Wholesale Blind Factory

Part I **REVISED**
Our old windows & a patio door were replaced with the Energy Efficient windows last July 30. Therefore, we have taken down the old aluminum blinds and moved the furnitures, etc. 3ft. away from the windows as per instruction of XYZ Windows. And, we decided to leave the way it was until the new fauxwood blinds will be installed. We have ordered the fauxwood blinds with the crown molding valances for 11 windows in various sizes with horizontal blinds and 1 patio door with vertical blinds (including the patio door)from D.J.N Wholesale Blinds Factory. The order & measurement was done on Aug 2, 2010. The installation was scheduled on Aug. 19, 2010 due to the availability of the installers & coincide with the day-off of my husband. So, we agree & set-up for date given.

RE: D.J.N. Wholesale Blinds - When it comes to CUSTOMER SERVICE my rating for the company is VERY POOR. I have no question about the product. The fauxwood blinds looks great & the quality is just like any ordinary fauxwood blinds, nothing special or no exceptions other than they are specifically measured to the opening of our windows.

I will list down the issues point by point below:
1) Installation was delayed. The installer (John, contractual installer) from DJN Wholesale Blinds Factory arrived late due to vehicle mechanical problem. The scheduled arrival time of installation was between 9-10am, didn't arrive until 12noon. Installation time was approximately 2hrs. & 30mins.
- The date & time of installation was pre-arrange prior to installation due to our work schedule someone needs to be in the house & in this case it was my husband. Ok, vehicle mechanical problem was the cause of delay & it was nobody's fault & beyond control. Fine, understandable! For me it was inefficiency and negligence on the part of the intaller for whatever reason you may have. The next issue, was more of the "SERVICE & INSTALLATION".
2) Incomplete CROWN VALANCE & returns (side part of crown valances). The agent/sales rep (RITA) mismeasured the RETURNS (side part of the crown valances) for all of the crown valances of 11 windows & the crown valance of the vertical on the patio door. **the kitchen (1) window & 1 bedroom out of 3 bdrms. = 2 windows, out of the 11 windows ordered has the correct crown valance & return and completed upon installation.** When I phoned the lady (named Malou in-charge with scheduling of installs) at D.J.N Wholesale Blind Factory she said the installers are fully booked for the next week and the following week. Hahahaha....are you kidding me? In fact, the fauxwood blinds were fully paid even the day before the installation as required by D.J.N Wholesale Blinds Factory. The payments were done thru VISA with 2 transactions, 1st half payment to be paid upon ordering & the 2nd half payment was the day before the installation. So at this point, I decided to directly keep in touch to the office of D.J.N Wholesale Blind Factory, rather than the sales agent, anyways she will relay on the info from the scheduler in the office. SEVERAL calls I made to Malou Sanchez of D.J.N Wholesale Blind Factory. I was disappointed & dissatisfied during our conversation. There was no assurance on her part how soon they can complete the job, it all depends on the schedule of the installers because "apparently" they are too busy. Another reason, according to Malou she needs the report from the installer (John) before she commits a date to complete the job. During the phone conversation with Malou & the sales agent, there were discrepancies on the information given to me, regarding the job report & scheduling, etc. I was already upset and flared-up to Malou for giving me no assurance. I never gave up calling her to follow-up.

**AT THIS POINT, I returned the call I received from the sales agent. I decided to leave a voicemail message to her as I figured the scheduling is being done at the office of D.J.N Wholesale Blinds anyways. There was no point of phoning back & forth w/ her as I reiterated on my VM I can't wait & talked on the phone at that moment. In my mind, I'll just keep in touch w/ the scheduler at DJN Wholesale Blind Factory instead. I appreciate Rita's effort of calling me back whenever & coming to measure the windows upon my request & at the convenience both of our time eventhough it was a civic holiday (Aug. 2).**

The phone calls were made between me & Malou @ DJN Wholesale Blind Factory from the day of the installation, Aug 19 & the following day after the installation. I insisted that no matter what, no later than the following Monday, Aug 23 D.J.N Wholesale Blind Factory should come back to complete the job. After several calls including the not so pleasant ones were made back & forth between me & Malou of D.J.N Wholesale Blinds Factory, she finally submitted to my request for them to come back on Monday as I requested & insisted.

LESSON LEARNED - 1) Do not pay cash or credit card. I offered to pay cash, but the sales agent suggested to us instead to pay with credit card. Next time, I will pay using my personal cheque because it's easy to cancel payment with the bank for any incomplete job order. The credit card company told me that the moment the payment was authorized & process, only the merchant can cancel the payment. Of course, the merchant will not cancel the payment just because the job/service was incomplete. **I phoned VISA again to double check if the first previous info given to me was correct. The agent said to me that if the job was incomplete the transaction can be cancelled or hold until the job is completed. I'm not going to discuss further, since the VISA & payment is not the reason of writing this review. Let me clear to all of the readers here, PAYMENT was not an issue/concern. As a customer/consumer, I provided what was asked to me by DJN Wholesale Blind Factory. Therefore, I expected neither deserved the "satisfaction of service" just like any responsible customer.**

2) D.J.N.Wholesale Blinds Factory did not give me any document upon placing the order, or even a copy of the receipt for fully paid transaction. I will therefore asked for the receipt for future reference & warranty. 2) Do not relay on you sales agent, in my case I directly contacted Malou at the office of DJN Wholesale Blinds Factory. She told me that she is in-charge for scheduling the installation & the sales agent only depend on the info from her. At the end of the day, scheduling is done in the office & not dictated by the sales agent. I just basically, made Rita (sales agent) aware of the issues & order discrepancies.

I will write an update soon & think about posting some pictures. Let's wait and see until the job will be totally completed as scheduled on Monday, Aug. 23, 2010.

Part 2 (continuation)
First of all, I wrote this review in GOOD FAITH to help other customers just like myself who likes to find useful information about companies, their products & services. I know some people, including myself relay on consumer's review befor making decision to whom & where to conduct business with especially re: home renovations. I'm sure everyone will agreed with me. In fact, as I mentioned above that we recently replaced ALL our windows and we based and made our decision from "WORD of MOUTH (unpaid advertisement)" by our 5 neighbours in our cul-de-sac who also replaced their windows by the same company since last year & the years before. Also, not to mention the same company delivered the same kind of service within our neighbourhood, nearby houses to be specific.

To make the long story short, moving on Aug. 23 to continue.
3) This time Malou sent Adam to the rescue for the 2nd install. Adam installed SOME of the returns. Yes, SOME of the returns...why? When Adam came & was about to install the returns for the faux blinds (all windows downstairs, except (1) kitchen) he found out that the returns he brought with him were NOT properly cut to the correct measurements. So, therefore before Adam proceeded to install the returns, re-measured again & needed to step-out to cut the returns to the correct measurements. I guess, Adam came back estimated after an hour with the properly measured & cut returns.

AGAIN, for the second time. Not funny anymore...no kidding, eh! By the way, the measurements for ALL of the said returns for the faux blinds were done AGAIN by John after the fact he installed the faux blinds w/ valance on each windows. The returns he (John) brought was measured initially by Rita (sales rep) during the pre-ordering stage were cut incorrectly. It's NOT my intention to put the blame on anyone, I even told Malou. All we wanted for DJN Wholesale Blind factory to complete the job & make it right for everyone's sake!

My husband was at home, he said Adam did a good job. Though, the job was NOT yet completed on Aug. 23, 'cause Adam was not able to install the 2 bedrooms upstairs (1 bdrm out of 3 bedrooms was already been done by John previously). What was not clear to me if Adam brought w/ him the wronged-cut returns or didn't bring any returns at all for the 2 bdrms left undone by John at the time of the 1st install.

4)I would say supposedly there's no excuse for 2nd & 3rd mistakes on measurements as the faux blinds & valances are already installed only WITHOUT the returns. OK, it's human to make unavoidable errors! I'm guessing if John appropriately measured the returns for the faux blinds & indicated the correct measurements on the job report submitted to DJN Wholesale Blind Factory, hence Adam will have the correct & proper cut of returns for the faux blinds & finish the job when he came on Aug. 23. As Malou reiterated to me earlier that all discrepancies will be reported by the installer (John) on the work report thereafter whether the job is complete or not. Then, the next step will be based on the installer's work report. Exactly! I totally agree to the principle. But, only if John properly measured during the initial install, then when Adam came to complete the job there's no need for him to come back again on Aug 24. & considering the inconvenience to all parties involved will be avoided, including us. Now the questions I've in mind, from the beginning to the end of these fiasco (1st, 2nd & 3rd mistakes committed) was it really the issue of wrong measurements? Or, could it be on the part of the production department for misunderstanding/misinterpretations of the measurements submitted to them by Rita & John. My husband said that when John brought the RETURNS to install w/ the faux blinds & valances during the initial installations, it was noticed that the RETURNS were CUT IMPROPERLY. Meaning to say---RETURNS were cut in the WRONG ANGLE to install with the valances of the faux blinds.

Hopefully, I explained my point clearly. I confess, I'm not an expert when it comes to faux blinds. But, I'm confident that I have a good judgment for the kind of service I'm looking for as a customer. I trusted a company like DJN Wholesale Blind Factory can provide & deliver the goods & services I needed with their proper skills & expertise.

In this case, I didn't asked my husband for more details as he was really pissed off already by the situation. And, besides after the time when Adam was in our house on Aug 23 & 24, my husband was in a hurry preparing to go to work work for the evening shift w/c starts 3pm-11pm & instead of catching some time to rests during the day he spent his time to be at home when the installer comes for completion of the faux blind returns. Yes, it's a big deal for a someone who works on rotation shifts & considering the traffic passing thru Portman Bridge on his was to work.

LESSONS LEARNED:
Oh, by the way...in case I didn't mention on the Part 1 of this review. During his days off from work, my poor husband was the one at home present during this dragging installation of the faux blinds. We're supposed to have a bbq party for his bday on Aug. 21. He decided to cancel since our furnitures in the living & family rooms, etc. & drapes/curtains were not in place since the day of our windows were replaced on July 30. We decided to leave the way it was in order to give enough working space around the areas near the windows for installing the faux blinds. As required by the window installer, so we decided to leave it the way it was until the faux blinds will be installed. Rita (sales agent) was even a witness to this situation as she came on Aug 2 to do the measurement after the windows were replaced on July 30. My husband made a decision to cancel the bbq party for his bday because it will be too much work & time for both of us putting back the furnitures, etc. & drapes/curtains for all the windows just for the weekend party, then move it back away for the completion of the faux blinds (returns). For both of us working full-time, he's on rotation shift (days & evenings) w/ 2 weekdays off & I'm off only on weekends from working Mon to Fri. If you know what I mean, you will understand how difficult for us to make plans & we make plans ahead of time as our work schedule permits. I agreed to his decision & phoned our friends to cancel his bbq bday party for the reason being. Then, we're supposed to go away for an out-of-town trip the week after to vist family south of the border, then he decided to cancel that one too until the job is completed--he said, "we're not going anywhere". Ah!?! OK, it wasn't only me who was annoyed by the situation, I guess. May be we expected too much or may be we asked too much from the kind of service rendered? May be "HAPPY ENDINGS" are only for fairy tales. Exaggerating the situation? Nope, I was hoping for a "SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE". Well, we're all entitled to our own choice & personal opinion. It's my call & it's your too...you can make you own decision after reading my review.

Again, I communicated to DJN Wholesale Blind Factory what transpired on Aug 23. As promised, Adam came back the next day Aug. 24 to complete the returns for the 2 bdrms (3 windows) & he did a pretty good job, quick & on time. My husband asked him to fixed the returns installed by John in one of the bdrms. He responded nicely & well. I didn't get to meet Adam, nor John. From what my husband said he (Adam) seems to be doing his job well and with good attitude towards his work, compared to John. In fact, Adam he came w/ a trainee on Aug 23. If that's the case, I'd say Adam will be a good mentor for someone who will work & render customer service. All together (between Aug 19 up to Aug 24) these were arranged with phone calls transpired between myself & Malou from DJN Wholesale Blind Factory. And, those times I was calm during the phone conversations. I explained to Malou, the cause of my actions, why I was upset & disappointed (for your reference read Part 1). In fairness to her, I appreciate her effort to accommodate my requests particularly in rescheduling the installer & for sending Adam to complete the job. I request again for the receipt & she said she will send/mail it as soon as the job is completed.

CONCLUSION:
I phoned Malou last Monday or Tuesday (Aug 30-31) to explain & let her know that one of the vanes on the vertical blinds (1st on the lefthand) has chipped already on the bottom corner. I wasn't sure whom to ask & the company's procedure/protocol in terms of warranty. Long story short, on the same day Malou asked Rita to call me & she did. She submitted the discrepancy report to DJN Wholesale Blind Factory. Malou phoned me again for the schedule & to let me know that Adam is coming to replaced as well as the receipt will be on the mail soon. Today, Sept. 3---Adam came to replace the damaged/chipped vane on one of the vertical blinds. He came earlier as Malou told me that he will come between 9am & 11am.

My husband told me that John (the 1st guy who came to install) cut each vanes for the vertical blinds on the job site (in our house) using a pair of seems to be a metal scissors. Though, he came w/ all the blinds in boxes. Ok, good sign as the blinds are supposed to be "CUSTOM MADE", right? This was not made clear to me---are the vertical blinds supposed to be cut on the job site? We didn't have the chance to visit the show/display room of DJN Wholesale Blind Factory, but we were very satisfied with the samples shown to us by the agent during her 2 visits to our place (1st to give us an estimate price & second to make the final measurement) and we gave our trust to our agent as well as DJN Wholesale Blinds Factory upon placing the orders. I'm not an expert, but anyone will agree w/ me that it should be better if the vanes for the faux blinds were cut at the factory for proper out come. Not sharp on the edge, and probably will not chipped on the corners eventually. From my knowledge & I was told faux blinds are supposed to be DURABLE bec. of the PVC material used, correct me if I'm wrong, please?

The point of my review is not to blame anyone involved, nor the situation. There must be something along the line that needs to be done by DJN Wholesale Blind Factory to deliver "satisfactional service", if not to avoid the same thing to happen again to other customers. From the time of pricing estimate, measurements, installation & receipts. Much have been said here, it's your own judment now. I've done my part as a "VALUED CUSTOMER".

Yes, receipts! On Aug. 24, Adam told my husband that the office can email the receipt. The email came but unfortunately we can't open the attachment, I assumed it was the recipt. I phoned the office again to tell Irene that we can't open the email attachment, instead I asked to please mail for my file & the warranty. She said I should speak to Malou & I did. At the moment, I'm waiting for the receipt to come on the mail from DJN Wholesale Blind Factory. As stated previously on Part 1, I have no question regading the product "faux blinds". WARRANTY - I was told has to be reported to the agent to submit discrepancy report. I suggest to have the "terms & conditions" including the protocol/procedure known to every customer. That's why I asked for the receipt, so I will have the terms & conditions of the warranty on hand. I don't mind phoning the office of DJN Wholesale Blind Factory, including the sales rep but it would be nice to have the information on hand, so I don't have to call & involve more than 1 person in the scenario. I was frustrated in the beginning, regarding the rescheduling of the installers & someone to be home during the time of installation/fixing of the said faux blind returns. I believe something CAN BE DONE by DJN WHolesale Blind Factory to improve the kind & way of service rendered to satisfy & value existing & potential customers. From the start, we decided to give the business to your company because of our TRUSTS & we adhere to your policy to make the payments required. Inspite of the situation, I have the business card of the sales agent to give it to a friend whom expressed their desire to replace the aluminum blinds they have into faux blinds. I will recommend her to read my review. It's her money, therefore she can decide. Any of our friends can come to our house & I'll be pleased to show them the faux blinds from DJN Wholesale Blinds Factory.

Thanks to Alisha, Irene, Malou & Rita for your time and patiently answering the phone whenever I call the office of DJN Wholesale Blind Factory. To Adam, keep up the good & positive work ethics you possess. It's contagious for all you know. Inspite of, we appreciate your kindness, guys!

D.J.N sent a great consultant that brought lots of samples, they were not pushy with me. They did a great job on the installation, the project was finished on time. The installers were punctual and put on 'booties' to keep my carpets clean during the install. All in all a great experience.