Window-Ology

Note: This review is for the quote process and customer service I received from designer Yvonne so far. I will update again after installation.
Overview: I’m leaving this review in hopes that it helps some home owner like me who is new to the whole window covering process. For the record, we have a 4000 sq ft new home at Schaeffer Ranch in Dublin, and we ended up ordering various treatments for over 30 windows at well under 20K. Yvonne was knowledgeable, helpful, and most importantly really listened to what we were looking for and worked within our healthy but not extravagant budget.
Pricing: We solicited bids from 3 vendors total, and Windowology was in the middle of the pack with competitive pricing and products. Company 1 was a slightly larger business that we found on Unilocal based on 4.5 stars out of over 100 ratings; also excellent customer service; more higher end feel. I had visited their office in Pleasanton and really wanted to go with them because the owner personally came out and spoke with us and was just a really cool guy. But alas the designer, even though she was very knowledgeable and friendly, did not include price effective alternatives and would not reveal a peep about price during consultation, which resulted in sticker shock when we received the quote. By that time we had already spoken to Yvonne and didn’t bother to get a revised bid. Company 3 came recommended by our developer and had signs on people’s lawns, meaning that she did their treatments; good service and products; lowest price. We ended up going with Yvonne despite a slight price difference based on her great service.
Choices: The selection is good. Among the 3 vendors, I felt like each had something the other didn’t have, so our quotes from each of them actually contained a different treatment for the family room (pleated shades vs twin sheers vs silhouette). Windowology does carry branded products but also makes a lot of their products on site at their office in Pleasanton. It’s a pro if you don’t care to pay a premium just for a name or are interested in customizing. In the end, we decided on shutters with hidden tilt rods in the living/​dining/​loft/​master/​master bath, twin sheers in the family, custom panel tracks in alternating colors on the sliding doors, white color-​filtering rollers on high windows that can’t be reached but require privacy, and blinds on all remaining bedrooms and bathroom.
In sum, we are very happy with Windowology and our choices, and are super excited to see how everything turns out. Hope this helps!

I scheduled an estimate for Friday, April 8. The person I spoke with on the phone scheduled me with Peter for about a week and a half after my call.
A few days before my estimate, Peter called and asked if he could reschedule my appt to the follow week, either Tue, Wed, or Fri. We rescheduled for the following Tue, Apr 12, but as I have a crying infant on my hands at all times, I didn’t immediately mark my calendar when we got off the phone, and then a few days later I couldn’t remember whether we had chosen Tue or Wed for my rescheduled appt.
First thing on Mon morning, Apr 11, I called Peter to ask him whether my appt was for Tue or Wed. My call went almost immediately to his voicemail, and he never bothered to return my message. (I even said he could text me back a response but no text came either).
Feeling as if my business was not important to Peter, I then called Window-​ology again on Tue, Apr 12 to cancel my appt, because I still didn’t know which day my appt was supposed to be on, and I needed to make plans and not potentially sit at home for 2 days in a row.
The lady who answered the phone did not ask me why I was cancelling. Had she asked, I would have told her about the poor customer service from Peter, but she didn’t. Now I’m looking for another company from which to purchase some replacement shutters.

We just had Kyle from Window-​ology install 9 window and door blind treatments. He was fast, curteous, and professional and our beautiful new blinds were up in just a little over 2 hours. A very good experience and we recommend this business. Thanks for a good job here in our Hercules condo.

Alan and Matt at Windology were so patient and helpful when I purchased shutters for my home. They took the time to measure out a few different options and provided me several different quotes for me to weigh out, all were reasonable when compared to other companies. The shutters arrived on time and were installed quickly and professionally by, Matt, who also arrived on time, went straight to work and did a great job of cleaning up after the installation. I couldn’t recommend them more highly!

Wow. I purchased a houseful of blinds from these guys 5 years ago. I recently had a problem with one of them that required the blind to be sent back to Hunter-​Douglas. Even though it had been a long time and well out of warranty, the folks at window-​ology really took care of me. They sent the blind back to Hunter Douglas, had it repaired at no cost and even picked up the shipping and handling charges resulting in zero out of pocket expense for me. I was prepared to pay for shipping and handling but they took care of it with no kvetching from me at all. Super nice folks and it’s always better to support local vs. big-​box. Thanks for standing behind your customers. –Bruce

I can’t promise you that window-ology’s prices are better than anyone else’s. But their service is incredible. We bought electric blinds from them two years ago. To this day whenever we have any issues with the blinds they come out very quickly and resolve all problems. Yesterday, James from Window-​ology came to our house to replace a defective motor in one of the blinds. Rather then just stick the new motor in and leave, he spent a great deal of time going around to every window and ensuring that everything was operating properly. I really appreciate their great five-​star service.

We recently moved into a new house that had NO window coverings and many, many windows. My husband called Costco, and they hooked us up with Janine Elliot of Window-​Ology. And thank goodness they did! Janine came to our house, gave us some excellent advice as well as a very generous quote. Several weeks later, Ed, Matt, Kyle and Mike came to our house and installed the most beautiful plantation shutters, Our kitchen window has a challenging shape to it, but the installers did an amazing job making a custom fit. We had the best experience with everyone from this company and would absolutely recommend them for any type of window covering needs! Thank you Window-​Ology!

Great job on a re-​string job.
I have a very large window with wood blinds. The blinds were hanging crooked owed to some fairly old string. We wanted to investigate the option of getting the blinds restrung rather than having to invest in all new blinds or a whole new window covering option.
Being a Pleasanton resident, I passed by Window-ology’s store location and I would also see the truck on Division Street. I believe the owners of the company live in town as well. I wanted to keep my $$ local and spend at a local mom and pop.
I emailed the company to find out if they would re-​string. I was told yes, and that the estimate cost would be between $ 78 – 130. I felt that was a very good price assuming that the job would be done well. Luckily my husband was able to take the blinds off himself and we were able to bring them into the store location. This saved us some money since otherwise we would have been charged a fee to come to our house and take it down and redeliver.
I’m very happy with the work that was done. They told us originally it could be a 7 day turn-​around, but we got the blinds were finished the next business day. And the blinds now hang straight and the strings were replaced. The total cost was less than $ 100 and given the size of the window frame, it was a very fair transaction.
Thanks.

Well I really don’t want to write such a negative review, but I feel like I have no choice. First of all, the people are really nice. Especially Dustin who works in sales and is very professional. Bryan who is an installer is kind and wonderful. So are the ladies that answer the phone.
The problem is the quality !! I bought 7 blinds for my windows. In short they have replaced a total 7 times certain blinds due to scratches, small holes, and slightly bend slats. I don’t believe they inspect the blinds once received. They need to have a better quality control or inspection. Also once they are installed they are so dusty and dirty. I’m still waiting for the 8^th time, this time on the living room blinds !! It’s taken a lot of time, patience and inconvenience out of myself and wife. At this point I would not recommend to friends and family.

Had a great experience with Window-​Ology and really was impressed with their products and business. Peter, who came out to measure/​do the bid was wonderful. We were really happy with the final product. Highly recommend this place and be sure to ask for Peter! he was absolutely great and after he did the job, he made sure to stop by and follow up. Thank you Window-​ology/​Peter.

We had black solar shades installed throughout our entire home this spring and couldn’t be happier. Thanks to our fabulous design consultant, Melody Isaac, we were able to come up with a design that fit perfectly for our modern, minimalistic, hillside home. Based on her suggestion, we ended up choosing black solar shades (verses white) to really maximize our view. Though, at first, it seemed counter-​intuitive, the black color made them much easier to see through. Also, based on her expertise, she suggested going with white cassettes which would blend in seamlessly with our walls/​ceilings. In the end, we could have not been happier.
Melody is as good as it gets. She has extensive knowledge about both the products and design. She is thoughtful, a great communicator, and we felt as though she really listened to what my husband and I were looking for. Overall, it was a great experience and we were really happy that we chose Melody and Window-​ology.

First of all, a great thank you to Windowology for building such a great team of staffs! My husband and I were amazed by how their staffs took pride in contributing their role in their company. Every staff we worked with, we had an extremely stress free experience. Phil — the designer was very down to earth honest (like the family man character) on assisting us in picking out the design and the material that shoot our need and our budget. The installers — Ed T., Matt, and Khalid; were very professional and hard working employees. They were polite, respectfully of our home, took great pride of the whole workmanship of the installation (we felt like it was their own house! They ran into a problem where Toll-​Brother — the builder did not built a level window sill and it effected the installation of the shutter. Instead of rushing through the job, Ed and his team took their extra effort to get us the best result) and most of all leave us a very «CLEAN» job. We could not find any flaws when we do a walk through at the end. Lastly, with Claire — office administration staff was very courteous and friendly.
With this strong of a team playing their professional key role in their company, my husband and I believe their company is on their way to success. We will definitely share our experience with everyone who we know needs «Professional» window covering. Once again, thank you Windowology and especially Ed and his team for installing 36 beautiful roller shades and shutters for us! Now our new built home is complete ;)

My review is many, many months overdue. I had a fantastic experience with this company and wanted to encourage any of you out there that may have a small job to give them a call. (I only needed 2 windows covered.). The consultation alone was worth whatever extra these may have cost vs ordering online. I completely LOVE the color and there is just no way I could have gotten such unusual yet perfect colors without the home visit. And the twin sheers in the bedroom — holy cow! They are the grooviest roller shades of all time. I think they mfg them right there in Pleasanton. As far as I know you can’t even buy them anywhere else. Anyway, this is a terrific, independently owned business. I will gladly give Window-​Ology repeat business.

After an unfortunate accident at a friends cabin resulting in some damaged louvers on the shutters I removed said shutter and took it into Window-​Ology. This was a minor repair job and if the company made enough to pay for their time I would be shocked. But I was in desperate need of help. Alan the owner along with several of his awesome staff totally made my problem their problem.
After researching where to find these 30 year old louvers for the repair I received a call and an email. The call was to explain the plan, for me to order the louvers online, they didn’t have a source so they found me a source, then take it to a great painter they used that could color match and paint. The email with the link to where I could purchase online. I followed Alan’s instructions and accomplished a great repair and solved our problem.
Bottom line here was that the Owner and Staff came along side me in a time of need without regard to profit and made it happen for me. I’m confident this company will continue to be very successful because they provide an extremely high level of service.
I will be their greatest advocate and I hope that all of you, when you have a need, take advantage of having such a great company and people to work with.
Thank you everyone at Window-​Ology.
Greg

The review is long overdue, but better late than never, right? My husband and I received outstanding service from Window-​ology, Shem Isaac and their (very likeable) installers and here’s the kicker — this was not just a one time affair. I’ve split and labeled this review to try to help any tl;dr problems this review might pose.
/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​Routine Part of the Story:
To begin the routine part of the story, I will say that I chose and have lived with my Norman shutters for almost a year now. To start with, these shutters were a big order — both monetarily and in size because we chose to do our whole house all at once. Shem was in the front room when we first entered the Window-​ology office. The office is smaller than I expected, but lined with samples so that you can see and touch them. Unlike a big box store, it is small and personal and Shem took the time to look at and explain each offering to us. After listening to all our concerns about our current window treatments, Shem suggested the composite Norman shutters in a ⁴⁰⁄₆₀ split to address privacy while maintaining light and getting rid of the darned cords that were always breaking and getting tangled. It was the right choice and has immensely alleviated our problems with the old window treatments.
After ordering I was notified that the shutters would take 6 – 8 weeks to come since they are ordered from overseas. Even with that expectation, my order seemed overlong, but the wait was compounded by the fact that we ordered just before winter holidays. Installation for a three story house took two full days for the first pass. I say first pass because some shutters had arrived incomplete from the supplier which meant they had to come back at a later date and install those shutters which happened another 6 – 8 weeks later. Shem was always on hand to answer any questions during the entire process. He literally gave me his cell number and told me to call him at any time. And true to his word, he always answered whenever I called (yes, after work, at dinner time, you name it) and was always helpful, kind and courteous. Shem, his likeable personality and über-​flexible nature was a huge driving force in why we ultimately chose Window-​ology.
/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​Non-​Routine Part of the Story:
But let me tell you what confirmed to me that we had made the right decision. It’s the the non-​routine part of the story where one of the shutters fail. This all happened about two months ago. It was due to the mounting of this particular shutter. Because our window above the sink is tricky — a faucet handle is in the way and we were looking for a way to still open it without taking off the hinge pins — Shem designed a shutter just for our needs there, but unfortunately it ultimately failed. Their response to this failure I felt was the true mark of their customer service. Shem came right out the day I called, very concerned that no one had been injured. After that he took a look at the shutter. Well, they completely replaced the shutter and installed a new one to my specifications (of a different design) completely free of charge and treated me with graciousness and respect through the whole replacement process even though this time they were not getting paid. And that was no questions asked. I did not have to request anything — it was forgone to them that they would do this.
/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​/​Summary:
Window-​ology reminds me of all the good reasons to support small, local businesses and I recommend Window-​ology 100%. Thanks for doing an A++ job guys.

My husband and I just completed our 4^th job with Alan (owner) at Window-​ology. As always it turned out perfectly. It was only one small window, this time, but with some special issues. We were remodeling the kitchen and had to have the counters and backsplashes cut to accommodate a shutter and trim that were still being made. Alan provided us with all the necessary trim pieces and measurements to do a «mock-​up» to insure a perfect fit. The counter was cut perfectly, as a result.
A second request was to make the lower portion of the shutter a little taller than the upper portion (the shutter has 4 panels and can be opened in a variety of ways to accommodate light or privacy — photos posted). The rest of our house has 2.5″ shutter slats and blinds, but to make this request happen, Alan suggested 1.75″ slats. We added one additional slat to the lower panels to make them taller. The result: you cannot tell the difference in slat size and do not notice that the lower panels are just a bit taller. It turned out absolutely perfectly. All this at a price we found to be most reasonable. Perfect service, perfect product. An extra helping of applause goes to Sean for precise installation! Because this is a linear product and our windows have a grid pattern, perfection in installation was critical.
As usual, Bravo, to Alan and Window-​ology! Thank you Alan!

Based on Unilocal reviews we decided to use Window-​ology. Tracy visited our home, made recommendations & did our estimate. We decided on doubled celled shades for their energy saving properties and some were standard & some down/​up/​up down. They also did our picture window & slider. Installation was done as predicted 2 – 3 weeks. Installation crew was excellent and finished the job efficiently & professionally. Measurements on all windows/​slider was perfect: kudos to Tracy, installation crew and front office was friendly and helpful. Can you give six stars? l

When we bought our home we knew that window coverings were the first thing we would need. We went to their showroom and they helped us narrow down what we wanted for our home, they patiently answered our many questions, and gave us their professional opinions. It made the process fun and enjoyable. They are very knowledgeable and their customer service is amazing! And the high quality of their products is obvious.
Our order was placed, and everything was made and installed faster than I had expected, which was a plus! Our window coverings look great and we ALWAYS get compliments on the panels we chose to cover our sliding door. I never would have known about that option of covering without their knowledge. I HIGHLY recommend Window-​ology!

Our shutters were just installed and they not only look amazing, but they operate beautifully! The installers did a meticulous job of installing them. They were as careful and precise as we are with our home.
I used P & J on previous homes and there is absolutely no comparison. Though Window-​ology is significantly more money, it was worth it to have these gorgeous quality shutters in our home. We will be enjoying them for years to come.

Friends warned us that we want to have the blinds installed as soon as possible for several reasons. We started our research for blinds very early but it was hard to chose a company to go with as the reviews on Unilocal in this area was not very helpful. But I’m glad that I listened to my guts and went with windowology.
Yvonne was our designer and she was great in helping us choosing shades, shutters and blinds for our house. You also get a discount if you do more than 20 windows which was great as we have many windows.
Today they came and installed the blinds. You have no idea how happy I was since our children have been waking up as soon as the sun rises because its so bright in their rooms. A team of two came and Yvonne also stopped by early and later to check on the progress which I very much appreciated. The guys did an awesome job installing everything. They vacuumed every dust and spec and it looks gorgeous. They even stayed longer than they have to just to make sure that everythingthing is installed perfectly!!! Wow what a great service.
I can highly recommend this business!!!