It was such a pleasure to swing by The Shoe Box in Haslemere for a counter chat with owners, Andrew and Angela, and we loved speaking with a couple of their customers too. 

Andrew’s father was a shoemaker and this is a trade that Andrew was born into. He is in fact a third-generation shoemaker. In the early 1990s, Andrew worked at 'Gina', a prestigious London design company, where he stayed for eight years. It was here that he honed his skill and developed a keen eye designing and handcrafting luxurious footwear. Andrew explained. “Because I’m from a shoe making background, I am able to do repairs other cobblers may not touch.”

Andrew and Angela have lived in Haslemere since 2002 when they took over an existing shoe repair shop in the premises where Circle now trades. In 2003, they moved next door to their existing premises at 1a West Street. Nowadays, Andrew works from the Haslemere branch. He is joined there by Giles who has worked with them for 15 years and his son, Alex, who has been involved with the business for ten years. Over the years, they have employed 20 Saturday staff in Haslemere. Angela works from their Grayshott shop at 1, Victoria Terrace, Crossways Road.

The Shoe Box offers a wide range of services:

1) Traditional repairs of shoes and leather goods

2) Engraving for individuals as well as for trophies for all the local schools, clubs, societies (horticultural, golfing, angling, tennis, golf)

3) Key cutting, including dimple keys

4) Watch repairs and servicing

5) Sales of laces, shoe care, padlocks, watch straps and batteries, engraved gifts, for example tankards and glassware, trophies, wallets, purses, car fobs, umbrellas and more

As Andrew was running through their range of services, he was cut short by Tim, a customer wanting to get a dimple key duplicated. This is a new service offered by The Shoe Box. Prompted by numerous customer requests, Andrew has invested in a new dimple key cutting machine. He asked the customer to return in half an hour. What happened next was so lovely. Tim asked Andrew and Angela if he could buy them coffees as he had a few bits and pieces to buy in town.

Perhaps this is what happens when you are a local and respected shop that doesn’t offer a speedy and rushed while-you-wait service. All their repairs take time and are done in the correct manner so, as we saw here, the customer chooses his favourite shoe repair shop and, while he is waiting, he goes off and spends money in other local Haslemere businesses. And, in this case, the customer offers to buy the shop owners coffees as a sign of appreciation.

Andrew and Angela shared that they have a very loyal customer base and that they know so many of their customers by name. They acknowledge that they have been impacted by the opening of a shoe repair pod in the Tesco car park and this has meant the loss of some of their bread-and-butter business. We know competition is generally a good thing. We also know that some of the local retailers we have interviewed lately have acknowledged that they are more expensive than online (but with good reason). So, we thought we’d do a little mystery shopping to compare the price of keys, batteries and laces at both The Shoe Box and the new repair pod in the Tesco car park. We observed that all three items were actually cheaper in price at The Shoe Box. This is somewhat surprising given the purchasing power that a business with a £34 million turnover and 400 supermarket pods has. It means, for the convenience of a pod in the supermarket car park, you do seem to pay more for these three items. But if you want to get the cheapest rates, it is worth heading to The Shoe Box.

It was amazing to hear of repairs that Andrew has completed – a tennis net, a water bed mattress, numerous dog-chewed items, many Jimmy Choos, Valentinos and Louboutins, zips on much loved leather jackets, embroidered purses, designer handbags and more.

Another customer arrived to collect a large metal clock which Andrew had just repaired. She was delighted it had been repaired after other outlets told her they could not fix it.

Andrew and Angela talked about their local involvement in the Haslemere community too. Last year, they were one of the local sponsors of The Haslemere Festival and they are long-time sponsors of Haslemere Football Club and Grayshott Cricket Club. They have also generously created bespoke plaques for Haslemere Museum and the new Haslemere Railway Museum. They spoke with such pride about their involvement in our local community. And they’re generously circulating their locally earned money to support popular causes.

Half an hour later, when customer Tim arrived back with coffees and to collect his dimpled key, we asked him why he used The Shoe Box. He told This is Haslemere, “So often I come here… Sometimes on the day before Christmas in a panic or for an engraving for my daughter on the day before her birthday. The staff here always go out their way to help. I’d sum them up as high quality, friendly, responsive. I don’t know another place like this in the area. I genuinely look forward to popping in here. They have sorted me out so many times. It’s the least I can do to deliver coffee.”  It's a ringing endorsement for a great independent business in Haslemere.

On the counter, we spotted Custard Cream and Bourbon biscuit keyrings and pointed them out to customer, Tim. He bought the Bourbon one. This was our first sale for The Shoe Box…

We love this shop with its brilliant customer service. We are shouting from the rooftops a reminder to support our local independent businesses particularly when they give so much back to our community.

Website: The Shoe Box

Instagram: @theshoeboxhaslemere

Haslemere Address: 1a West Street, Haslemere GU27 2AB

Grayshott Address: 1, Victoria Terrace, Crossways Rd, Grayshott, Hindhead GU26 6HF

Telephone: 01428 652344

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9am - 5.30pm. Saturday: 9am - 5.00pm