I'll start with the good: they begin the process with an in-home estimate which consists of…read moremeasuring each window. The man (part owner, half of husband-wife team) who came to measure was friendly and fast. He does a good job of "selling" the shutters and mentions how these are made in their shop and not sourced from elsewhere. In theory, this means they have greater quality control over the finished product and there's no middle man. I also liked the idea of supporting a smaller local business. The pricing was very competitive and their install timeline runs about 4-5 weeks, which is pretty typical for shutter installs. It's a big investment and you want them to be right, and they are worth waiting for. This is where the good stops.
The install was a disaster. There were so many issues that needed correction: paint bubbles and debris splotches in the paint on some of the slats/louvers, crossbars with very obvious wood defects that created areas that looked liked dark streaks (yes, these are real wood and not a laminate or plastic), complete shutters that didn't close properly, etc. It was really frustrating to be spending thousands of dollars (yes, plantation shutters aren't cheap) and to have so many issues out of the gate. The installers were nice enough but shared my frustration that there were so many issues to correct - not their fault - they are just there to install - but did remark "some jobs just go like this." So, does this happen at every install? I doubt it, but it happened on mine, and to me, that's all that matters. Additionally, the installers left wood debris from drilling under all the windows. Guess who cleaned that up?
A second date was set for a re-install, which, unfortunately, was two weeks later. Not the end of the world, but we had two weeks of rooms in our home with shutters and some without. Not a great look, but ok - we just rolled with it. The installer arrived for the re-install but was only able to complete half of the job due to being rushed away to *another* job that was also off track. Not. Good. So we had to schedule *a third* re-install to finish what should have been correct to start with. Communication with the owner was a little frustrating at times; I would have to follow up to get information that should have been communicated immediately.
The third installation was scheduled and *finally* all shutters are in. In terms of appearance, we are pleased with the shutters and they look great. Unfortunately, the process was supremely painful and filled with so many frustrating issues. Considering what a mess the installation was, I found it quite fair to ask for a financial adjustment on the back end as a measure of customer service. The owner offered me $50. $50 on a roughly 5K shutter job. Wow. Just wow.
So: are we pleased with the shutters after 6+ weeks of back and forth? Yes.
Would I recommend this company to others. Nope. I have tried to be really fair in this review and give credit where it's due (pricing, friendliness of estimator/installers) but when you are dropping this kind of cash into your home, you should expect more. I would have gladly paid a little more for a stress-free process, and I suggest you do the same.
