I have gone from being a strong supporter of Watson Blinds to vowing that I will never set foot into that shop again. You would think that during these tough economic times, any business would want to retain its loyal customer base. Not Watson Blinds!!!

I recently went to their Fyshwick store to order some blinds for my study (the second job in a list of window refurbishments throughout the whole house). I had the precise window dimensions and wanted a couple of comparative quotes on different types of roller blinds before placing an order. I was told in no uncertain terms by the sales lady "that we don't give quotes in the sales room". She was adamant that I had to make an appointment and someone would come to my place and give me a quote. I thought this was ludicrous in a time of Covid-19 and get the measurement social distancing. When I asked why this was necessary, she indicated that "clients get window measurements wrong" and "Watson Blinds don't want to be held responsible". Again, ludicrous, as my husband is a builder and if he cannot measure a window accurately, heaven help us! I also pointed out that about a month ago we done just that - we had placed a Venetian blind order for two bath room windows based on our own measurements. After giving us a quote, which we accepted, Watson Blinds made the blinds within a fortnight according to our specifications. Everything fitted and we were extremely happy with the product. I wanted to know why this was possible a month ago but not now. I also offered to sign a waiver that I would not hold Watson Blinds responsible if my measurements were wrong. The sales lady got increasingly agitated and kept repeating her position. At this point I realized it was useless pursuing the conversation and I left.

Not only was my sales room encounter very unpleasant, but what followed next was even more irksome. I am not one to leave bad reviews on websites or bad mouth a business. Never have! I felt the owners or General Manager of Watson Blinds should know how I felt about their customer service. So I rang Watson Blinds that afternoon and asked to speak to one of the owners or the General Manager. I was told the latter was in a meeting. Understandable! So I left my contact details and requested that he phone me back when it was convenient. Literally within a couple of minutes some sales person phoned me back. I stated that I wanted to speak to the General Manager, but was told that he didn't have time to talk to me and had delegated the matter to the person on the phone. Believe that if you may! So I repeated my grievance at not being given a quote based on my measurements, when clearly this was possible a month ago. Instead of listening, I was told that this was "company policy" and to basically go away with my complaints.

So here we are! The matter still irks me! But where do I go when customer feedback is not wanted. I hope the owners and General Manager of Watson Blinds read this review. I have always been a strong supporter of Canberra based businesses, but I am afraid that this company has lost my clientele for good!

I have gone from being a strong supporter of Watson Blinds to vowing that I will never set foot into that shop again. You would think that during these tough economic times, any business would want to retain its loyal customer base. Not Watson Blinds!!!

I recently went to their Fyshwick store to order some blinds for my study (the second job in a list of window refurbishments throughout the whole house). I had the precise window dimensions and wanted a couple of comparative quotes on different types of roller blinds before placing an order. I was told in no uncertain terms by the sales lady "that we don't give quotes in the sales room". She was adamant that I had to make an appointment and someone would come to my place and give me a quote. I thought this was ludicrous in a time of Covid-19 and social distancing. When I asked why this was necessary, she indicated that "clients get window measurements wrong" and "Watson Blinds don't want to be held responsible". Again, ludicrous, as my husband is a builder and if he cannot measure a window accurately, heaven help us! I also pointed out that about a month ago we done just that - we had placed a Venetian blind order for two bath room windows based on our own measurements. After giving us a quote, which we accepted, Watson Blinds made the blinds within a fortnight according to our specifications. Everything fitted and we were extremely happy with the product. I wanted to know why this was possible a month ago but not now. I also offered to sign a waiver that I would not hold Watson Blinds responsible if my measurements were wrong. The sales lady got increasingly agitated and kept repeating her position. At this point I realized it was useless pursuing the conversation and I left.

Not only was my sales room encounter very unpleasant, but what followed next was even more irksome. I am not one to leave bad reviews on websites or bad mouth a business. Never have! I felt the owners or General Manager of Watson Blinds should know how I felt about their customer service. So I rang Watson Blinds that afternoon and asked to speak to one of the owners or the General Manager. I was told the latter was in a meeting. Understandable! So I left my contact details and requested that he phone me back when it was convenient. Literally within a couple of minutes some sales person phoned me back. I stated that I wanted to speak to the General Manager, but was told that he didn't have time to talk to me and had delegated the matter to the person on the phone. Believe that if you may! So I repeated my grievance at not being given a quote based on my measurements, when clearly this was possible a month ago. Instead of listening, I was told that this was "company policy" and to basically go away with my complaints.

So here we are! The matter still irks me! But where do I go when customer feedback is not wanted. I hope the owners and General Manager of Watson Blinds read this review. I have always been a strong supporter of Canberra based businesses, but I am afraid that this company has lost my clientele for good!