Why our Design Studios are by appointment only

Every so often someone rings to ask what time our Design Studio opens, so they can pop in on their way past. It’s a fair question, and we completely understand why people ask it. Most shops on the high street work that way.

We don’t, and there’s a good reason for it. Our Design Studios are by appointment only, and appointments are usually booked a couple of weeks ahead. Here’s why, and why we think you’ll be glad of it when you visit.

A small team covering a very big area

There are seven of us. That’s the whole company.

Those seven people look after customers across roughly 35,000 square miles, from Shetland in the north down to a line between Newcastle and Penrith. On any given day, our specialists might be in a Design Studio in the morning and in someone’s living room in the Borders, Fife or the Highlands in the afternoon.

That’s the heart of it. The people you meet in our Design Studio are the same people who visit homes to measure and advise. There isn’t a separate team sitting in the studio waiting for the door to open, so when one of us is with you, we can’t also be across the country in someone else’s home.

We have no salespeople, and no sales assistants

This is the part that surprises people most.

In our industry, it’s very common for the person who visits your home to be a salesperson, often self-employed and paid on commission. We’ve never worked that way, and we never will. The Scottish Shutter Company has no salespeople at all, employed or self-employed.

Everyone here is a paid employee of the company, and that includes the directors. Nobody is paid to close you, and nobody has a target to hit. That’s why we’ll happily tell you when a product is wrong for your window, even if it means a smaller order.

We also don’t have sales assistants. You won’t find someone standing in the studio who can say hello, hand you a leaflet and not tell you much more than that. If you’re going to give up your time to visit us, we want the person you meet to be able to answer your questions properly.

Specialists, not shop staff

Shutters and blinds look simple until you start to choose them. The right answer for your home depends on the shape and size of your windows, which way they face, how much light and privacy you want, how the room is used, and sometimes on things like a bay, a sloping ceiling or a window that’s hard to reach.

Two of our directors, David Browne and David D’Ambrosio, are certified solar shading advisers through ES-SO, the European Solar Shading Organisation. David D’Ambrosio is also a Past President of the British Blind and Shutter Association.

Our installation team, Leon, Rob and Kris, has fitted a great many different types of shutters and blinds in every kind of home. That experience comes back into the studio with them. When we tell you how something will behave on your window, it’s because we’ve seen it, not because we read it in a brochure.

Window shading is all we’ve done since 1987.

Why your appointment is booked in advance

Because the same specialists divide their time between the Design Studios and visits to homes all over Scotland and the north of England, their diaries are planned ahead. That’s why we usually can’t offer an appointment today or tomorrow. Often the next free slot is two or three weeks away.

We know that can be frustrating when you’re keen to get started. But it’s the same reason the appointment is worth having. When your appointment is booked, a specialist is set aside just for you. They know you’re coming, and the studio and their time are yours for the visit.

You won’t be one of several people trying to catch someone’s eye on a busy Saturday. You won’t be handed over halfway through to someone who’s just finished with another customer. You’ll have one person’s full attention, from your first question to your last.

What happens at a Design Studio appointment

Our Edinburgh Design Studio is a working studio, not a shop. You can see full size shutters and blinds, open and close them, compare finishes and fabrics, and talk through what would suit each of your rooms.

It helps if you bring photos of your windows and rough measurements if you have them. You don’t need to know what you want. Working that out with you is what we’re there for.

If you’d rather we came to you, we can do that too. A home consultation lets us see your windows in their own light, measure properly and give advice that fits your actual house. Plenty of our customers start with a home visit.

We’re also building a new Design Studio in Dundee, which will work in exactly the same way.

Video calls: expert advice without the journey

When you cover 35,000 square miles, not everyone lives within easy reach of a Design Studio. If you’re in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles or the far north of England, a round trip to Edinburgh can easily take a whole day. That’s one of the reasons we offer video calls.

A video call is a proper appointment, not a quick chat. It’s booked in advance in the same way as a studio visit, and you get the same thing: one of our specialists, set aside just for you, with time to answer your questions properly.

Because our specialists can take the call from the Design Studio, they can show you the real thing on camera. They can open and close a shutter, tilt the louvres, and hold a finish or a fabric up to the light so you can see how it behaves. They can also bring up the photos you’ve sent on screen, so you’re both looking at the same window as you talk it through.

To get the most from your call, it helps to email us a few photos of your windows beforehand, along with any plans or drawings you have. It’s also worth thinking about how each window opens, and what you’d like each room’s shutters or blinds to do, whether that’s privacy, better sleep, cutting glare, or keeping the heat in during winter.

For many people, a video call is the ideal first step. You can find out what’s possible, get a feel for the options and ask all your questions from your own sofa, before anyone travels anywhere.

Phone calls: we’ll often schedule ringing you back

We also get a good number of phone calls from people who’d like to speak to one of our specialists there and then. We’re always glad to hear from you, and we completely understand wanting to talk it through straight away.

For the same reasons as the Design Studio, our specialists are rarely sitting beside a phone. At any moment they’re likely to be with a customer in the studio, measuring windows in someone’s home, or on the road between the two. If they broke off to take every call, they’d be letting down the person in front of them, and we’d never do that to you either.

So when you ring, we’ll take your details and a note of what you’d like to talk about, and pass it to the right specialist. They’ll call you back, usually within a day or two. Please don’t be concerned if it isn’t the same day. It doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten. It means that when your call comes, the specialist will already know what you’re asking about, and will have the time to give you a proper answer rather than a rushed one.

If you’d rather know exactly when to expect us, just ask us to book a call instead, or choose Phone Call on our appointment form. We’ll arrange a time that suits you with one of our specialists, who’ll ring you at that time with your details in front of them.

In short

• Our Design Studios are by appointment only because there are seven of us covering around 35,000 square miles.
• The specialists you meet in the studio also visit homes, so they can’t be waiting in the studio for walk-ins.
• We have no salespeople and no sales assistants. Everyone, including the directors, is a paid employee.
• Appointments are often booked two or three weeks ahead, and each one has a specialist set aside just for you.
• If a studio visit doesn’t suit, we can come to you instead.
• A video call gives you the same specialist attention without the journey, wherever you live.
• If you phone to speak to a specialist, we’ll usually call you back within a day or two, or book a call at a time that suits you.

Ready to arrange a visit?

Whether you’d like to see shutters and blinds in person or start with a video call, you can book a Design Studio appointment, a home consultation or a video call. If you’d prefer to browse at home first, request our brochure. There’s no pressure and no sales pitch, just straightforward advice from people who know window shading inside out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just pop into the Scottish Shutter Company Design Studio? Our Design Studios are by appointment only. The specialists who work in the studio also visit customers at home across Scotland and the north of England, so there isn’t always someone there to welcome walk-in visitors. Booking ahead means a specialist is set aside just for you.

Why can’t I get a Design Studio appointment today or tomorrow? Our seven-strong team divides its time between the Design Studios and home visits across around 35,000 square miles, so diaries are planned in advance. The next available appointment is often two or three weeks away.

Does the Scottish Shutter Company use salespeople? No. We have never employed salespeople, either employed or self-employed, and we never will. Everyone, including the directors, is a paid employee of the company, and nobody works to a sales target or commission.

Who will I meet at my Design Studio appointment? You’ll meet one of our own window shading specialists, the same people who visit homes to measure and advise. Two of our directors are certified solar shading advisers through the European Solar Shading Organisation.

Can you come to my home instead of me visiting the Design Studio? Yes. We offer home consultations across Scotland and the north of England, where we can see your windows in their own light and measure them properly. Plenty of customers start with a home visit.

Can I have a video call instead of visiting the Design Studio? Yes. A video call is booked in advance like a studio visit, and one of our specialists is set aside just for you. They can show you shutters and blinds on camera, and it helps to email photos of your windows beforehand.

Why don’t I get put straight through to a specialist when I phone? Our specialists are usually with customers in the Design Studio or in their homes, so they can’t always come to the phone. We’ll take your details and a specialist will call you back, usually within a day or two. If you’d prefer, we can book a call with a specialist at a time that suits you.