Labelle's Shoe Repair
 

Bob Labelle is the best! I was heading to his shop on my lunch break today. A gentleman walking toward me said "There's a girl with a shoe problem". You guessed it - it was Bob! He was obviously heading to get his own lunch, but promptly turned around and , with a smile and constant banter, opened his shop back up, so that I could bring my sandals in for repair. He could have kept on walking, but that is not the kind of person he is. He is one of those old-fashioned shop keepers who knows how to treat his customers. Thank you so much, Bob! You are definitely one of the good guys!

We always get good service at a very reasonable price there.

Where is Labelle's, please?

Seems like shoe repair is a dying art and finding someone who does it is hard these days...

Center of the Laconia downtown section
612 Main St
Laconia, NH 03246-3448
(603) 528-1528
labelleshoe@gmail.com

LaBelle's is listed in two different categories of the Laconia Main Street website:

http://laconiamainstreet.org/directo...onal-services/

http://laconiamainstreet.org/directo...-and-wellness/

This is a listing of all the businesses in the downtown Laconia business district - more than 260 businesses within about 6 blocks, the highest concentration in the Lakes Region

Agree...from way back!
 

I remember going there way back! He "saved" shoes, purses for me, and--you are right--he is top notch in treating customers. Did I dream this, or did he try, awhile ago, to sell his business and ended up continuing because there wasn't anyone who could take it over?? In any case, you are lucky to have him!

He did sell the business, and the woman who bought it is great, too. I can't remember her name, sorry. Bob does still work at the shop, though.

I needed to have a 3/4 inch lift put in my right shoe. Dropped my New Balance shoe off at 2 PM, and got a call at 5PM saying it was done. He did a fabulous job! No one even notices it unless I point it out. A small potion came unglued a couple of months later and he re-glued it at no charge. The cost was very reasonable, and the craftsmanship was outstanding!

Will never go there again
 

I have had a pair of Frye boots for over 30 years and love them, but they needed to be stretched. My husband, who had lost his job, drove almost an hour to go to LaBelles and have them stretched as much as they could be. I wear them with various socks and I have arthritis in one toe making some shoes uncomfortable. The man refused to stretch them when he got there saying he would do it if my husband went back and brought me in. He said the soles MIGHT crack and have to be replaced. My husband explained how far away we lived and that that was not possible, and that WE would assume all responsibility, and that IF and when the soles needed repair or replacing, we would cross that bridge when we came to it. The man still refused unless I was there. The boots could only be stretched a finite amount which we knew, and that was fine with us and would have given me the room to comfortably wear them again with socks and my dodgy toe, but this owner stubbornly refused. My husband took the boots and drove the hour back home. We decided then to DIY stretch them at home, which we did. NO damage to soles!
We would never, ever patronize this shop. The NEW owner is a pig-headed scrooge, unwilling to have a little common sense and he obviously doesn't care about losing customers. WE WOULD NEVER GO TO THIS SHOP AGAIN. There are shoe repair shops in Portsmouth and Dover, and we would go there if need be.

Hmmm...
 

Hmmm...just joined and first post is to bash a local business that others seem very happy with. More to the story maybe?

^ Agreed. And: 1. Who wouldn't call ahead for something like this? 2. seeing as most people round up, the hour was probably less. 3. The guy was trying to SAVE you heartache!

Methinks we've got a troll!

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30 year old shoes?? I would like to know what deodorant she uses on them :eek:

"My husband, who lost his job"

And that has what to do with this story??

well....
 

Maybe he's a "loafer"

Or, maybe he just got the boot!

Or, maybe he is just a real heel?

Probably on a shoe string budget.

puns
 

Maybe that leaves her as the "sole" supporter.

The funny replies are great and have sole.

but seriously , it seems every time anyone says anything negative about any business in the region they get slammed .
that's one reason this forum is NOT a good source for reviews .

Or perhaps every business in the region is perfect

Billy Bob, you seem to have missed the part about the OP having no history here and only signing up to post the negative review. I think it's more than fair to be suspect, especially as she's not been back to defend herself or her accusations on a thread concerning a business with good reviews.

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As of this moment there are 251 active users, of which only 17 are members. So, there are a lot of lurkers who may or may not feel like they have anything to add until a post "urges" them to sign up and comment one way or another.
I don't know the 1st time negative poster, nor have I ever even heard of Labelle's.
As is always the case in these situations, there are 2 sides to this story and the real truth will lie somewhere in the middle. There is probably only 2 people who have direct knowledge of what transpired that day. Maybe Mr. Labelle was having a bad day....maybe the poster's attitude wasn't so pleasant....we just don't know.
We have a tendency to flame a first time poster when their first post is negative. Whatever happened, perhaps the poster could have chosen her words a bit more carefully and maybe she was a bit harsh.
Either way, let's all try to withhold judgement unless we have walked a mile in their 30 year old Frye boots.
Happy Friday everybody.

Maybe first time posters need to act more meekly and ask questions, rather than a chest beating tirade, where forum members immediately question who this person is. Perhaps such people are bringing it on themselves ? I personally have little problem with people I am not familiar with assaulting my values.

Labelles Shoes
 

Labelles has relocated to 24 Canal Street. Phone number remains the same.

Great people, good work!

That is all correct. Also, it is no longer called Labelle's. It is now Daub's Shoe Repair and he does excellent work.

Daubs: http://shoerepairnh.com/

What's the difference between an "active user" and a "member?" :confused:

I'm pretty sure that an "active user" is the total number of members and non-members who are viewing the site at any given time.

Go to the bottom of the Forum page...
 

If you go to the bottom of the main Forum page, there is a section called What's Going On. The first section in it is Currently Active Users.

In this section, it lists how many Members of the Forum are viewing Forums, and also how many 'Guests" are viewing them as well.

Awesome Work
 

I travel constantly and tear up bags all the time. Always go to Bob to repair them no complaints always does a great job for a reasonable price. I would recommend him to anyone.

Shoe Stretching
 

Old thread but recently revived. Thought I would like to add a comment regarding boot/shoe stretching from my own experiences having it done.

Due to severe foot problems, I have had boots and shoes stretched a number of times by shoe specialists (orthotists.) I have never seen them stretch the entire piece of footwear, but only the pressure points where they need to be widened. They mark those areas with chalk so they can zero in on the correct spots that need stretching. Therefore, you have to be there yourself in order to insert foot in boot, so they can determine where the places that need stretching are. If minimum stretching is necessary, they can do it while you wait in a matter of minutes. However, it usually takes an overnight stretching on their machine if more time is needed to do a better job.

Everyone I know who has had work done by Mr. Daub says he is very knowledgeable and does excellent work. It appears he does as fine a job as a professional orthotist, but at less cost. As a disclaimer, I might add that I am not associated with Daub’s Shoe Repair in any way.

Hmmm wonder if they change shoe laces and what's the cost?

Just picked up some shoes there today...
 

I have a pair of black plain toe shoes that I wear with my tuxedo, and also wore while playing in a marching band (no longer belong to that band). They had leather soles and heels, and needed new half soles and heels.

Turnaround time was about a week, he did look at the laces (in great shape, he said :)), and the quality of work was first rate.

The shoes are about 8 or 9 years old, and the uppers were in great shape, and the shoes fit me like a glove. I could have spent a little more money, and got a new pair of shoes, but I really didn't want to part with these shoes.

Daub's is not inexpensive, but I have always paid for quality. If I needed to go back to him for any shoe or leather repair, I would not hesitate to do so.

Thank you for the generous support.
 

I am the owner of Daub's Cobbler Shop (formerly LaBelle's Shoe Repair). In June 2015 we moved the shop to 24 Canal Street, right around the corner from the old Main Street location.

In December "shecooks" wrote a review here on this site as well as YP and Yelp. I evidently offended this customer, and have responded to her Yelp posting, without further correspondence.

The reason for my reply to all of you is because of your overwhelming support in this thread. There have been so many wonderful things said about Daub's Cobbler Shop, I cannot even begin to thank you enough...

I absolutely love being part of this community and would ask you to:
1) Please let me know when you come in that you saw this thread
2) Tell all of your friends that wear shoes that we are here
3) Continue on as a community that encourages to live, work and play locally

Jim "Daub" Daubenspeck
Daub's Cobbler Shop
24 Canal Street
Laconia, NH 03246

The user has only ever posted that one complaint, so clearly a troll. Good riddance.

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