Etiquette question

I have been boot-less for weeks, as I took them to get re-soled at my usual shoe repair place, not realizing until it was too late that they didn't take American Express. I had to pretend, oops, hahaha, I'd just plumb forgot to pick them up for two weeks. But believe you me, as SOON as I got confirmation that my paycheck had been direct-deposited, I broke all laws of physics to get to the shop to retrieve my beloved shoes.

Alas, they are not so beloved any more. They apparently underwent some sort of trauma while at the repair shop, because now they click when I walk. I'd thought that maybe it was something that I could only hear in my apartment because of the hardwood floors, but no dice. All sorts of environments bring out the inner diva of my shoes. The walk to work (pavement): tap tap tap. The walk to the office's kitchen (carpet): tap tap tap. The walk to lunch (grass): tap tap tap. My colleagues: ready to throttle me.

I've never gotten shoes fixed like this before. So my question is, is this an unspoken by-product of re-soling boots that I'd just never run into? Is this something that everyone knows, but no one speaks about? Like how I didn't know that you're supposed to wear a beige bra under white shirts until G&T wised me up. Or that girls aren't allowed to wear sandals without polishing their toenails first.

I plan on going back to the store and insisting that they fix the boots, but I'm not sure how assholish I should be about the matter. I'm running out of shoe repair stores within easy walking distance, so I can't afford to offend the guy too greatly. But there is no way I'm going to be able to stomach wearing these boots in their current form. Decisions, decisions...