Pay for the price of new shoes

So, as an American living in Paris, everything is pretty much trial and error. I mean, yes, I'm all about recommendations from friends, but sadly friends are not there 24/7. 

Here is one place I want to call out for not being foreigner friendly-- Vaneau Rive Gauche, 44 Rue Vaneau. 

Ticket from shop owner with name blocked out.

I took my boots in for a sole repair since the winter weather and gritty sidewalks has not been kind. What I got was a high price tag that I was not expecting. I though the shopkeeper quoted the price as 30 Euro, which I thought was reasonable and fairly priced. Then she rung up my credit card and the charge was for 130 Euro, which is just downright insane! The problem was that I did not realize the charge until I left the shop. I happened to have lunch with friends that day and asked to see if shoe repair was extremely expensive in Paris. After their eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped, they all told me that I got ripped off. To quote one friend "That is a pair of new shoes". The best part about this price was I did not also notice the date she wrote down--she told me Tuesday in the shop, which I thought meant the upcoming Tuesday, March 6th, but the price she wrote down on the ticket was March 20th.

After lunch, I returned to the shop and asked for my boots and a refund to my credit card as I could not wait that long. My french is super beginner so honestly didn't want to get into a long discussion about how the charge was outlandish and she should have been ashamed for even charging me that much. She claims that the shoes were already at the atelier and she didn't have them. She would call me tomorrow, but my boots would now be ready on Monday vs the 3 week estimate she originally gave me, but she couldn't give me the refund on my credit card. Giving her the benefit of the doubt that maybe some of the conversation got lost in translation, I wrote an email to them saying that I just wanted my boots back so I could take them somewhere else. My boots were returned and I was issued a refund by my credit card company.

Regardless, this establishment has earned a place on my "STAY AWAY" List. For the price you pay for shoe repair, you might as well buy a pair of new shoes.