Smith+Noble Online Store

Smith and Noble has very lukewarm customer service to say the least. Their products are great but I needed only to delay a shipment as I was called away on a family emergency after I'd placed the order but was absolutely unable even after multiple phone calls to get anyone to hold the order. As the products are made in China, some of the shipping is 'out of their hands,' which, while that might be true, does not do much good for someone counting on great customer service. The words 'I'm afraid that's the way the system is' 'There's just nothing I can do' 'Well, what do you expect me to do?' are heavily employed in the customer service call center. BE WARY!!

Customer service is appalling, and quality of the blinds has deteriorated remarkably in the last 18 months. I have ordered essentially the same thing (soft roman shades) three times with Smith and Noble. First two times no problem. This time, the shades came and were constructed far worse than they had been before. Now they are just two pieces of material (the shade and the lining) folded over once, ironed to make a crease and left to dangle off the window from a thin piece of wood (earlier versions had the lining and the shade material folded over together so they were integrated, and they were folded over three times so they felt substantial). Each shade costs more than $300. I feel ripped off and they refused to give me a refund. They had also sent the wrong brackets and were unable to send the right brackets for more than a week. These people must be making a packet as it cannot cost much to get some poor person in Mexico to fold over a bit of material and put it in a box. Don't buy this stuff -- you'll feel that you've been taken to the cleaners.

I sent Smith+Noble an email about an update to my order. Now they claim they never received the email. (I know it was sent correctly, because I sent it via the "reply" button to their email to me. And I know it went out because it's in my "sent" box!)

I also called about the update (just to be on the safe side). The phone representative assured me he would flag my order with a note. Now I am told (both by another representative and by the call center supervisor) that it was never flagged and no note was made.

So in spite of both an email and a phone call, the update did not get made.

Worse yet, the supervisor's attitude is "sorry, you didn't get the name of the person you spoke to, so it's your problem."

The irony is that this company is MUCH more expensive than others, but I somehow was under the impression that it was worth spending more in order to be assured of good customer service. I wish I had read the previous posts at epinions first and would have known otherwise!

I recently ordered linen flat roman blinds from smith & noble at a cost of over $1300.  We were shocked to receive such poorly made blinds which quite frankly I could have made myself (uneven folds and visible staples showing and cords placed on the wrong sides). I called to express my disappointment at the quality of what was sent to us and the representative on the phone had asked me to take photos of the blinds which I sent to her immediately. A week later she called back to see if anyone had contacted me to which I said , "no", and that was the last I heard from them.  I will never order from this company again.

I have been a long time shopper with Smith and Noble but as of 7/06 will never order another thing from them! I had a fabric shade stuck in customs for 3 weeks, got thru to Assistant to President and got results very fast! Shade came overnight but all hardware was broken. Also have been waiting for 4 weeks for monogrammed slipcovers and are having trouble with factory responses as to where they are. DO NOT SHOP AT SMITH AND NOBLE! They have moved most of their factories off shore and it is horrible! Customer Service gets an F and their quality in everything has gone way downhill!

Anne

Last year we went to Smith+Noble's site to find a valance and curtain rod for our bathroom. We chose a Cosmopolitan steel rod set at a cost of $77. Within months it was so rusty we had to get rid of it. Smith+Noble customer service refused to reimburse us or issue a credit, claiming we should not have installed it in an area with moisture (the bathroom), even though there is no such warning among the product details listed online.

For a company that allegedly prides itself on customer service--and whose hardware is rather expensive--this is shabby treatment.

We had a generally negative experience with S&N. When I ordered my blinds, I could not find out the status of my order online and when I called, the person could not find out about my order and didn't call me back for several days. When my blinds finally arrived, each was about a half inch too short (blackout blinds no less, oh well). Also, the mounting system is such that once the blinds are up, they are nearly impossible to take down. I gave up and just accepted that the blinds would not be right even if I could get a hold of someone there to help me. Now I know why S&N is cheaper than other blinds. You get what you pay for. I learned my lesson and will never use S&N again.

I have been waiting for installation of 2 roller shades for 6 weeks!!!
The installer went to the wrong location and now to reschedule I have gone through 5 people and 10 telephone calls. Do Not Deal With These People 3rd. World Service and bordering on Scam.

I would not recommend this company to anyone. I ordered my solar panels in May and still do not have a correct set in by the middle of September. I am now waiting to receive my FOURTH remake. The customer service was okay with some and awful with others. I have been lied to several times. Considering I have received three sets of incorrect panels, it says something about the quality control of the company. Obviously, making things right is not a priority. At this point I am tired of the shoddy service I have received and would like to go with another company, but they have refused to refund my money. I guess they expect that at some point they will get it right and I will just have to be patient. I highly discourage anyone from purchasing from this company because when you have a problem, they do not do what it takes to resolve the problem. Be warned!

Aw. Too bad I didn't look at all the bad reviews here about S$N before blowing almost $700 on a roman shade.
So many of the comments here I can personally echo.
The swatch I ordered was golden, but the "custom" item came tan. Also the rod was missing completely and one of the wood rings was obviously a reject, with a screw hole in it, where it broke in transit, of course. Totally botched order. The moron who filled it must have done so with eyes closed. Customer service yaps but does nothing. They finally offered to have the factory run me another piece of fabric in the color of their swatch. Yeah, right. And they never sent the rod or new ring to match. Some advice: call your credit company asap to block payment. And then call BBB.

Poor poor poor. I ordered 9 blinds, 5 were installed crooked by a Smith Noble installer. The wood valances included were a joke, it cost me $1,200 to have custom ones made that looked nice. My mom picked someone randomly out of the Pennysaver that did a fantastic job, I am SO glad I didn't have her purchase from this company. She got better quality blinds for half the price of what I paid and her standard valances were extremely nice. I cannot and will not recommend this company to anyone.

I have given Smith + Noble three opportunities to keep my business, and each time they have failed me. I recommend that you learn from my mistakes and order your blinds elsewhere.

Problems I have had:
- S+N billed and did not ship the blinds
- S+N did not send the hardware needed to install the product - despite the hardware being listed in their own installation instructions.
- S+N sent the correct product "custom" made to the wrong specification (wrong cords, wrong placement of cords, valence too short for blind, etc.)
- It takes at least 3 calls (sometimes 5 or 7) to the customer service to get what you need, which is really only what you ordered in the first place.
- S+N can not color match their own product to replace a piece broken in shipping.
- When I called most recently, the computer system went "down" (while I was on the phone) and they were closing in 15 minutes so they couldn't help me with any more problems with my order.

Order only if you can endure calling multiple times just to get what you ordered (and receiving it weeks/months later).

Worst online shopping experience I've ever had. I've been buying online for at least 10 years and buy something every month. Ordered shades and they were the wrong color, but they still refuse to refund my money. Customer service is completely useless and takes 3 days (no joke) to respond to problems (IF they even call back, usually YOU have to call back). Waits on the phone for "customer service" are 30+ minutes and they have no interest in helping you anyway.

For a full description of my complaint, see my blog at http://beingnicehelps.blogspot.com/. You can also find more Smith & Noble complaints at http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/onlinecatalog-only/smith-noble-000698. And make sure you read the 1st comment on this website -- if an epinions "top reviewer" gave them a poor rating, you really want to consider that.

Summary: Customer service is so frustrating that you might cry. Received patio door blind that was missing liner and couldn't open and close properly (sounded impossible to fix that problem). Recd refund for patio blind, but they refused to refund for the 4 matching blinds even though they advertised "total room coordination." Also provided inaccurate info to my credit card company when I disputed the charge.

We recently ordered a Smith & Noble bottom-up, top-down roman shade. The product looks very nice (the material is great), but it was shipped with at least 3 defects. The cable-lock for the bottom-up does not catch, the blind does not pull up or down evenly, and the left side of the blind has strings that are tied shorter than the right, so even fully extended the blind hangs at an angle. We are in process of having the product "fixed" or returning the product. The return/repair process is _terrible_ (they consult with their "factory specialists" and then call back in 2-3 days), and this process repeats... Stay away from this company! If you have a problem, you will find them to be a HUGE HASSLE!