The Shade Store

We ordered 6 roman shades for our condo from the Shade Store. Customer service was great. The installer showed up on time and did a fine job.
My issue is with the product itself. The fit and finish of these very expensive shades has been a consistent problem. On the first go around three shades were lopsided. The Shade Store agreed to replace these. About one month later the replacement shades came in and one of the replacements was even more lopsided. Now after three tries they finally delivered correctly fitting shades.
In addition, the locking mechanism on these shades is awkward to engage. You must reach behind the shade and grab the shade rope quite high up then pull it at quite an acute angle to get the shade to lock in place.

This review is long overdue. We have a grandmother who is 97 and she wanted all new drapes for her penthouse in Nob Hill. $ 16,000 worth of new drapes & hardware to be precise. Our first order was for her living room and bedroom to be outfitted was in Oct 2014. Drapery and hardware are admittedly high quality. Delivery was pretty quick. Customer service by Grace was very nice given the price point. But then we waited for the 3^rd party installer to answer calls, let alone come to install the drapes. He didn’t return calls, always had some excuse of why he couldn’t answer the calls. After weeks of calling him and Grace and then having to call headquarters just to get him to call back, it was now Dec 2014. Did I mention Grandma is 97? She wanted to see new drapes in her house, end of discussion.
End of Dec 2014, William — the 3^rd party installer, FINALLY came and installed them. Grandmother loved them. So she wanted the same drapery & hardware for her dining room windows. $ 4000 for this room of windows. ANOTHER chase of William to call back, to schedule, cancel, reschedule a time for installation. For $ 16k worth of product and a grandmother that is 97 one would think that someone could possible finish the job?
Feb/​March 2015 William finally has a time to come and install. 12−2pm is the time he gives us, only he apparently really means that at 12noon he will send his daughter’s boyfriend over to open the boxes and prep the hardware and drapery. And we will sit awkwardly staring at each other, while this daughter’s bf apologizes and continually calls William asking where he is. And William doesn’t arrive until 2pm.
We were short one drapery stick that you use to pull the drapes back and one end cap arrived in the wrong color. Two more deliveries and three endcaps later we finally receive the correct color.
Unfortunately installation is a direct reflection of The Shade Store. The Shade Store hires these installers and one would think they would care about how they are represented. Sadly, we will never use The Shade Store again.
Quality — very nice
Store Service — nice
HQ tel Service — nice but useless
Installation — the worst

I got really great shades here for 3 different rooms, all with unique needs. I was assisted by Grace Diaz who was super helpful, friendly, professional and accurate with the order. I got plenty of swatches to take home and try. The shades were made in a timely manner and without any problems. I liked the first shades so much I came back a second time and ordered more shades for the living room (which are on a battery operated motor and can be moved up/​down by remote control, since the shades are in a place that is inconvient to reach). Great products and really great customer service.

After researching on a few local vendors for roller shades, I decided to go with the Shade Store. Their showroom is really nice and open and customer service is superb with quick email/​phone follow-​ups. Surprisingly, they price competitively against other small local showrooms for solar shades.
Two things that the shade store can improve on:
1) they outsource installation services to a 3^rd party vendor, which is not very professional and is inconsistent with the customer centric brand image of the shade store. When the contractor took down my old blinds, they just dropped them on my hardwood floor and left some minor scratches.
2) 1 out of 4 shades had manufacturing quality issues but the shade store customer service was very quick to re-​order and reschedule in-​home service to replace the shade.

I give 5 stars to any company that has competitive prices, good enough quality, but truly excellent customer service. For that reason, I’d give the Shade Store 6 stars if I could.
I bought a curtain rod through a seasonal sale. The rod didn’t cost a fortune so I was pleased (~$ 125 including shipping and tax).
But, then the madness happened:
The rod was shoddily made– it had scuffs and an uneven finish– and the installation company The Shade Store hired for me messed up my wall pretty badly.
I called them and I’ll just say this:
They were understanding, apologetic, and non-​combative.
They sent me a new curtain rod without a hassle (and didn’t make me return the old one which a lot of companies do and is really terrible customer service experience)
They managed the work crew to ensure the wall was reparired without damage and the rod was properly installed
And then they sent me a check for $ 125 to make up for my troubles.
Wow. I am now a devotee of the Shade Store.

I needed some window coverings to block out streetlights at night and I stopped in to see what the shade store had. Gail recommended roller blinds, which I ordered for the windows and also for a couple of glass doors and a sliding door. Gail gave me plenty of swatches to take home after looking at some pictures I brought in. One of her choices matched the window trim almost perfectly and it looks so great — very low profile when they are rolled up. She emailed me a quote and I was able to pay online, so the ordering was very easy.
Once the blinds were delivered Gail helped get the installation scheduled within a couple days. The installer was on time and finished installing within 2 hours — making some tweaks to best fit the not-​so-​square or level window frames and doors. Gail helped me get just the solution I needed and made the process really easy!

We have high ceilings and wanted drapes that dropped ceiling to floor. I walked into the store with a sketch and photos, and Mariko service was impeccable. She helped me select swatches and drape styles. Even after I left, she followed up via email, sent quotes promptly and provided great customer service. We had a specific deadline, and they were able to accommodate it. Even the crew that came out to measure and ultimately install were fantastic, quick and reliable.

Forget the box stores. The product here is far superior. Just did major replacement of window coverings with solar shades. Peggy from SF store was terrific. Walked me thru everything and had very helpful suggestions so things would hang just right. Shades came within time frame promised, they referred me to top notch installer who had all 9 windows up in just over an hour. I’m very satisfied and recommend them highly

Buying window coverings can be a complex process — especially during a big remodel. There’s a lot to consider — fabrics, styles, form-​factor, color matching etc. Julia Baker and the team at The Shade Store were awesome. Their in-​store showroom provides the ideal venue to make the right decision. Julia was extremely knowledgable, proactive and helpful every step of the way. Even when there was a slight snafu with the installation (the drape track was six inches two long), the installation team rallied and quickly fixed the problem. I’d highly recommend the Shade Store to anyone that wants high-​quality window treatments with five-​star service.

The final result was actually much better than I would have hoped. Everyone who comes to my place comments on how nice these shades are so worth the investment.
We also had a minor problem with the installation and they answered right away (even though I got an OOO email reply from the associate, she still reached out to me within an hour with a solution).
I’ll absolutely use them again for my next window treatment (and this was my second time using them already).

They are unable to do specialty shaped coverings for angled windows.
We just moved to a new house with high angled windows in my son’s nursery. We wanted to get them covered because there is too much light during nap time and noticed several of our neighbors have custom blinds, shades or plantation shutters. When I sent a photo to the design team member Amanda she replied «I wouldn’t be able to cover the top of the arched window. I have attached your picture of where I would be able to mount the drapery. I would do 1 panel and have it stack to the right, so it doesn’t interfere with opening the door.» So she suggested just hanging a curtain (we could have come up with that) which leaves the rest of the window uncovered and just looks odd.
I thought maybe she just wasn’t very creative so I called and spoke with another designer and he said they don’t do custom specialty coverings and they could not help me and that was that.
If you are looking for truly custom coverings this is not the place to go.

I love the product I got — eco solar shades. They look great, they fit perfectly and the staff (especially Julia) was super helpful with all of the little details. My only gripe is with my window casings — I live in an SF Victorian and the window casings are nowhere near level, which made hanging the shades a longer and more involved project than I anticipated (But that has nothing to do with The Shade Store). So, Pro-​Tip: Measure your windows AND see if they are level.
I would go back and get shades from them again. I loved seeing all the samples together «in-​person» in the showroom as opposed to ordering online.

My new curtains from the Shade Store were just installed and they are gorgeous. Despite the fact that we ended up with the least expensive ones (from Group A) the fabric is thick and luxurious – really pretty. And they hang beautifully right out of the box they were shipped in.
I had a great experience working with Julia – she was super helpful and friendly and very easy to communicate with via email after I left the shop. She very professionally put up with me as I dragged my feet trying to decide on the fabric – she didn’t push me at all and even «saved» the discount for me so I didn’t feel pressure to make a quick decision.
I will definitely be back when I finally get around to the shades in my kid’s rooms!

I went to The Shade Store and two other shops around town. The Shade Store was hands down the best.
1. Presentation. Come to be inspired! Their showroom was fantastic. The other stores just had Hunter Douglas demos haphazardly on display.
2. Service. I worked with Peggy. She (and everyone else) was professional. She actually seemed interested in how their treatments would look and feel in my condo.
3. Price. Given their slick website, great showroom, and professional service, I thought they were going to be out of my price range. But they were actually cheaper than the other two dingy stores I went to.
(I only give it a four out of five bc I went with their installer. My roller shades are installed fine, but he was an hour late for measurement and took a personal call during installation. Really not that big of a deal, but I couldn’t give five stars.)

After talking to several window treatment vendors, we were fortunate enough to have been led to The Shade Store. Mariko was fantastic in helping us identify our best solution and was patient in laying out the options as we were juggling several in the air. She was incredibly responsive by both email and phone.
The only reason why I’m holding back 1 star is that the installation service was a 3^rd party vendor who we had to chase down a bit. Once we secured them, they were great, fast and efficient. It just took a little legwork on our end.
We would definitely do business again with the Shade Store.

Took me a while to write this follow-​up but everything turned out really well. Peggy was still very helpful and responsive in person as well as over e-​mail. Shade quality was perfect and so much more reasonable than anything else I found in our area. I would use this place again!

So, I have ran into all sorts of issues around an existing order that I have with the Shade Store. Unfortunately my order has been moved out by roughly 4 months. The reason why I am giving them a 5 star rating is because they are a company that believes in doing the right thing and taking care of their customers.
Upon escalating my dissatisfaction earlier today with the help desk, I received a phone call from one of their customer service managers (I believe her name was Sandy). They have fully refunded my card and it was not a small dollar amount. They expressed their sincerest apologies for the issues that have taken place with the manufacturer and have assured me that they will be all over the status of my order moving forward.
I was quite adamant earlier today that I would never want to do business with the Shade Store again. My feelings after they fully refunded my card completely change that feeling. Not only will I be happy to go back and make another purchase but I wanted to communicate the rather significant gesture they made.
I now wait for the product that I am very much looking forward to and will do so with a great level of patience. Few businesses would take this kind of corrective action and I wanted to say thank you.

Mariko was my sales person and she was wonderful. She helped me select the right product and make all the arrangements for its delivery and installation without a hitch.
The product is durable and beautiful and the price was right. Why can’t people like this run Comcast?

Julia has been so attentive, positive and helpful! She knows everything and is genuinely responsive. I am so excited about getting my roller and roman shades. Thanks for being so on top of things. They recommended a person to come and measure and Mr. Dahl was very quick in getting in touch with me and followed up when I had to delay in meeting with him. So far my experience has been awesome!
~
UPDATE: The treatments came and were the wrong size 2 times. They were very prompt in trying to fix things and responsible and responsive which was a nice change from many companies. It was a hassle but they did offer me a good discount for my waiting.

Fantastic experience all around for solar shades and roman shades — price, quality and service. We went to their store on Fillmore after having a mediocre experience with Budget Blinds in one room, which turned out to be much more expensive for inferior materials.
At the Shade Store, we actually got to see the blinds in the store, bring home samples (and live with them for awhile) and work with a person who knew what they were doing (thanks Mariko!) before ordering them. All for a surprisingly reasonable price. I do recommend paying the additional money for their recommended third-​party measuring and installation service. Highly recommend them.