National Drapery

I used National Drapery in 1976. An interior decorator suggested I go with an ivory/beige boucle, which I did. The whole process was seamless and the drapes were delivered and they were perfect. The drapes were beautiful and they have lasted 45 years. I just had to wash them periodically and hang them wet - they didn't need anything else. They were perfect. So many people commented on how great they looked. Since the dining room drapes were getting a little thin due to the sunlilght, I decided I would go to National Drapery and order some more boucle drapes. I was also going to order some white sheers for the bedroom and wanted the lining replaced in the bedroom curtains. I was quite surprised at how quickly the measuring was done. The representative from National Drapery presented a few samples of fabric, none of which was suitable. Since I needed drapes, I chose a fabric that is not what I was expecting - It's quite thin, not like the original drapes: the representative from National Drapery saw the oriignal drapes so knew exactly what I was looking for in a drape. It seemed to take forever to get them delivered - a new rack had to be installed. The living room curtains are too long, and there is too much curtain and the curtains bunch up, The newly lined bedroom drapes were great - all that was required was a lining - the drapes were intact and just needed a new lining. The sheers were not properly measured - two panels of sheers were installed - each panel was maybe 10" in width - there is no way these sheers are satisifactory. I spoke to the representative to express my dissatisfacation. The person had to come out again and properly measure the window for the sheers. The representative I spoke to made a point of saying that it would be an additional cost of $118.00 but I wouldn't have to pay that amount since the error was made by National Drapery. I was told that someone would come out to look at the drapes but no one came. I mentioned the drapes were sitting on the floor indicating they were poorly measured. Someone came out to adjust the drapes by moving the hook a bit so the drapes were not sitting on the floor. I said to her that washing and hanging these drapes will be a nightmare since I will have to juggle to make the drapes hang properly so they are not sitting on the floor. I received a call from someone who said she would talk to the person who did the measuring and get back to me. It is evident, to me, that no effort was made to look for the fabric that I requested. In fact, I had occasion to meet with someone at another drapery firm today, and she brought several books with samples. Every sample she showed me in the ivory/cream colour was perfect. The company who has the 'swatches' only deals with drapery companies, not individuals. I phoned them today and asked if they have ever worked with National Drapery and they said probably, but they didn't know for sure. The drapes that are in my livingroom/diningroom probably won't last very long - they are shiny when the lamps are on, which makes them look cheap: I feel like I am in a house of ill repute. I can't emphasize enough my utter disappointment in National Drapery. When I bought the drapes in 1976, the process was seamless, as previously mentioned. I have often sounded praises for National Draperty, but I'll be sure to not give any praise to National Drapery from this point forth -for their products and customer service, which, quite frankly, is non-existent. I was told that the drapes sit on the floor because of the unevenness of the floor. The original drapes were perfect, although they were a bit too much off the floor because in 1976 I had carpet. Wouldn't you think that people who do drapes for a living would measure more accurately. Drapes sitting on the floor will become soiled since they are on the floor. If the drapes were brought up about 1/4" I think they would be OK, but someone who knows how to propery measure would be the best person to do the measuring. I have received no apology from National Drapery. I might ask the other company to see how much they would charge for the drapes using the fabric I requested of National Drapery. National Drapery --- you really didn't try very hard to look for the specific fabric for the drapes that I requested. I resent spending $2500 on drapes that are not satisfactory. No effort has been made by the owner to reach out to me or pay me a visit to see the drapes. Had the salesperson taken a bit more time and care to do the measuring of the drapes and sheers, I am sure the curtains and the sheers would have been the right size. I am NOT a happy customer!!

Great experience with National Drapery and their Sales Representative, Josie Stagno. She was knowledgeable, made very helpful suggestions about the fabric options, did detailed measurements and drawings and was a pleasure to talk to. My new curtains were installed today and are a perfect fit. The installer was very experienced and got the work done very quickly.

When we first visited National Drapery’s store we found the staff to be friendly and helpful – unfortunately, after that point our experience took a complete U-turn, mutating into a cautionary tale of disservice and disregard.

Initially, we were pleased when National offered a complimentary in-home consultation. We had an idea of what we wanted and were looking for some advice from someone with the aesthetic and technical expertise to provide options based on our tastes and preferences. We were looking for what we thought was a fairly simple item: a white roman shade for our kitchen window that would let in as much light as possible and were explicit about not wanting anything that resembled a bed sheet on the window; rather, something that hung nicely and did not wrinkle. After much back and forth via email and telephone with the consultant (emails that went unanswered until we followed up with the store directly), multiple trips all the way across the city to their showroom to view fabric options and multiple inquiries about the suitability of the fabric we liked, we went ahead and ordered our roman.

$1000 dollars later we have what appears to be an unfinished square of cloth hanging in the window of our newly renovated kitchen… and don’t take it from us: multiple National staff have themselves agreed after seeing it. It was delivered with the wrong chain pull (plastic, not metal, as we requested) and we have found that the fabric does indeed wrinkle. Moreover, the structure of the blind (strings, loops and stitching) is entirely visible through the fabric. Here lay the root of our initial disappointment with this company: with someone standing in our kitchen, observing the light, architecture and décor, and understanding our fabric preference, they failed to deliver design advice – or even a warning, for that matter – that would have led to a better result. Instead, the expectations they set for the product we eventually received were completely out of line.

From there, our experience turned from frustrating to infuriating. When we reached out to National to discuss the blind we were met first with indifference and, on subsequent phone calls, with rude, defensive and patronizing behaviour from their staff. It was, bar none, the worst customer service we have ever experienced. We were told it was a matter of “he said, she said,” that they had done nothing wrong, and that they owed us nothing for what had happened. Upon seeing a photo of the blind, the manager acknowledged that it did look unfinished. She offered to make some small adjustments – removing loops or adding a thicker liner – but this would have involved multiple trips to their store (they refused to pick it up from our home) without doing much to solve the issues. She also suggested we could pay an added fee to add a border to give it a more finished look… so we were also unaware that we were paying $1000 for an UNFINISHED blind!

Our customer experience with National has been nothing short of dreadful: because they failed to provide us with the details necessary to make an informed choice; the finished piece of work suggested they hadn’t been attentive to our questions, concerns or specifications; and they were uncompromisingly unhelpful and defensive when we expressed our disappointment with their product.

Josie sold me drapes. She took the time to come to my house to really help me determine what would look best. She helped me select the most beautiful blackout drapes. The drapes provide incredible blackout coverage of the sun in addition to providing some noise protection. If you are looking for the best in drapery look no further than Josie at National Drapery !

Amy provided very professional, highly knowledgeable/experienced consultation.

Amy was very patient in explaining her recommendations multiple times. In addition, she was respectful of my budget considerations as this was an improvement project to further black out light with bedroom curtains, providing multiple recommendations and multiple price options.

She was also highly responsive to my questions not pertaining directly to the order, as I was doing some sewing on my own to save money, msg'g helpful photos.

Installation person Peter was on-time and very professional also, installation of the velcro wall brackets was perfect.

EXCELLENT.

(Tip: Do not go to Aileen's downtown Toronto, not knowledgeable, unprofessional, unpleasant).

Josie at national drapery was sensational! Her and her team were certainly Johnny on the spot.Everything went beautifully,from her coming over and showing us all our options and then the measurement and install was done in a very timely manner.Had a wee problem with one of my blinds and they were there fixing it the next day.Terrific. I highly recommend National Drapery and Josie in particular

Josie from National Drapery was fabulous! I had a large project requiring custom drapes. Josie was very helpful in choosing colours, styles and confirming overall approach for window coverings in our new condo. When it transpired that one of the fabrics I had chosen was out of stock, Josie arranged for samples to be sent to me directly to expedite the process of selecting a replacement. Thank you Josie for all your help!

The wife and I were sold on the automated blinds that the sales representative presented. Shortly after a 50% deposit a gentlemen came to measure. They said it would be several weeks to delivery- which it was. The installer came by our house and 2 of the 3 blinds had issues (1 was stained and the other coming apart at the seams). They had to reorder 2. Several weeks later the installer came back and installed the 2. There was another issue. 1 of them was not working via the remote. After hours of him calling someone they decided to come back with a new motor. Still didn't work- had to come back. I called the sales representative and she gave the excuse there are no decision makers in the office and was actually rude. The installer called me and said the replacements are in- so this will be the 4th installation attempt. I told him prior to coming have someone from his office call me. The "manager" called manager called me with attitude. In a rude tone telling me she is calling to book for Saturday. I simply wanted to know what National Drapery was going to do for me based on the fact that it will be the 4th time I am inconvenienced. She basically said nothing- its the manufacturers issue again with attitude. Is there no customer service there? Nonetheless, I have scheduled the installation and regret ever dealing with folks who don't treat paying customers fairly. Not even an apology. Ridiculous.

I just had WOW drama drapes installed in the living room, cool romans in the kitchen and hip curtains in my daughter's room and it all looks awesome. Josie at National Drapery is wonderful. She's very open, friendly, helpful and professional. This is the second time I've gone to National Drapery; the first time was about 8 years ago for our master bedroom and our son's room, and it was really stress-free with great results. I then recommended them to family, with also positive reviews and I'm planning my third project with them. Yong, the installer, is remarkably competent, conscientious and efficient. The great thing was that I worked with both Josie and Yong 8 years ago on my first project, and they're still there! That says something about the company. In each experience with them, National Drapery has proven to be fast, good value for money and offer great customer service.

Amy from National Drapery was a tremendous help to me. I was needing to replace existing Roman blinds but I wanted a fabric that would change the entire look of my room. Amy was quick to understand my needs and was able to pick out several fabrics to suit my needs perfectly. She then was able to guide me with cushions for my seating area that would tie into the entire look and room. I would highly recommend Amy at National Drapery.