who I send my shoes to now. They're a little more expensive than YB but they do good work and they're quick. I just got one of my pairs back today, 7 days door to door from out of state. Now that's quick!!

Sounds like a few people have just had a bad experiance and should give RnR another chance. I think Eric and the boys do a great job.

Shoes delam. ALL companies shoes delam. Most of the time it is the fault of the shoes owner. it is easy to blame it on the manufacturer though. Fixing it is pretty darn easy to do as well.

In regards to the sportiva. You guys are silly.
Your talking about shoes that are ancient in the market right now so you must have been probing the wrong person or took the wrong approach. There is always someone at that office willing to talk about the shoes, fix the shoes and help with any questions or warranty concerns that may come up. I always say as well, Don't count on the cyber world to get your message across. Pick up the phone and touch base with someone.

I've had great success with Rock n Resole. Two years and at least 10 pairs later they are still my favorite.

I've never gotten quality from R&R either, which is surprising to me. Twice I asked for a thinner resole, twice I got the same old thinkness. When I brought it up with the dude at the counter, he just shrugged and said, "Oh yeah. Sorry about that," and took my money. Once they put on a different type of rubber than the kind I specifically asked for. Same scenario. It was even in the notes on the shoe. For such a seasoned shop, you'd think they'd give a rip. Guess not. I've never tried sending them back to the manufacturer, but that seems like the most logical place to begin with, if one is sending them anywhere.

Another vote for Rock-n-Resole. I've used them for over 10 years now with great resoles. I actually dropped off a pair last Friday and had them back Monday. Quick service I'd say. I'm wondering if the OP used C4 on the resole. I gave up on that stuff because it wears too fast. I've been using the XS grip and are happy with it.

John Langston wrote:I've never had downright bad resoles from R&R but I've never felt the quality was as high as YosBum for the same price (shipping excluded). I think they'd be well served to stop patching rands too, climbing shoes aren't bike tubes.

Totally agree. I like that YB replaces the entire rand and sole. Not that it matters but they certainly look better than a RnR job, especially for that price.

Dave Page in Seattle. I had used R&R and was not overly impressed. The shoes I have sent to Dave have come back in "like new" condition, possibly slightly better than new.

davepagecobbler.com

I work at Rock and Resole and thought I’d offer a couple words in our defense. We always try to do the best work possible, but we are only human so we do make mistakes from time to time. We have our warranty to cover these mistakes when they happen. Out warranty is not a satisfaction warranty, it does not cover wear and tear, sorry, we’re just not REI. If we have caused a problem we will work with you to make it right, if you have worn out your shoes we will tell you simply need another resole. From the sounds of it Dave-o wore out his shoes. My colleague looked at them and told me it was definitely wear and tear from climbing. That’s a bummer, but it’ll happen climbing on hard rock with soft rubber 3-4 times a week. While 2 months may seem like a short time to wear out a pair of shoes, for perspective I wore out a pair of fresh resoles in the valley in 3 weeks climbing 5-6 days a week. We try and maintain a good relationship with all our customers and it sucks to see someone who is so upset they feel the need to post their problems. I’m sure Dave-o is confident it was our fault, but we are confident it was his; he wore out his shoes and he can deal with it. If this means taking his shoes somewhere else, so be it. I’d like to thank those of you who are happy enough with our work to offer a few words in our defense, it’s nice to have customers who not only enjoy our product but are loyal enough to back us in a bit of controversy. Rock on! -Rob from rock and resole.

Barry's Resoles, Auberry, Ca. Best resoles on the Planet. including rand repairs. Will change shape of your shoe, toe box, etc. as per your request. Tell him Bud from Moab says Hi and I'll be sending in a pair soon. Sorry no phone # at this time someone else might be able to help.

Just want to to defend Rock and Resole in order to counter the old business adage that says: "If a customer has a bad experience at a business they will tell 10 people. If a customer has a good experience at a particular business they tend to tell no one." What is up with that? Human nature I suppose. Dealing with the public is a Bitch!

I've always had good experiences with Rock and Resole. Fair prices, good people, convenient and fast.

"If we have caused a problem we will work with you to make it right, if you have worn out your shoes we will tell you simply need another resole."

Robert D.,

First of all, this is just bad business. If R&R has caused a problem they should make it right, period. No questions asked. The customer shouldn't have to work at all to get what they paid for. Anything less is stealing in my opinion. If there's a mistake, all the customer should hear is, "I'm sorry about that. We will fix it. Here's when you can come back to pick them up."

Second, whatever happened to "The Customer Is Always Right"? I know you guys have been in the business for a long time, but it's been my experience that R&R has the attitude that it's above making mistakes. I don't suggest R&R start giving handouts to any whiner that comes along. It would just help to show a little loyalty to the customers, instead of always expecting it from them regardless of the circumstances.

Get some rubber yourself and find the old guy at the town square in the shoe repair shop and have him do it for ya, that is what I do in Missouri...

Edit: Or buy the damn kit and do it yourself so you have no one to bitch at besides yourself.

Chris,

Maybe there is a misunderstanding, when I say, "we will work with you to make it right," I am not saying that the customer will be doing any work. I maybe should have said, "we will communicate with you and solve the problem." When I said that "if you have worn out your shoes we will tell you that you simply need another resole," I am talking about shoes with no actual mistake on our part--shoes that have simply worn out. If your shoes are worn out and we have done a fine job on the resole, you don't apply for our warranty, period.

As far as "the customer is always right," if we believed the customer was always right then we would need to "give handouts to any whiner." The fact is that we have more knowledge on the subject of shoes then our customers, so we are more often right in our analysis of a broken down shoe. We know when it is wear and tear, and we know when it is a mistake on our part. When it is wear and tear we tell the customer seeking a warranty that they need a new resole, even if the customer is convinced that it is our fault their shoe wore out. A satisfaction guarantee like REI would put us out of business.

As far as customer loyalty; we work for it, hope for it, and appreciate it, but we don't expect it.

Take it easy, and good climbing to you,
Best,

Robert D

Danno wrote:Just want to to defend Rock and Resole in order to counter the old business adage that says: "If a customer has a bad experience at a business they will tell 10 people. If a customer has a good experience at a particular business they tend to tell no one." What is up with that? Human nature I suppose. Dealing with the public is a Bitch! I've always had good experiences with Rock and Resole. Fair prices, good people, convenient and fast.

In the spirit of this post I'll chime in. I've used R&R for 8 years--they've always done a good job and I've had, literally, zero complaints.

Charles

I've always had good work from the Rubber Room.
Positive Resoles, and Yosemitebum are good also.
Yosemitebum used to have a one week turnaround.
one thing to note is that yosemitebum always resoles with Evolv rubber unless you ask for something else

Dave-o wrote:I've been going to Rock n Resole for about 8 years, with mixed success. I have always sent tons of buddies there, again with mixed results. 2 months ago yesterday I had a pair of shoes resoled by them and they have fallen apart already. Yes I climb 3-4 days a week, but I have never rocked through a resole so quickly. When I asked Rock n Resole to help me out, they wouldn't even cut me a deal on fixing my destroyed shoe. Anyone know a better resoler to choose from?

"On fixing my destroyed shoe" is a key qualifier here. It sounds like you wore out another sole and now you are looking for a free new sole? Not sure what the problem is here but people need to understand that there are many variables that affect how fast a show wears out.

What kind of rubber were they resoled with?
What type of rock were you climbing on?
What type of climbing were you doing?
Are you getting stronger and trying harder routes and therefore dragging your toes a bit more?
What type of temps were you climbing in (this also has a lot to do with what type of rubber you had the shoes resoled with)?
What type of shoes did you have resoled?

Rock and resole has always done a good job and they always have worked with people to solve a "legitimate problem". Remember that if you have a delam right away that you better take in at that time. If you wear the sole out and bring them in and say "they delammed right when I got them" and show them a worn out shoe you are SOL.

I too have used Rock and Resole for a ton of resoles over the last 7 years. I think they do an amazing job. They have fixed problems when it was their fault, and generally look out for your shoes. They even go above and beyond to glue down parts of the shoe that aren't related to the sole.

I have had shoes wear out in less than a month on climbing trips on sharp rock in warmer weather (for me just 3 weeks at Smith Rock). There are a lot of variables that contribute to how fast a resole will wear out. Its not uncommon for rubber to wear out quickly when you are climbing a lot on the shoes, especially sharp rock. If it tears up your fingers quickly it will do the same to your shoes.

I second (or third) the comment to use XS Grip rubber in the 5 mil thickness if you want them to last longer.

shooky wrote: "On fixing my destroyed shoe" is a key qualifier here. It sounds like you wore out another sole and now you are looking for a free new sole? Not sure what the problem is here but people need to understand that there are many variables that affect how fast a show wears out.

I'm sure Dave-o understands there are different factors involved in how a shoe wears out. I doubt he all the sudden started climbing above the level of what he's been at for the last 8 years. I think the point he is trying to make is that R&R's jobs have lasted in his experience, and this one didn't. Since he's been loyal for a good 8 years (a serious customer), even if he did happen to start throwing down v15 and 14d in a month of enlightenment on diamond-sharp rock, it would behoove R&R to stop and think for a second, that, "Hey, this guy is a loyal customer. Maybe we should cut him a frickin deal and give him half off his next resole," or something similar. Instead of, "I'm a licenced resole professional and in my all-powerful opinion this isn't our fault. Now eff off so we can make room for all the other loyal customers who don't have problems with our resoles." Maybe they should keep a list of their customers to see who's worth making a little extra effort to please. The business cliches you always hear may sound redundant, but people say them because they're true (like, "It takes years to make a loyal customer, a 10 seconds to lose one;" or however it goes...). If R&R had taken an extra 10 seconds to think about it, they might have 5 more customers, instead of a rant on mountainproject.

Like Sasha and others, I hold R&R in the highest regard. It's been too long since I've used anyone else, and in no way do I mean to denigrate other fine business folks by endorsing R&R.

On several occasions they've done a free minor patch and advised me to wait for my next resole before doing a rand patch in an area that was wearing.

Their rand patches BTW have perfectly matched the contour of my shoes (both trad shoes as well as slippers like Katanas) - all for a measly $8.00 per patch.

As far as running a small business is concerned, sometimes you have to realize that some customers are too expensive to keep. I'm not saying that this is the case with the original poster, but in the same vein, if R&R in their opinion felt that their work was good, then they have every right to express this opinion.

It may sound harsh, but the customer is not always right. Every businessman has to make a judgement call. Surely, some benefit of the doubt goes to the customer, but in no way should they let themselves become a door mat in the process. Of course, the occasional gratis work is done in the process, but these guys have every right to expect to make an honest living and to not operate a charity.

Cheers,
Thom

Dave-o wrote:I've been going to Rock n Resole for about 8 years, with mixed success. I have always sent tons of buddies there, again with mixed results. 2 months ago yesterday I had a pair of shoes resoled by them and they have fallen apart already. Yes I climb 3-4 days a week, but I have never rocked through a resole so quickly. When I asked Rock n Resole to help me out, they wouldn't even cut me a deal on fixing my destroyed shoe. Anyone know a better resoler to choose from?

Also, if you rocked through a resole so quick shouldn't you complain to the rubber company instead? Why not give Vibram or Five-Ten a call or start a thread about how much their rubber sucks.