Alcatraz Shade Shop

Great personal service with the kind folks at Alcatraz. They offer up loads of large swatches to take home, so you really can take your time.
I really wanted to go local for this, and Alcatraz was perfect. They carry it all.
It was a busy time for installation, and one of the kind ladies in the shop actually installed my blinds the day before Thanksgiving, as a favor.
She’s not the regular installer. Did a perfect job, for a small fee. Very kind of her, and the blinds are awesome!

Order Takers /​Lacks Creativity and Effective Counsel
Unfortunate experience.
If you just want to place an order, this shop will probably be fine. But, if you want design counsel and/​or counsel on solving difficult window spaces, my experience is this shop doesn’t provide thorough or good counsel.
I had a difficult space (corner window), and was not given proper counsel. I ended up spending a lot of money for a substandard solution. The shop was not willing to discount me or work with me to find a better or more creative solution.
I’ve since switched to another vendor to help me with the rest of my home. I’m having a much better experience.

I have nothing but great things to say about Alcatraz Shade Shop.
I’ve dealt with this store on several occasions, as have some of my friends. And, their customer service is extremely helpful and friendly. They give great service, whether you’re making a large purchase, or just a small repair. And, everything is always done in a timely fashion.
I would certainly recommend giving this shop a try for all of your window treatment needs!

Update to earlier post: I still have not received a return phone call from a repair person as promised by the owner last Friday. But, I did receive a private Unilocal email message from the shop owner.
Her response is reflective of the type of service (or lack of) that you can expect from these folks. I guess if you complain about shoddy work and customer service and then warn others, this is what you should expect-​NOT!
They provide a one year warranty for their work. Unless of course it is too hard for them to do and then they will whine and act like it is your fault that they did poor work for you in the first place. As an aside, I never discussed warranty or cost with the shop when I called last week. I simply informed them that their earlier repair (still under warranty) had failed and I would like someone to come out and find out why it was not working.
As a customer with a broken shade (last year), I called a shade repair shop (Alcatraz Shade) and asked them to give me a price to repair a broken shade. They gave me a price and I accepted the bid. Now that the repair is faulty, here is what the owner of the shop has to say:
«Anyway, we have decided that since we spent so much time on your shade last year that we are no longer able to repair it. We even gave you a new fascia box for free and Devin hand painted it to match your wall. I remember this job very clearly and I know that it is very hard to reach your windows and difficult to get a ladder into your space. The shade like the one you have is not something we sell or have parts for. We had to custom modify what you already had to make it work.
I do apologize for not getting back to you sooner to let you know that we can no longer help you.»
Well, I did buy/​pay for that custom modification-​which was a new operating mechanism. And your worker did see the height of the job and bid/​accept the work. And the «free fascia box and paint work was offered as a token by them for a missed appointment, wrong equipment brought to job and improper install the first time. All of these things required 4 missed mornings of work!
I get it-​I will find a reputable shop to repair their faulty work and then will post a further update so others know who does good work in this area.

Warning: I didn’t purchase anything from them so I cannot evaluate their quality or installation expertise. But given the chilly reception we got, based (I’m guessing) on the fact that we needed blinds for only two windows, I simply won’t deal with these people. I’m taking my business elsewhere.

We loved using a local small business to install honeycomb shades on a tricky bay window and faux wood blinds over a sliding glass door. Lindsey come out to do all the measurements and provide a detailed estimate. She returned a few weeks later with help to install the blinds. It was easy and right the first time. And she let us know that the blinds were covered by a warranty, so we should call them back if we have any problems. Great service. Thanks!

Alcatraz Shade Shop has completely redeemed itself and I am SOOO happy about it. After writing to them about the problems I’ve had with my shades, they immediately responded and told me to bring them back. I’ll have to admit that I was completely exasperated with window shades that would not roll up or down. Practically drove me insane. Lindsey contacted me and told me to bring them in while she was there and she would personally attend to them. She did just that and I was able to bring them back home in a couple of hours. Turns out the shade rollers themselves were indeed defective — simply did not function. Whew! Good to know that I was not crazy. Now they glide up and down smoothly and without a hitch. Plus, they are quite beautiful, which is why I’ve frequented this shop for so many years. Thank you Lindsey, Jennifer, and the nice young lady in the back room (didn’t catch her name) who worked on my shades. You did an excellent job and your cheerful and professional service is greatly appreciated by this very happy customer.

We had a great experience with these guys. We have blinds which had a broken cord. Home depot had no idea what to do — they recommended hundreds of dollars on new blinds. These guys charged me less than $ 50 for the repair — I can’t remember how much exactly, but it was even cheaper than what I was quoted on the phone. It took me a long time before someone came to help me inside, when I came to pick up my blinds. They were nice enough. It took a few weeks, as it had to be shipped out to the manufacturer. But for us the important thing was that it was cheap and well done.

My experience with Alcatraz Shade Shop was great. I went in and met Devin and looked at my options in solar shades. Some kind of miscommunication happened with the manufacturer that delayed my receiving the samples; but once I got them and picked one it was smooth sailing. Devin came over to measure and talk about the options to figure out. The order was placed, he came back to install them and they’re great at blocking out the light, just like I’d hoped :)

Walked in with a HunterDouglas honeycomb shade which had a broken automatic spooler. ALcatraz sent it back to the manufacturer and it was repaired and they covered all costs. I picked up the shade and it works perfectly at no cost to me. I stand by a store that stands by their products!

So if you have the time, and you are seriously thinking you may use Alcatraz Shade shop I suggest you read further…
This fiasco started about 6 weeks ago. We got new windows and we needed compatible shades. The widows were about 7k a piece so I wanted high end shades. I scrolled the internet high and low what I found to be the best was the shade shop. My mother was here and she said we should really do it locally, she had experience. They need to come and measure so if there is any problem its not your fault. We spent approximately $ 300 more per shade to deal with Alcatraz. She said she would pay so I agreed. Even though I told her I had had a horrible run in with these people about 5 years ago. My contractor highly recommended them and said everyone was new. He urged me to use them and to forget the past. I trusted him and I did not even look them up on Unilocal… my 1^st error. Well, we went in and dealt with Larry. He seemed ok. He took down everything we wanted and and said if its over 1k (which he didn’t think it would be) the measuring is free. That was important to me because I did not want anyone telling me the problem was my fault because I measured on my own. So Larry comes back with a 2.2K quote a couple days later, (yes, he’s a bit off in his calculations!) I should have gotten the picture then, but I didn’t. He sends his guy to measure. Wait 3 weeks the guy comes back to install (45 min late) so I tell him I have an appointment and have to go but my 17 year old son is home and if he is ok with that then me too. No problem, I leave my cc for him to run upon completion so he doesn’t run my credit card he re-​charges my mom, who had paid the initial deposit. Then when I get home I find that the hardware was supposed to be black and its chrome, the shades were supposed to be rolled in reverse and they are not. 1 of the motors was already crap and had to be replaced. When I called and left messages for Larry about these problems I went 5 days with no reply. Finally someone picked up the phone and told me Larry does not work here anymore. So the guy that answered the phone that day said he would now be my contact person going forward but he didn’t really have his own extension because he was hoping to replace Larry but it wasn’t sure. I said so you are new? Turns out hes not new. Just trying to move up in the business. I dealt with him on my problems for a couple of phone calls but was quickly frustrated by the lack follow through. I started at that point to speak with Lindsey the manager. So unaccommodating its frightful. So when push comes to shove I am told that they need to come get the shades, re-​roll them and then bring them back. They suggest coming right away on a Saturday and then not coming back with them until a week later. Plus I am having house guests and cant be bothered. So we decide they will come the following Tuesday at 9:30am they show up, take the shades and come back at 10:30am, great. But then they run into a bad motor and an installation problem Bond leaves at 11:30 frustrated and says hes taking it back to the shop to get t fixed and he’ll be back, he’ll call me. No sign of anyone and it 5:30pm I’ve waited all day but they could care less. I call for Bond, he’s out on a job… I ask for the manager Lindsey, she’s with a client but will call me after. No call, no consideration, only blatant disrespect. 3 days go by still no news from anyone. I call this am and leave a message for Lindsey at 9am she never calls back. The bell rings at 5pm just as we were walking out the door. It’s bond with the shade… do you think you could call first, see if I am home and available? apparently not! Well long story short the shades do not fit correctly because the windows are not square. But what home in this area has perfectly square windows? When the measurements were made the first time around they took that into consideration. The shade fell perfectly but when they were forced to re-​roll it in reverse those measurements were totally off, the shade falls on the sill askew. Apparently that is just «normal» because the window is not square… so why get custom shades in the first place. You have to deal with these obnoxious arrogant people and if you go on line or to ikea you are much better off. So much for trying to stay local. I spent $ 300 per shade more than online and had the headache of my life… And who is Hans the owner anyway??? he’s certainly not present for all of this! He calls himself the shade guru online and on their website but gives no information about himself or how to contact him. I strongly urge you to stay away from this company. Even when I called the local bay area manufacturer about my problem they acknowledged all of Alcatraz shade shops problems, they said they only deal with the trade and could not help me directly but they had plenty of good tradespeople in the area. Please, Please Boycott this nasty company!!!

Less than 6 months since our order our shades are no longer working. The pullys are broken on ALL shades and there are 7! The shades don’t stay up and raise incorrectly. Called back the woman who helped us, Lindsay, and she really had no interest in helping us. They are really just a SHADY business.

I just had my blinds installed and I LOVE them. I went to Alcatraz Shade to get that personal touch and Dean helped me pick at the exact right blinds for my place. I have all different sized windows, some not so straight (a funky older place in Oakland) but the blinds all fit perfectly. It was so much more pleasant than one of the chain stores and worth the price. I am going to enjoy these blinds for a long time.

I don’t know what’s happened with this store. I’ve used them for years and spent thousands of dollars there. However, the last order has been a complete nightmare. Wrong measurements, and not the type of shades I ordered. When I called the first time, I was told to «just bring them back in»…Ummm…YOUR MEASUREMENTS were wrong guys. YOU needed to come back and re-​measure (which the owner did do himself). Now today, I am back home from picking up the replacement blinds that THEY came back and remeasured… and what do I find, but that one of the blinds is COMPLETELY the wrong size… like for some other window on another planet.
Also, the wrong sized shade brackets that had been installed are totally different from the replacement ones… so, wow, how inconvenient that I now have to re-​putty the holes from the wrong brackets, re-​paint where all the paint pulled off, and re-​drill all the screw holes.
For a family owned local business, the customer service has gone way downhill and no one seems to care if you come back or not. If you are a small local business, your return customers are all you have. We are definitely taking our business elsewhere. How disappointing.

Alcatraz Shade Shop has just been a joy to work with. We recently replaced all the window coverings in our families 1960s home. We have vaulted ceilings and the windows are not all symmetrical. Lindsey came out several times to make sure that the height was right for each set. She also helped us select the right style, function, and color. A year and half ago we also replaced our window treatments in our in-​law apartment. Yesterday afternoon, I called because I had removed one of the shades and couldn’t get it back up. They offered to come right up and help me! When Hans arrived he not only fixed the shade but also adjusted another set of binds so they would function better for the way we were using them. Can’t say enough about the quality of service and the dedication to perfection. Thank you Hans and Lindsey for all your help. Everything looks and works beautifully!

We need curtains for our kid’s room. I went in to ask about their in home consultation that they advertise on their website. They told me to take pictures of the room and then come back with the pictures. Several weeks later I came back with pictures. The salespeople barely stopped chatting to talk to me (the only customer in the store) and told me that I needed to pick out fabric before they would look at the pictures (and then presumably schedule a consultation?). I said I knew what colors and patterns I wanted and they told me I just needed to look through the hundreds of books to find what I wanted. I asked if anyone could help me and they said no, and went back to chatting. I left and doubt I’ll be back. For a place with such good reviews on Unilocal and a reputation for high prices, I would have expected better service.

Last year we bought fabric at a fabric store to have Alcatraz Shade Shop cut and sew them for bedroom drapes. The first attempt by Alcatraz Shade Shop was poorly sewn. The second time around was better. Then the drapes were hung upside down. Eventually the job was completed adequately.
This year we bought fabric and hardware from Alcatraz Shade Shop for a 2 foot x 1 foot door window. Looks fine. They initially calculated the fabric incorrectly — overcharging by $ 150. Ended up costing $ 450. Installation charge -$ 100. Normally love to patronize local shops, but too expensive and too many mistakes.

Day 1: Our bedroom roll-​up shade went up at full speed, came off the mounts, and landed on my toes. I cried.
Day 2: The little metal mounting post on the shade broke off, having been weakened by Day 1’s fall and impact. Our bedroom filled with sunlight at dawn. I cried.
Day 3: Walked it into Alcatraz Shade, where they repaired the roll-​up in 5 minutes. Gratis. I’m all smiles, and am in mad love with our city and all the wonderful small businesses that it hosts.

Our ancient and large blackout shade had a broken cord, but was in otherwise good condition. My husband wanted to can it, but I thought I’d see if it could be repaired.
For just $ 50, the friendly guys at Alcatraz Shade replaced all the cords (since it was likely that the others would blow out soon). A new shade would have cost hundreds of dollars. I must have caught them on a slow Saturday because they did the work in less than 2 hours!
I’d recommend this place in a heartbeat. Great service, perfect workmanship, reasonable prices. Thank you!!!

I don’t know when Unilocal really became mainstream far enough that incompetence and illiteracy began to seep through to reviews. but the reviews giving poor ratings to Alcatraz Shade & Blind are most definitely obtuse and irrelevant.
I am a newly hired resident manager to an apartment complex and so I’ve began to deal with many local businesses in regards to interior and exterior renovations and maintenance. One problem I ran into is that the installation of a particular set of blinds in a unit was done poorly. There is a 1.5″ molding around the entrance that inhibited the blinds from fully opening so I needed longer brackets to replace the ones already installed.
What did I do? Call Home Depot, Ace Hardware, another Home Depot and finally the Berkeley Shade store. All 4 attempts and visits were unsuccessful. Not only were most of them lacking helpfulness, but a couple of them suggested that such a part was nonexistent and I would be better of buying a new set of vertical blinds to replace the perfectly functioning ones I already had.
Long story short, I was recommended Alcatraz Blinds by a very nice rep from the Home Depot (Emeryville) blinds/​shades department and to my huge relief. guess what? The part exists. All I had to do is bring in the existing bracket and it was quickly matched to a compatible, but usefully longer piece. PROBLEM SOLVED! I also got a few wing nuts out of bag of miscellaneous parts that were left over from a job that they recently completed – just as a complementary thing. I didn’t have to worry about trying to drill in wooden shims to extend the wall or anything complicated. I wish I had come here first.
Shame on those who are dissatisfied with Alcatraz Shade&Blind as an excuse to voice their own habits of impatience! Shame, shame, shame is the name of your game! This quaint corner store is the epitome of a successful, honest, trusted small business. They’ve been at this location for 30+ yrs, and bad business just does not last that long, so bottom line, any other business I have with shades/​blinds as far as my apt. complex goes – will go here.