I guess I should have just chucked the shoes. They were less than a $100 but the fact that I had no other shoes and needed to go a meeting had me a bit flusterd. The entire heel snapped off. The cobbler pulled back the lining and screwed the heel back on. He told me jump around and check it out and all seemed well. I guess I should be glad I didn't have to play "hop along" to the meeting. Apparently my cobbler back home is a bargain. I will stop complaining about the ten bucks