A long-established and highly competent store that does excellent work. I'm happy with my three panels of cafe curtains, which look lovely in the fabric I bought online. The only reason the job didn't get 5 stars is that when we were told we would be charged shipping in addition, we couldn't have guessed that when we received the formal estimate, we would find curtains costing a little less than $1000 required a delivery fee of over $100. When I said I would pick it up rather than having it shipped, I was told the work is done elsewhere and shipping costs have gone up. Clearly the work is being done in faraway places to save on local labor costs. My question is whether the customer should be paying that surcharge or whether a company that saves on labor by shipping it elsewhere should swallow the shipping cost rather than passing it on to the consumer? read more

Very good help on choosing the right fabric for our 3 rooms. Good communication in person and by phone or email. It was expensive, but definitely worth the price. We didn't mind waiting 2 months for them. The draperies were hung excellently. They are a real uplift to each room. read more

Installation was flawless.3 Years later everything is still working. We are still very happy as the first day. The service was great. The most important things for us is we went in with a unique problem but we didn't know the best solution.We failed on our own for 10 years and a few trail and error with shades and curtains and blinds. At Alcatraz Shade we were presented with the perfect shades to solve our problem.They not only stop the light,they also insulate our apartment and are so easy to raise and lower.This is not an easy task as our windows are not even and some are not easy to get to. My wife and I could have never picked the correct shades without Lindsey's help. Working with Alcatraz Shade Shop was a fantastic experience and the shades picked for us are still pleasing us daily. We are very happy our friends told us about this business. read more

We're really pleased with the blinds we ordered from Lindsay and her team at Alcatraz Shade Shop. Lindsay was super communicative throughout the entire process. She also helped me choose the style of blinds during our in-person consultation, and I was able to take a stack of fabric samples home before we made our final choices. I appreciated that she came out herself to measure. Plus, the installation process was seamless (Leo was fantastic). We'll definitely be returning when we decide to get blinds for our other rooms. 10/10 would recommend! read more

I have worked with this very nice local business before. They are very professional and are able to give excellent advice. They are a much better alternative to those online companies. I am an architect and have a very detailed approach to things like this. There were a few complications with our install and they made sure everything was executed in the best way possible. I really appreciated their attention to the details. I would not hesitate recommending them to any of my clients, neighbors, or friends. read more

I had a great experience from start to finish, and I couldn't be happier with the way my window treatments worked out. Lindsay helped me choose the perfect treatments for each of the 12 windows that we updated, including a mix of drapes and shades. Then she and her team did a wonderful job installing everything. The whole experience was handled professionally and thoughtfully, and the results are beautiful! I cannot recommend Alcatraz Shade Shop highly enough! If I could give them more than five stars, I would. read more

We had another great experience with Alcatraz Shade Shop who we've used for many years. Shades delivered early and promptly installed. Good prices and excellent service. read more

I really appreciated the service and high-quality of this business. They have been flexible about my installation, are great. I previously used a different business for my needs, and I am happy to discover Alcatraz Shade Shop. Excellent business. read more

I brought in a Hunter Douglas honeycomb shade and they repaired the cording - good as new! I came in the next day needing a mounting bracket and they had them on hand. Really nice to support small businesses in the area, much better customer service than Home Depot or other big store options. Really reasonable pricing. read more

Every shade in my house has come from the Alcatraz Shade Shop. Lindsay and Leo are professional, knowledgeable, and totally delightful to work with. Over the years, they have gone the extra mile to help me measure, select and install the high quality shades they offer. Personal service -- while hard to find these days -- is the hallmark of this fine shop. read more

I wish I could give this place 10 stars! Although the outside of the shop may look a bit funky, they have every kind of beautiful shade you can imagine. We love the natural grassy shades. The various shades are all excellent quality and have lasted years. Lindsay is extremely nice and helpful, especially with the ordering and measuring which can be complicated. Our shades were delayed due to the supply chain, and she kept me updated. But biggest kudos to Leo, the installer! He is a highly skilled shade installer with many years of experience. He works neatly and with accuracy. He goes the extra mile, and even fills up the holes and paints where the old shades were removed. Leo is prompt and courteous and a pleasure to deal with. read more

Family owned local shop. Excellent service & reasonable price for shade repair. I had 2 rollup shades for Velux roof windows that were old & frayed. Hans (the owner) ordered the replacement fabric and installed it with a fast turnaround time. Excellent work, courteous & friendly service from Hans. [PS - I just looked at some of the older reviews posted here. Amazed at some of the negative ones. Wow. The nasty & vindictive things some people say, maybe tell you more about them, the people writing them, and their own bad attitudes, than about the merchant. Maybe those negative reviewers would tell me I was just lucky to have gotten such good service here. Maybe. But sometimes you make your own luck.] read more

I'm so excited about my newly motorized shades. The people at Alcatraz Shade Shop informed me that I did NOT have to replace all my expensive roll up shades, but instead I could purchase motorized rollers from them. No longer do I need to manually raise the 7 different room shades as I have been doing for years. Instead these inserts make the shades raise and lower at the touch of a remote control! AND I can use an app on my iPhone to control them from afar when I'm not home. Very cool. I feel like I've been suddenly catapulted into the 21st century with this new upgrade. The installers from Alcatraz Shade Shop were great - extremely knowledgeable and helpful. For me this was an affordable option because I did NOT have to replace all the shades; I only had to buy these motors and have Alcatraz Shade Shop install them. read more

Alcatraz Shade Shop - Here are some of my newly motorized shades. - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Oakland, California

Two strings broke on our 12' Hunter-Douglas Easy Rise shade. I took a look and the spindle looked really complicated and nothing on U-Tube was similar. Took it to Alcatraz Shade Shop - they could not repair and would need to to send to H-D for repair. That would be a very expensive option. Went home and checked in on the H-D web site and did live chat - very helpful and they suggested Chases in Beninicia who are an authorized H-D service center. Took blind over - no problem and ready in two days. On time and on budget. Glad we got this expensive shade repaired. Highly recommend Chases for repairs. read more

I highly recommend Alcatraz shade. Small shop local flavor plus loads of fabrics and knowledgeable staff. We were very impressed.

I was looking for tiny curtain track slide replacements (1/4"). The woman who answered the phone took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for. Although they didn't carry this product, which I later figured out is an obscure automotive specific item, her generous use of her time and advice saved me from having to drive there, and helped point me in the right direction to track these down. I look forward to doing business with her when I need curtains or shades for my house. read more

They did a beautiful job. There was a certain amount of delay owing, it seems, to Covid supply problems, but once they got the materials, the job was done absolutely beautifully. The installers were wonderful too, a perfect job. Very pleased. We don't think we'll need them again in this lifetime, but if we did, we's not hesitate to be sent to Alcatraz for shades. read more

Good, prompt service. No qualms from me. We had already checked out some other shops for the window treatments, so we had some idea what we wanted, but Amy did a great job setting us up with the right books and fabrics samples to narrow down on exactly the right designs. The shades shipped exactly when they were predicted to, and the installers were great. For the Roman shades we ordered (which had a longer lead time than anything else), not only did they ship exactly on time, but we were able to schedule next-day installation! Would I like it if the prices were 20% lower? Of course. But I understand the cost of doing business in the Bay Area and I very much appreciate being able to go see things in person and having someone down the street I can call if I have any problems later on. I'll go back to Alcatraz next time I need window treatments. read more

These efficient experts measure, order, and install perfectly. When I had a minor problem with one shade, they came out the day after I called and fixed it. read more

Spent $200 on shades and when I picked them up I had to ask for the required wood screws to mount them. That was a little weird but what was worse was that I was only given half as many screws as were needed. When I returned and asked for the rest of the screws, I was told I was given as many as I needed ! Let me tell you , you can't make adjustments with only half the screws. Since when have wood screws gotten rare and expensive? In the future I will look elsewhere when I need shades or blinds. read more

Snooty old hipsters trying to cling to their youth with no customer service skills. They told me to just shop online and so I will.

Called ahead and dropped off 2 Blinds for repair on Monday 8-1-22 Called on Thursday 8-4-22 to get an update on the repair and was reminded by a very sarcastic women she'd said 5 to 7 days to repair and they would call me when ready I called them on Monday 8-8-22 and again on Tuesday 8-9-22 both days I received a recording "On vacation until 8-15-22" I called on Monday 8-15-22 first complained about never receiving a call and never told they would be closed for vacation 8-8-22 through 8-12-22 8-15-22 Sarcastic women let me know I could pick up the Blinds (no apology) I picked up the blinds 8-15-22 (at no charge) got them home and learned they were never repaired. I called and asked to speak to the owner (Hans)--First call Sarcastic women hung up on me--second call different Nice women took my message. As of today 8-20-22 No call from Hans IS THIS ANYWAY TO RUN A BUSINESS?!?!?!! The blinds were originally purchased and installed by Alcatraz throughout a three bedroom home. IF I COULD GIVE A NEGATIVE 10 I WOULD! I was lucky to find an Excellent young man "WILL KELLER" 925-321-0221 who repairs and installs Blinds/Shades. He came to my home and within 30 minutes the 2 blinds were repaired and installed--the cost $75 I like supporting small old businesses and sad to say I WILL NEVER RETURN TO ALCATRAZ SHADE SHOP IN OAKLAND ON TELEGRAPH---NEVER!!!!! read more

I can hardly say enough BAD about the attitude of the woman who answered the phone. It was as if she didn't want to make an appointment at all. I will look elsewhere rather than even attempt to make an appointment with these disagreeable people: not interested in offering any kind of service at all. Also tried to get me to come into their store BY APPOINTMENT rather than tell me what their business hours are. Check out the other reviews on this page. Most of us seem to agree about the difficult non-service. read more

Wow For a place in business so long I would have expected something not so snobby I called They said the shade couldn't be too dirty to repair I bring said shade It's dusty They refuse to take it read more

As others have stated "Horrible experience. Zero customer service. Condescending, rude, unprofessional and disorganized." Add "bait & switch" to this. When I came to the store, the manager Amy recommended a doorway treatment we needed, and told me I needed a $100 consultation to take measurements. When I told her we also needed other window treatments, she assured me the consultant could guide me on what types of shade were suitable for particular windows. When the consultant arrived, she announced that the door treatment Amy had recommended was impossible and that she couldn't offer me any guidance on other possible window treatmentsl. This consultant turned out to be the OWNER of the business so it was surprising she does not have this expertise! I was charged $100 for this useless "service" call. And when I called to protest the owner was rude and disrespectful. read more

People wonder why online businesses are taking over small mom and pop shops. Well, it's because of poor in-person customer service like I received today from Lindsey at Alcatraz Shade Shop. First, I called in advance and spoke with a friendly, helpful guy, Evan. I explained that I have bottom up shades that I purchased many years ago that may need replacing because the cords were broken. Evan explained to me that they would gladly restring and replace the cords and plastic pulls and clean the shades too. I also have a couple of shades where the cells have separated. Those, Evan, explained could not be repaired--I have to replace them. Not bad considering 4 needed restringing and two replaced. When I inquired about the replacement cost Evan said ~$300. That's triple what I think I paid back on '04. Any way, I was pleased with the info he gave because, it sounded as if I'd could get 4 shades cleaned and restrung and maybe have to replace only two more. Plus I was planning on buying a few more for my downstairs windows that don't have this type of shade. That was excellent customer service over the phone and helped me plan my in store visit. Now, for the in-perspiration, sour puss experience. I head into the store today with 3 sets of blinds. A woman comes over and asks if she can help. I pull out the shades, lay them on the counter and explain that the chords and pulls need replacing and I would need replacement brackets that hold the shades in. With a look of disdain and disgust Lindsay (I asked her name later in the convo), explained that they don't fix shades that are dirty but she would gladly sell me the restringing kit so I can do it myself. Okay, not what I expected. I thought that they did clean shades. So...I asked her if she had ever fixed a shade and how much time it took her. She said, yes and about 20-30 min. That let me know that it would probably take a non-shade expert considerably more time. Okay. I have no choice but to try since they won't clean them and it's costly to replace. Once Lindsay let her nostrils down from the disgust of seeing dirty shades that had been on my windows for past 15 years, I asked her if she could give me an idea of shade replacement cost. Lindsay quipped without missing a beat, $500. I say, 'Wow! That's considerably more than what the guy I spoke to quoted over the phone. Can you please check to be sure?' She said walked over to a book and said, 'There aren't any guy salesmen. As she's looked in huge book she then said, it's $456.' So I feel her disdain rise again. But I don't respond to her catty response. I just leave it hanging in the air. I say, 'Hmm, okay, do you mind writing that down for me. ' Then she admits, 'Evan, was who you probably talked to and he's not a sales person and shouldn't be giving quotes over the phone.' Okay. Good to know, and what a way to throw your colleague under the bus. So then silly me I ask, why are the shades so much more expensive now? She quips, 'Same reason why everything is more expensive.' Okay. So then, my thought was, this is exactly why people take their chances purchasing online. No snippy sales people who don't know the fine art of customer service, yet you think I'm going to come back and spend $500 a shade with you and that sour attitude. Nah. So I ask for and received 4 sets of brackets and a restringing kit. $38. I'll see if I can restring the shades myself, if not I'll happily go online to find suitable replacements. Too bad, I Iiked my experience with the Shade Shop years ago, and with Evan, who got me in the door. But I'll skip any further trips if this is the attitude I can expect. read more

No service! A few years ago, I had them buy and install shades that cost $2500. I had a simple string break. They wanted more than $300 plus it would take six weeks to get service. Last night, I got a ladder and fixed it by myself. The repair was simple. This store simply wants to gouge its customers. read more

I don't know what's happened with this store. I've used them for years and spent thousands of dollars there. However, the last order has been a complete nightmare. Wrong measurements, and not the type of shades I ordered. When I called the first time, I was told to "just bring them back in"...Ummm....YOUR MEASUREMENTS were wrong guys. YOU needed to come back and re-measure (which the owner did do himself). Now today, I am back home from picking up the replacement blinds that THEY came back and remeasured...and what do I find, but that one of the blinds is COMPLETELY the wrong size...like for some other window on another planet. Also, the wrong sized shade brackets that had been installed are totally different from the replacement ones...so, wow, how inconvenient that I now have to re-putty the holes from the wrong brackets, re-paint where all the paint pulled off, and re-drill all the screw holes. For a family owned local business, the customer service has gone way downhill and no one seems to care if you come back or not. If you are a small local business, your return customers are all you have. We are definitely taking our business elsewhere. How disappointing. read more

I have shopped at Alcatraz Shade Shop for years - every couple of years i seem to find myself in there again. Whether I have need all new blinds for the family room or just some quirky part they have always had what I needed. There is something pleasant about shopping in a small, local, well stocked business. They are clearly family run and it just feel nice in there. A very different feeling from shopping at Big Box stores- it is very personable and offers a level of friendly service that is just not common in chain stores. 5 stars for an enduring, quaint, and wonderful local business. read more

Update to earlier post: I still have not received a return phone call from a repair person as promised by the owner last Friday. But, I did receive a private Yelp email message from the shop owner. Her response is reflective of the type of service (or lack of) that you can expect from these folks. I guess if you complain about shoddy work and customer service and then warn others, this is what you should expect-NOT! They provide a one year warranty for their work. Unless of course it is too hard for them to do and then they will whine and act like it is your fault that they did poor work for you in the first place. As an aside, I never discussed warranty or cost with the shop when I called last week. I simply informed them that their earlier repair (still under warranty) had failed and I would like someone to come out and find out why it was not working. As a customer with a broken shade (last year), I called a shade repair shop (Alcatraz Shade) and asked them to give me a price to repair a broken shade. They gave me a price and I accepted the bid. Now that the repair is faulty, here is what the owner of the shop has to say: "Anyway, we have decided that since we spent so much time on your shade last year that we are no longer able to repair it. We even gave you a new fascia box for free and Devin hand painted it to match your wall. I remember this job very clearly and I know that it is very hard to reach your windows and difficult to get a ladder into your space. The shade like the one you have is not something we sell or have parts for. We had to custom modify what you already had to make it work. I do apologize for not getting back to you sooner to let you know that we can no longer help you." Well, I did buy/pay for that custom modification-which was a new operating mechanism. And your worker did see the height of the job and bid/accept the work. And the "free fascia box and paint work was offered as a token by them for a missed appointment, wrong equipment brought to job and improper install the first time. All of these things required 4 missed mornings of work! I get it-I will find a reputable shop to repair their faulty work and then will post a further update so others know who does good work in this area. read more

I've been wanting to go here for a long time, I love the funny things they put on their marquises. Sadly, their customer service was horrible. I showed up and told them my window sizes, they said I needed more measurements, so I went home and spent a long time carefully measuring everything they said, then I went back and gave them all the measurements they asked for and they said "we need to come measure them ourselves" it's going to cost $100, only your order is over $1,000 so it's free. Excuse me? Why did you just waste my afternoon measuring things myself if you are going to measure them. When I complained about them wasting my time they told me to take my business elsewhere. I am not sure why they were like this, but I'm sad that they wasted so much of my time. edit: I think it's telling that they wasted my time and then called me rude for writing a bad review about them. I see why others have left them such bad reviews too. read more

Very groovy shop, awesome friendly staff, great selection!

Day 1: Our bedroom roll-up shade went up at full speed, came off the mounts, and landed on my toes. I cried. Day 2: The little metal mounting post on the shade broke off, having been weakened by Day 1's fall and impact. Our bedroom filled with sunlight at dawn. I cried. Day 3: Walked it into Alcatraz Shade, where they repaired the roll-up in 5 minutes. Gratis. I'm all smiles, and am in mad love with our city and all the wonderful small businesses that it hosts. read more

After passing their shop at the corner of Alcatraz and Telegraph for many years, and after less than satisfying experiences with 3 Day Blinds, I decided to check out Alcatraz Shade & Blind Shop to install new blinds in our master bedroom. I found the experience perfect. Great service when I went in with my measurements and spoke with the guy there (who's name I can't remember!). It's so great to go into a shop and speak to someone who actually knows what they're talking about and seems to genuinely care about you as a customer. Two guys came out to my house to install the shades (they had been cut to my specs exactly) and did a great job, and friendly too! We should all support our local merchants. Most often you'll find a higher level of service both before and after the sale. I would give Alcatraz Shade & Blind Shop my highest recommendation. read more

Our ancient and large blackout shade had a broken cord, but was in otherwise good condition. My husband wanted to can it, but I thought I'd see if it could be repaired. For just $50, the friendly guys at Alcatraz Shade replaced all the cords (since it was likely that the others would blow out soon). A new shade would have cost hundreds of dollars. I must have caught them on a slow Saturday because they did the work in less than 2 hours! I'd recommend this place in a heartbeat. Great service, perfect workmanship, reasonable prices. Thank you!!! read more

I don't know when yelp really became mainstream far enough that incompetence and illiteracy began to seep through to reviews..but the reviews giving poor ratings to Alcatraz Shade & Blind are most definitely obtuse and irrelevant. I am a newly hired resident manager to an apartment complex and so I've began to deal with many local businesses in regards to interior and exterior renovations and maintenance. One problem I ran into is that the installation of a particular set of blinds in a unit was done poorly. There is a 1.5" molding around the entrance that inhibited the blinds from fully opening so I needed longer brackets to replace the ones already installed. What did I do? Call Home Depot, Ace Hardware, another Home Depot and finally the Berkeley Shade store. All 4 attempts and visits were unsuccessful. Not only were most of them lacking helpfulness, but a couple of them suggested that such a part was nonexistent and I would be better of buying a new set of vertical blinds to replace the perfectly functioning ones I already had. Long story short, I was recommended Alcatraz Blinds by a very nice rep from the Home Depot (Emeryville) blinds/shades department and to my huge relief ..guess what? The part exists. All I had to do is bring in the existing bracket and it was quickly matched to a compatible, but usefully longer piece. PROBLEM SOLVED! I also got a few wing nuts out of bag of miscellaneous parts that were left over from a job that they recently completed--just as a complementary thing. I didn't have to worry about trying to drill in wooden shims to extend the wall or anything complicated. I wish I had come here first.. Shame on those who are dissatisfied with Alcatraz Shade&Blind as an excuse to voice their own habits of impatience! Shame, shame, shame is the name of your game! This quaint corner store is the epitome of a successful, honest, trusted small business. They've been at this location for 30+ yrs, and bad business just does not last that long, so bottom line, any other business I have with shades/blinds as far as my apt. complex goes--will go here. read more

I hired these guys to make and install large window shades for my home office based on the recommendation of several of my neighbors. At best, my experience with them was lukewarm, and has left me questioning whether I would have gotten a much better deal -- let alone better customer service -- at my local 3 Day Blinds shop. Pity, really -- I wanted to support a family business, paid the premium to do so, and didn't feel the love from them at all afterwards. The selection of window treatments you can choose from at their shop is astounding. The shop staff were reasonably helpful in narrowing my selection for a roller screen shade. However, it took them nearly 3 and a half weeks to make the shades, and I have a feeling it would have been longer were it not for several follow-up calls I made to find out what was going on. Which brings me to my biggest gripe about this business: they're TERRIBLE about return phone calls. After the installation was finally scheduled and completed, I called them twice more to get a replacement for a retraction cord that broke after just 1 month: they never called me back, and still haven't. After nearly 7 months, I'd just about given up and will probably bring the cord in to the shop when I actually have the time to do it... at which time they'll probably have long forgotten me and wonder who this loser is trying to get a free repair from them. Just a guess. read more

It has been one year since the curtains we ordered from Alcatraz were finally installed. I've waited a year because I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt when the last words from Lindsay were along the lines of "you'll grow into them." Well, one year later and I dislike them as much as the day they were installed. The customer service along the way has been some of the worst I have ever experienced. To say that I don't recommend them is an understatement. To back up, we ordered these curtains in April 2015. I was told they would arrive within 4-6 weeks. After no updates from Alcatraz, I called to get an update. Only upon calling did I learn that there was a delay in the shipment. Weeks passed and the same story was told. Finally, we decided to go with different curtain options. As they were the experts, I deferred to their judgment in helping pick out the right type of material (we had them come to our house to see existing curtains that the new curtains were supposed to match; they also sized each of the windows so they had all the necessary information). While we made the final call, I will say that the option we chose should never have been a choice in the first place. It's an awful material given how many curtains we needed in the space. When the curtains were finally installed, they got sizing wrong for two of the windows. This took several more weeks to fix (September 2015 was the final installation). All in all, the material is absolutely wrong for the space. On top of that, they sprayed the rods with sticky gunk that remained on the rods. They also stripped the screws for the rods such that the first time I tried to remove a curtain, I couldn't do it on one side. As much as I tried to work with them, I ultimately left unsatisfied. Poor customer service, delays and only updates when I reached out ... suffice to say, I won't be returning to this shop for future needs. read more

I can't say that I've spent much time in many shades and blinds shoppes, but for sure the Alcatraz is the Real Deal ( aka: the fo'real deal ). The guy fixed my sagging spring-loaded roll-up, educated me about spring-loaded roll-ups and sent me on my merry way before I could even ask his name. They stock every last little thing to make your shade dreams come true. read more

On 12/27 I checked online to see if they were open. Online sites(2 of them) said yes. I called and got a recording which indicated they were open, but too busy to answer the phone. I drove there top buy merchandise and found it was closed for the holidays. As of 12/29 the phone message still indicates that are open, but busy. They obviously care little for customers. read more