GOOD upholstery shop in Arlington/Mansfield?

[jluv]

Man, I feel like shit. I hate that he didn't do at least a reasonable job after I recommended him. I'm sorry, and thanks for posting that your truck wasn't done well . I have 3 cars that need upholstery work soon.

Not your fault in any way. I have to believe that a guy with over 25 years of experience did good work at some point. Something is just terribly wrong. I checked out a couple of places and got a good vibe off of him, so that's on me. After several red flags, I still had faith. That's on me.

We'll see how it plays out. After my visit today, I could tell he was genuinely worried that I was going to kick his ass (I would never), and he swore he would fix it. I just don't know if he has what it takes.

[jluv]

So I gave Herman a chance to fix everything, but he didn't. Anyone wanting Upholstery work done should avoid Herman's Upholstery in Arlington. Here's the summary.

I dropped off my front seats, center console/sub box, headliner, and visors on Aug 5th to have reupholstered. He promised me an exceptional quality job that would exceed factory standards, and he also promised me it would be done in one week or less. This was a big reason I chose him, as timing was very important. I had other projects going on with the truck, and needed it done fast so I would have all of it done before a planned road trip.

He quoted me $1000, which I figured was reasonable for the work I was getting done. The seats and console would be 100% leather on all surfaces. He expected me to pay for the job up front so he could get materials and whatnot. This should have been my first red flag, but I overlooked it. I still had faith in the guy at this point, and I was excited about it all. I gave him my debit card, and that's when he informed me that he only takes cash. That should have been my second red flag. Still, I was being way too trusting. I went and pulled out $600 from the nearest ATM, and he gave me a receipt for that. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't give him all of the money that day.

Not once did Herman ever call me. All communication that took place was when I called him or dropped by the shop. After a week, I called and asked if my stuff was ready. Nope. Got excuses about how busy he was. He promised it would be done the next day. I called that next day, and got more excuses. He promised it would be done by the end of that week. I called, and of course it wasn't done. This became a routine. Excuses and broken promises, day after day.

I dropped by one evening after about 3 weeks to see him and the work in person. All he had done so far was take the old leather off of my seats. I should have left with my stuff then, but I knew I wasn't getting my money back if I did that, and I just wanted it done. Me coming by seemed to light a small fire under him. I called a few days later, and he assured me I could pick it up the next day. Well, it was two days later that he finally had it "done", so I went by there after work to get it. This is about 4 weeks in.

I show up and he takes me to my stuff. Holy shit, it was awful. The leather was too tight in places and too baggy in others. He just completely made things the wrong size. The seams were all crooked and the stitching was wavy, random, and just really fucking bad. It literally looked like a drunken, blind child with no fingers tried to sew my seats with their eyes closed. There were threads hanging out everywhere. The leather was filthy (not that big of a deal, but still), and the pockets on the backs of the seat were now at a sharp angle instead of being straight across the seat. The console was almost as bad. None of the seams lined up with the edges of the box, and the stitching was just all over the place. The headliner seemed like it wasn't even formed to the board. In the areas where the headliner board had contours, the material was just stretched straight over it, leaving big "pockets" where the material didn't even touch the board. It looked like it was already an old headliner coming down, and there's no doubt that this would spread and it really would start sagging all over.

I used the exact phrase "This looks like shit", and pointed out to him all of the fuck ups. It was just bad in every way, and I am completely baffled as to why he would even try to put that in front of me. Did he really think that anyone would ever accept such a shitty job? How could this possibly be so terrible? How has this guy been in business for so long? Is he too old now, has he literally gone blind, or has he gotten into drugs? I just don't understand, and never will.

Anyway, he swore he would fix it. He actually had the nerve to say that he was just rushed and trying to get it done for me in a hurry. Really? Almost 4 weeks on a job you said would take one? And you were rushed? Whatever. He said he knew what he did wrong and that he knew what I wanted. And he promised me that he would have it all fixed in a couple of days and that I would love it. At this point, I was not confident about his abilities at all, but I wanted to give him chance to fix it. I was running out of time and just needed it done.

Well, of course it wasn't done in a few days. More excuses. More delays. I ended up having to push my vacation back a couple of weeks. He finally tells me it's done, and I go up there last Friday, the 12th to pick it up. Five and a half weeks on a one week estimate. I show up, and it's actually worse. He did pull some of it apart and redo it. The fitment was marginally better. The seams were still crooked. The stitching still looked like it was done by a blind kid. And now there were tons of holes in the middle of the leather where he pulled the old stitching out and tried to redo it. One part of the seat had a large pattern of holes right in the middle of the seating area, nowhere even near any seams. There were gouges in the leather already where it looked like he dropped a knife on the seat. And there were apparently blemishes that he tried to cover up with tan spray paint/dye. It was obvious and caked on. The console and headliner were the same. He had not even touched those. He had only managed to to start working on one of the visors. He'd ripped the factory material off and taken it apart just to tell me that he couldn't recover them. So now I have to buy a new one, and they won't match the headliner anyway.

I grabbed all my shit and left. I told him he did a shit job and I would have to have it all redone. He knew. He sat there in silence while I loaded my shit up.

I know there's no way I'll get my money back. He doesn't have it. I don't know how he stays open. He's a bum and a crook and a con-artist, and he doesn't have a lick of skill. I could go by there and shake him down every day, but he's not going to shit $600 out of his ass. It wouldn't do any good, and he would eventually call the cops or something. Lesson learned, money gone, and I just want to spread the word about this to anyone shopping around for upholstery work. Fuck that place.

Fwiw, I ended up ordering a full set of leather from leatherseats.com. The price was excellent, and it all arrived yesterday. The quality is top notch. I should have gone this route to begin with. I still have to have the box and headliner redone, so maybe I'll go to Bill's or go see Crush again.

Life goes on...

TL/DR cliff notes: Avoid Herman's Upholstery in Arlington.

[silverhatch]

Damn sorry to hear that. Thanks for the warning.

[SS Junk]

What about the asian lady that RICHARD RAWWWLINGS uses?????

[Baron Von Crowder]

Man, that's just shitty, I hate that I led you on the wrong direction. He did several patch jobs on seats for lot cars, and he didn't do a terrible job on them. Im glad you brought this to light, my 69, Jason's mach, and Paul's fox gt are all needing some upholstery work, and we were going to take it to him.

What about the asian lady that RICHARD RAWWWLINGS uses?????

I know that you are joking, but she runs a real actual shop and apparently puts out some pretty quality work.

[DON SVO]

I know that you are joking, but she runs a real actual shop and apparently puts out some pretty quality work.

She does and, from watching an episode where one of her new guys did some less-than-stellar piping that didn't line up, will fix a fuck up quickly without excuses.

Sorry to hear that Herman has gone downhill so much, Jared.

[stangin4lyfe]

Very sorry to hear about how the work turned out and I hope everything turns out best as it can.


Did the guy have the audacity to ask for the remaining $400?

[SS Junk]

I know that you are joking, but she runs a real actual shop and apparently puts out some pretty quality work.

Joking only about the clown that uses her.

[jluv]

Very sorry to hear about how the work turned out and I hope everything turns out best as it can.


Did the guy have the audacity to ask for the remaining $400?

No, he didn't. In fact, I'm pretty sure he thought I might kick his ass. I'm a big softy, but he doesn't know that. I said something to him about bringing his leather back to him after I get my stuff redone, and getting at least part of my money back, and he just sat there in silence. I just know that he would never have any cash for me, and he would give me excuses and have me calling and/or coming by every day to ask about it. I'm tired of dealing with him and I'm not going to waste my time.

I went on a spree yesterday. I left a shitty review on every search engine and review site I could find. Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Four Square, his company Facebook page, and a bunch more. Mine was the first and only review on most of those, so it gives him a 1-star rating and my reviews show up right next to his info. I also filed a complaint with the BBB. If all of that causes just a handful of people to take their business elsewhere, I'll be happy - both for helping save them money and headaches and to keep him from making that extra money himself.

[Gasser64]

Wouldn't mind knowing of a good one in mansfield

[SOLOW55]

Wouldn't mind knowing of a good one in mansfield

Keith Kirk in Rendon .

[Gasser64]

Keith Kirk in Rendon .

ever used him? prices competitive? My truck seat has a split i wouldnt mind having fixed

[jluv]

Well, I got the rear seats all done today. It was a hell of a job with the hinges and headrests and center armrest/cup holder fold out, but they came out perfect. Pretty proud of myself, considering I've never done upholstery before, other than covering some small pieces and making amp racks and stuff. I really do wish I'd gone this route first. I am extremely impressed with the quality of the leatherseats.com stuff. Great service too. Should have the fronts knocked out in a couple of days.

[SOLOW55]

ever used him? prices competitive? My truck seat has a split i wouldnt mind having fixed

I have had him do some golf cart seats for myself. He did the interior in my dads 55 as well as several friends. I also used him when I was in the shop.Great work and as for price , you get what you pay for.

[ELVIS]

that sucks man. if you have any, i know we would love to see pics.

god bless.