Blinds.com customer service rant

7 years ago

We ordered 2 blinds from Blinds.com and I talked to a really nice man that helped me with my measuring questions. The blinds arrived timely but then.....

One blind was fine. The other had a missing part.

90 minutes on hold and I FINALLY talk to someone. The part would be sent in 5-7 business days. Not happy with the missing part or hold time but at least only 7 business days from being able to complete the install. Explanation - Sorry but busier than usual with people purchasing and hiring and training as fast as they can.

Business Day #7 - I call to check on this and find out there is NO NOTATION from the call where I was on hold for 90 minutes. And then was assured that the part would be here in 5-7 days. So once again the part is on it's way but expedited. At least that is what I am told. Keep up with this kind of service and they won't need to train people. I doubt that I would risk ordering from there ever again based on this experience.

Very frustrated and upset about the bad service! So many options on places to purchase and I guess I made the wrong choice!!!!!!

Featured Answer

3katz4me

7 years ago

Slightly OT but related. I'm the VP for customer service for a company with a contact center (aka call center). I had a problem this year unlike anything in my 15 years with the company. We had somewhat of a perfect storm with some employees moving into other positions and some resignations. There was no way to immediately recover from this and it was ugly. We are known for outstanding customer service and our customers went crazy with long wait times, lack of timely follow up, etc. We communicated with them and let them know of the situation and that we were working to correct it as quickly as possible but it took several months. Fortunately we are now back on track.

Just sayin' ya' may not want to write off a company entirely based on one bad experience if there's evidence that it might not be such a bad company overall.

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Comments (20)

Jane
7 years ago
Interesting. I almost ordered from them but decided to order from Home Depot instead. I spent maybe $20 more - both had a sale on the cellular shades I picked. They should arrive in a couple of weeks. If there is a problem, I can bring them into the store where they know me.

We'll see how it goes. The blinds.com sales rep was great, but I didn't want to deal with potential returns by mail.
maries1120 thanked Jane
3katz4me
7 years ago
I received outstanding customer service from blinds.com. I think I did all of my communication by email following the initial order. Frankly I ordered something I just didn't like when I got it and they replaced it at no charge. I didn't have to send the "mistake" back so no return expense.

They are owned by Home Depot by the way.
maries1120 thanked 3katz4me
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maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
I'm glad someone had good service. We would have too other than the missing part that led to all the rest. Up until then I was happy. And even after the marathon hold time I was ok thinking our parts were on the way. But then finding out that order was never placed was just too much.
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I think I tried Blinds.com once and wasn't that impressed.

Blindsgalore.com was pretty good. Initially I used them as they were cheaper than Blinds.com with a sale they had running. They sent me right side lift instead of left side lift. Acknowledged it was their mistake. Sent a new blind within days, and I donated the other one to Habitat.

I did Budget Blinds for the main floor. A great option as they measure, guarantee the measurements, and they do the install. Their blinds are the same as Bali. I would do them again.
maries1120 thanked User
maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
Jn3344 - great info.. Thank you.
Tmnca
7 years ago
I've had excellent service from Blinds.com inc we have ordered several times from them. In fact just recently I called them for a part for our 3 year old blinds - when we had painting done the painters removed the blinds and lost the securing part of bracket on one side, and did not tell us. I operated the blind for cleaning and it fell on me and broke the wand, too! I called them and asked to order a new part for the bracket and they sent me for free 2 sets of complete brackets, and all installation hardware, free shipping, too. The brackets came in about 4 business days.

I call that excellent customer service! So it sounds like you had a somewhat bad experience but many of us have had the opposite experience, so I suggest you contact them and see if they will give you a satisfactory solution.
maries1120 thanked Tmnca
3katz4me
7 years ago
Send your complaint to CEO@blinds.com. His name is Jay Steinfeld. Let us know what happens.
maries1120 thanked 3katz4me
deeinohio
7 years ago
I, too, have purchased at least 5 times from blinds.com, with the most recent about 2 months ago. I have always been happy with their customer service, and am very happy with their product. Sounds like your experience may be an anomaly. Certainly report your experience. It would not have been excessive for you to have requested a two-day delivery of your part.
maries1120 thanked deeinohio
maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
I did email the CEO while I was on hold. There hold message suggested using live chat but they turned that off that day. I hope what we experienced is an anomaly but what are the chances of all this happening to just one person. Other than the missing part, I suspect this is due to new staff and staff shortages. The CEO apologized. I don't go to my home email often so Monday saw his follow up email to my response saying the part was ordered. He said he wasn't seeing that. That was why I called yesterday and the person confirmed nothing went out and is having this expedited. Definite difference when calling during the week then a Saturday afternoon.
User
7 years ago
Wow. Sorry you are experiencing such poor service. I have not used any of these companies but my point is mistakes unfortunately happen. It's how they are addressed that really stays with you. I would wait for this to get resolved and then I would again email the CEO and let him know how it all transpired. (Obviously you should not be having to contact them so many times). If you get nothing more than an apology I would say it was a very poor experience. Hope it gets better, and thank you for sharing this.
maries1120 thanked User
missymoo12
7 years ago
I bought black roller shades for the whole first floor in the spring. I received them in about 5 days. We were insanely busy and I did not get them up til about 6 weeks later. I mis-measured and needed to return and get new ones. About half were off by 1/2 inch. I called and they said oh no our return policy is within 30 days. Let me see what I can do. She got the return approved but the policy is they will remake only 4 blinds for free. You need to donate the wrong ones to HFH or somewhere.

I was able to make a few of my wrong mistake blinds work upstairs and plan to just have the ones I need made correctly. I think the company went over and above what they needed to do. They were completely professional and courteous. I could not ask for better. It was totally my mistake BTW.

I did go to HD first and the real person there was less than pleasant (don't think she liked that I wanted black shades...) which is not normal for my HD. Usually people there are really helpful. But I needed black roller shades and they did not have them. Special order was super expensive.

I intend to finish my order with Blinds this fall when I move back to indoor projects.
maries1120 thanked missymoo12
Bunny
7 years ago
I have no experience with Blinds.com, but I have had my share of customer service frustrations and annoyances with other companies (Sears, Ancestry.com, Netflix, Vanity Fair, to name a few). Although I'm retired and have lots of time on my hands, there's no way I'm going to sit on hold for 90 minutes, short of the Second Coming. Ain't gonna happen.

I'm a fan of customer support online chat, esp. when I can get a transcript of the conversation, e.g., Amazon. It's generally fast and productive, and I'm not holding a stupid phone up to my ear, getting madder by the minute. I just looked at the Blinds.com website, and they have an online chat option right on their homepage.

Good luck getting your issue resolved.
maries1120 thanked Bunny
maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
It is good to know that others have had some good experiences. I do have more window treatments to get but I am working with a local company now to get estimates on those.

3katz4me - I am a supervisor for a call center although this is a service related business rather than a physical product. I've had my share of staffing issues (down to 30-50% of usual) but fortunately have some really great people that pick things up and have a great attitude. Longer hold times (nowhere near this) and higher abandoned calls but nothing that fell through the cracks. If the fix had happened after the first call (even with the long wait), I wouldn't have hesitated to give the company another try but not so sure after the issues continued. We'll see once I get the parts and how the CEO responds.

Missymoot2 - been there with that way too busy and things get put off. I was going to go to HD too but couldn't even connect with someone on the phone this time so gave up. I worked with someone there a couple of years ago that was really nice and helpful but I don't think she is there anymore.
maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
Linelle - their message while I was on hold said to save time and our on line chat is open to help you. I went to use it when on hold but they had it turned off. I had my phone on speaker and it then became a mission to see if anyone would ever answer. I almost forgot what I was calling for when I heard a human voice.
PRO
Blinds.com
7 years ago
There is some really great discussion here!

@maries1120 I am so sorry we've let you down. I'd like to see how I can help. Would you mind sending an email to socialcare@blinds.com with your order details so that I can take a closer look?

In the spirit of transparency - we were severely understaffed going into the summer rush. There's no excuse for the extended wait times. We are taking an "all hands on deck" approach so we've even been using our Live Chat representatives on the phones as needed in order to handle the overwhelming volume in addition to hiring and training every single day.

We are currently recording new outgoing messages so that we don't have repeats of your experience (going to live chat but no one is there - how frustrating!). We truly value our customers and providing stellar experiences and I'd like to make this right however I can.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

-- Rebecca P.
maries1120 thanked Blinds.com
maries1120
Original Author
7 years ago
Rebecca - I will be happy to send you the info. Thanks.
Kristine Diehl
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Blinds.com was probably my worst on line purchasing experience of anything I've ever bought. Ordered 4 blinds, 2 were damaged. ALL of them had missing screws. I ordered two motorized and paid an ARM AND LEG for the remote (give me a break) and guess what??? They didn't send it. I ordered 2 blinds with hold down brackets - guess what??? They didn't send them. Asked customer service and they had to order all these parts. Just got an email saying to expect them in 3 weeks. WHAT?????????? 3 weeks for YOUR MISTAKE. Also waiting for the replacement blinds for the damaged ones. Horrible customer service, horrible quality - NEVER EVER AGAIN. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY - THEY WILL ONLY FRUSTRATE THE CRAP OUT OF YOU. Maybe you should contact Amazon and see how they are Customer Obsessed and what they do and why they are one of the most valued companies on the planet. Blinds.com will not last.
PRO
Blinds.com
3 years ago
Hi Kristine! Thank you for taking the time to review your recent order. I am truly sorry for the poor experience we have provided due to this long wait for these missing parts, and that one of your shades arrived damaged this way as well! I can understand how frustrating this must be, and I really would like to help turn this around for you, could you please send me an email at socialcare@blinds.com with your order information? Once I have received your email, I can look into this for you right away! - Lauren A.
Mittens Cat
2 years ago
Wow, I was just looking to order blinds this week and was pondering Blinds.com then came across this thread. Anyone have strong recommendations for another blind/shade company? Thanks!

Blinds.com customer service rant

3katz4me

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