BUDGET BLINDS NORTH SHORE & NORTH CHICAGO

Andy did a great job installing our new roller shades and honeycomb blinds. We are very happy with the quality of the product and the price (which was lower than all other companies we got a quote from.) We will be sure to call them again when we need other window treatments.

Fine except now have a slight problem getting inside screens out

I believe Budget Blinds Chicago is a husband and wife team. They were very well coordinated. They honored every commitment made on cost, appointments etc. Andy brought an assistant to install the blinds which took about 3-4 hours. They were very careful and clean. No messes or problems left. The blinds are of very good quality. There was one problem with a blind that needed to be remeasured and reordered. They took care of that at no additional cost and came back as promised. I am not easy to please and I always have 100 questions. I highly recommend their product and service and was very pleased in every way.

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I did some research on window treatment companies in the Near North area and discovered Budget Blinds, whose reviews by Angie's List subscribers were very positive.  I called the only available phone number on the website and was disappointed when someone in a calling center answered.  The representative was pleasant and professional enough, but I was put off by not being able to talk directly with someone in the Chicago office.  No one has called me back and, as far as I'm concerned, this company has dropped the ball and lost my confidence.

Very efficient and fast...I was surprised at how quickly and efficiently they worked. Very clean and neat. Price was reasonable.

This was the second company I consulted. The salesman/installer was efficient and businesslike but pleasant. The selection was not a wide as the other company, but the price was less than half. The salesman didn't seem to have his own agenda, which I appreciated. I am happy with what I got and how they look, hope they will perform well. I was aided in my selection of this company by the high marks on Angie's list.

the mark of a good company is the followup with problems.  Budget Blinds did a nice job of doing so. 

We were looking to have our blinds changed- I called Budget Blinds- they were very courteous and proffesional . We scheduled a home visit - the rep.came on time- showed me diff.samples and took down all measurements -and gave me an estimate . We just had to get a few other projects done so - we haven't gotten around to getting the blinds done .

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Andy and his wife, Stella, operate Budget Blinds North Shore.  Stella answers the phone and sets up the appointments.  You can also reach her via email and she does respond  I also appreciated the reminder call the day before the scheduled appointment.  Hunter Douglas makes a great product though they are pricey.  We did receive a promotional $250 rebate however.  The new blinds were installed in Dec. of 2011 by Andy and he took away the old ones.  All went well until the Fall of 2012 when some of the continuos loop pulls came apart. Andy came out & fixed the ones he could and sent out 2 others back to HD.  This is a common issue with these continuous loop pulls (they are thick) and was covered by HD.  Andy & Stella worked hard to get the blinds back to working order and there was no additional charge.  I highly recommend them.

Everything was really easy!

We just installed some new windows in our home and were in the market of getting some new window treatments - shutter blinds.  Looking in Angie's List, we came across Budget Blinds and all of the reviews were all solid - so I decided I'd give him a call the following week.  What I thought was a good sign was that driving home the next day, I saw Andy and his truck at a neighbor's house.
I called his 773 number - the 847 number didn't seem t get answered - and a women answered the phone and took down what I was looking for, how many windows and my name, address and telephone number and let me know that Andy would visit me to take measurements and provide a quote on Saturday evening.  I was really impressed that he'd come out on a Saturday and showed a lot of initiative to me as well as displaying a strong work ethic. She also asked me where I heard of them and I informed them that I saw an ad and them at a neighbor's house - I did not tell them I saw them on Angie's list. 
Side note here - One of the issues I have with telling companies I saw them on Angie's list is that often their listed specials on the Angie's List site aren't really honored then.  What I typically see happen is that they say the pricing that they gave you already includes the Angie's List pricing but how are you to know that if you don't know what the original/non-Angie's List special pricing is in the first place.  I'll get back to that later.
Andy arrived right on time, was very professional and easy going.  He brought along some samples and got to measuring each room and taking notes right away.  He was also able to provide with with a quote right there on the spot which I also appreciated.
Upon doing some further research, I learned that - on average - pricing for plantation shutters run about $18 - $22/square foot.  Based on the quote I was given and the square footage I had, my pricing was exactly $22.  So, it was on the high end and not exactly "budget blinds."  However, I took that pricing to be the non-Angie's List pricing.
Since neither Andy nor the person who answered their phone were ever informed by us that we were members of Angie's List or did we ever inquire about their 30% coupon on the Angie's List website, we called back and stated that we saw their Angie's List coupon for 30% discount and would move forward with the proposal with such a discount.  To our surprise, the women on the phone stated that the pricing already included the Angie's List discount - which was a bald faced lie.  She never knew we were Angie's List nor did Andy ever mention it or denote it on his proposal and their $22/square foot pricing goes against their pricing including a 30% discount.
It made my wife and I question the trustworthiness of this company and we decided right then and there we would be taking our business elsewhere.  Needless to say, I was really disappointed for I really liked Andy and was impressed with his punctuality, professionalism and work ethic.  Maybe there is a disconnect with him and the person who answers his phones which looks to be the business manager, but it really left a bad taste in our mouths and hence the bad rating we provided - it was just dishonest and the coupon on Angie's List is false advertising.

I had extensive remodeling in my house and needed window treatments for almost all windows.  I called Budget Blinds and they were very prompt to come out and measure my windows and suggest the appropriate treatments for my house.  I also wanted everything installed before Thanksgiving.  They were prompt, accurate and installation was excellent.  Great company, excellent service.  They even helped with the rebate paperwork!  I would definitely use them again and recommend them to others.

Fabulously.  Professiona installation, excellent quality.

We've spent at least $5,000 buying window treatments for two homes from Budget Blinds.  We were very satisfied with both experiences; great selection and product, responsive and sincerely helpful customer service.  For such a large company, they really have a neighborhood, family feel; perhaps because they're small, locally owned franchises?   I was prompted to write this now due to a service experience: we have had our current blinds from Budget for 5 or 6 years now (love them!), and the mechanism broke on one blind.  I no longer had the paperwork, but didn't know who else to call.  Not only were they super friendly and understanding over the phone (I wish I could remember the name of the woman who helped me) , they sent someone out to fix the blind and didn't charge me a cent!!  After five or six years, with no paperwork....they just fixed it for free.  Where do you find that kind of customer service these days? It's the kind of thing that creates loyalty, and I will definitely continue to use Budget Blinds for future window treatments.

We are pleased with the work done by BUDGET BLINDS NORTH SHORE & NORTH CHICAGO.  Andy was very helpful in the selection process and understood that we were working on a tight budget since we had to do window treatments for the entire house.  The instillation went very smoothly and when one window treatment turned out to be a little too small, he immediately ordered a replacement set of blinds that will be installed later this month.

Andy was super responsive and great to work with. Overall had a very good interaction with him and our initial consultation went really well. Couple of hiccups along the way however. First, our blinds were delayed by almost 2 months. I hadn't heard from them in almost 4 weeks after the initial meeting, and so I called to find out what was going on. Turns out that my credit card # was written down wrong (I gave it to him to take down the info), and they could not process the payment and this was holding up my blinds. Well, they could have CALLED me to find out the correct information instead of sitting on it? Then, when the blinds finally did arrive, my roller blinds were defective - instead of one big piece, it look liked it ripped or was cut in half and they sewed it back together like a quilt. Not acceptable. They were really good about it and took them back for replacement, but STILL stuck with NO BLINDS. Grr...Another 2 weeks finally got them. These blind are for my child's room, who at the time was 1. When I met with Andy, I told him it was important that I have "child safe" blinds and he assured me this was possible. The tech who installed them, I think his name was Dan, said nothing he could do and just drilled something into the floor and attached the cord to the floor. I was infuriated. he was incredibly rude and I called the owner to complain. They assured me the cord could be shortened, and Dan returned the next week to shorten the cord. So, in the end, I got some decent blinds at a decent price, but it was challenging getting to this situation.

The first visit out was scheduled quickly and easily. Andy came promptly with his cases of samples. Since we wanted some insulation, he recommended fabric over other kinds of blinds. He also suggested top-down, bottom-up blinds (the budget blinds website calls them top-down bottom-up pleated shades). This way, we could let some light in from the top while still having privacy. We also went with having a thin fabric come down from the top if we didn't want to open the blinds all the way. Andy was very patient and helpful while I stressed over the color. The order came in within a couple of weeks - scheduling the installation was easy. Andy again came out and the installation was done in about 1/2 hour or a little more. He must have cleaned up, because when he was done, you couldn't tell that anyone had been there, but we had new blinds set up perfectly. I've gone through a big box place before - but it was a disaster. That time, I had to pick everything out without anyone giving me advice or guidance. I'm not a window coverings expert, and I don't know what can and can't be done reasonably. I wanted someone who would answer my questions and narrow down choices for me. Also, the big box place completely lost my order - it took months from the initial visit to installation. That wouldn't happen with Andy. Given that they place the orders they need and have low overhead, their prices are competitive. With the Angie's list discount, I doubt anyone could really beat them. If I had the cash now, I would do all the blinds in my house with them.

Very prompt in coming to look at the scope of the work and getting an estimate for the work to be performed. We felt the estimate was a little high compared to another vendor we received an estimate from, so we did not use Budget Blinds.

within a day or two of calling, a salesman came out wtih samples and provided a quote while at our house. we were given a leadtime of 2-3 weeks and they completed the job in 2 weeks. the same salesman that did the estimate was the man that installed the blinds. they looked great and worked fine. He opened all boxes outside so there was no mess inside. i offered to help him move some furniture to make it easier and he said that wasn't necessary... worked around everything.

I have two skylights in my office that were pouring the heat in up there and making it much hotter than anywhere else in my home. I'd searched for Skylight blinds - they are not cheap! The folks at the home improvement superstores had no clue what they were talking about and kept piling on the surcharges. $600 for special order blinds, not including installation, was not what I had in mind. Budget Blinds was far better. The installer who came out to my house was punctual, he had a nice selection and made some recommendations as to whether the more expensive double cell shades were necessary. He did not pressure me at all to add on more stuff, even though there were obviously three more windows in the room with blinds that do not match. (Thanks!) The turnaround time estimate was relatively accurate. I had some trouble getting in communication with the folks at the office to schedule a return visit for installation, but once I got a hold of someone in person it went smoothly. They even agreed to come out on a Monday (my only day off) to do the install even though normally they don't do any installations on Mondays. The installer did a solid job getting the blinds into my hinky, off-kilter skylights with their crooked drywall. They look great and are definitely keeping the temps down.