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Just to compare, who are Smith & Noble's direct online competitors?

OMG their customer service is AWFUL.

I've repeatedly ordered swatches that never arrive. The phone order takers know next to nothing about their products. The web site is hard to use. And their sales are a bait and switch game.

Go theShadeStore.com instead.

Can someone identify that lovely chair and table in the picture?

I've had good experiences with them, although I agree their site is very buggy. I ordered shades for an entire house with perfect results, and most recently I ordered 6 roller shades for a different home. Each time the products arrived very quickly and were easy to install. I had a small problem with 2 of the shades (standard roll when I ordered them as reverse roll), and they offered to replace them. However, I suggested that I would rather live with the minor inconvenience and receive a discount than see my flawed shades hit the landfill, and they complied. I got $100 back. If you're placing a big order, it's well worth buying a discount code from someone on Ebay. I paid $3 for the code and saved $150.

That's a very good tip, farmhousemoderne! I've looked at their solar shades and haven't pulled the trigger yet because I want to do the window replacements FIRST, but I will keep that in mind.

Rick-

The chair is a Swedish classic, the Lamino chair, designed in 1955 by Yngve Ekstrom. It was recently voted by a Swedish audience as the best furniture design of the 20th century.

Farmhousemodern and kaanswfm, you can get those discount codes for s n for free!

There is an thread from AT:NY from several years ago with oodles of comments about how bad their customer service is: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/onlinecatalog-only/smith-noble-000698

I've personally ordered swatches several times and I was amazed at how fast they arrived. I think I will try them out for our next window treatment needs as their prices are competitive and they have more choices.

Thanks, Platypus.

I had a friend who used them for shades throughout her whole house. It was by far the worse retail experience she has ever had. They didn't put the order in correctly, the installer they sent didn't come the first time, the shades they originally ordered wouldn't work with her windows (despite her having checked on this before ordering), and they wouldn't refund her or take the shades back when this was discovered. The replacements chosen cost more than what was originally ordered, and the company refused to cover the extra cost, despite the snafu having been caused by them to begin with. It took many months, headaches, borderline tearful calls with customer service, and a lot of money before there were shades on the windows.

Thanks, Platypus. Then I am certain it is out of my price range! It certainly is beautiful.

I received a blue shade when it was supposed to be ivory. That's S N service in a nutshell.

I ordered shades from Smith and Noble in August and the order will not be completed until November. I'm very unhappy with the service I've received from them. I had one of their "free" consultants come out to measure the windows and show me swatches. Then, I found out that since I had the consultant come out, none of the deals they offered would apply to me. I was told I would get the shades in a couple of weeks and that they should be installed by the middle of September. Now, I won't receive them until November. So, if you don't mind paying top dollar and waiting over 3 months for shades...maybe Smith and Noble is the place for you.

Stay away from Smith and Noble. Stay far, far away.

I ordered 6 shades. I paid Smith and Noble to come measure. When the shades arrived, 5 of the 6 were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch too wide for the windows. I asked to return the shades to get my money back. Turns out their "satisfaction guarantee pledge" means that they won't give you your money back, no matter what.

They insist on coming back to re-measure, but a) I can't take time off from work again for this, and b) why would I want to run the risk of further screw ups and hassle?

Their customer service staff come across as Soviet-style bureaucrats. Evidently, Smith and Noble could care less about disappointing their customers and engendering ill will.

I guess my next steps are to file complaints with the BBB and my state's attorney general, as well as dispute the original charge with my credit card company. I'll probably send the shades back to the company's president for good measure.

Keep in mind that Smith and Noble's "partner sites" (i.e. sister companies) include Ballard Designs, Grandin Road, Garnet Hill, TravelSmith, Frontgate, and others. You can rest assured that I won't be giving any of them my business in the future either.

Umm, are the editors reading any of the reader comments? And I'm not trying to be bitchy here. Come on, guys. Smith and Noble is hardly a "good resource for custom windowware". Sheesh. I don't think I see any vendor customers despise more than Smith and Noble (and yes, I'm one of those said customers).

Shade Store! Awesome. Great customer service.

I ordered the natural bamboo woven shades and they are absolute garbage. Smith and Noble have replaced them twice (so far) after they have literally fallen to pieces. They are currently in the process of remaking them a third time. They refuse to give me a refund and insist on replacing them with the same substandard product. When I call, they will never let me speak to the same person twice, even though I have their names and extensions. The staff all sound as though they were trained at the Stepford school of customer service. All and all, horrible company with horrible products and horrible customer service. I agree with the previous comment; STAY FAR, FAR, AWAY!

I just installed 2 honeycomb shades. It took about 2-3 weeks for them to arrive. The installation with surprisingly easy -- it took about 10 minutes per window. I have ordered swatches in the past and they arrived quickly. I think I'm going to replace the curtains in my bedroom with honeycomb shades and will use S&N again. I'm a little apprehensive after the negative comments, but some people are never happy.