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For KSMU’s Sense of Community Series, I’m Mike Smith. Join with me now as we listen to the owner of Tom’s Shoe Repair share some of his experiences of dealing with the economic downturn, in his own words.

I’m Tom Quinn, owner of Tom’s Shoe Repair here in Springfield. We’ve been in business for almost 20 years. We repair footwear, belts and luggage. What keeps me going is comfortable shoes. People love their shoes. A good pair of women’s shoes costs $100 a pair, and men’s shoes are the same. Even people that spend more money for shoes are having more of those shoes fixed to save money. It’s all economy based I think. Within the last year I’ve had to raise my prices a little just to cover the cost of my material, most of which is leather. In a good economy people spend more money on their shoes and I stay fairly busy with that. But in a bad economy, they want everything fixed, including cheaper shoes made in China with plastic or compressed paper. I think if someone can save a couple of dollars fixing their shoes, it’s a couple of dollars more they will have to spend on food at the grocery store.

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