What better way to show support to returning U.S. military veterans than by donating your business services to them? Well, that is exactly what Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa (located on W. Fletcher Ave. in Tampa, just a few minutes southwest of New Tampa), is doing, by recently partnering with Homes For Our Troops (HFOT), a non-profit organization that builds homes for returning injured veterans.
Nationwide, Orange, CA-Budget Blinds has agreed to provide window coverings in every HFOT home built across the country for the next three years, valued at more than $1 million in donated products and services.
Locally, Elaine Trotter, co-owner of Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa, says that her franchise location is donating $1 to HFOT for every single blind sold by her franchise.
“It’s an initiative we’re very excited about,” Elaine says. “We believe in ‘home.’ A home should be a safe haven, a place of refuge at the end of the day. For the returning injured and handicapped veterans, navigating their current environment can be very difficult. So, we’re proud that we’re able to provide window coverings in a home that has been specially adapted for them.”
Elaine says that Budget Blinds specializes in beautifying the inside of the windows of your home, whether you want shades, shutters or draperies. In 2008, she and her husband Jim purchased the Greater Tampa franchise (which was the first to open in the state, in 1994 in Land O’Lakes). Elaine explains that Jim was more than 20 years into a corporate career that required him to travel extensively and move often. Finally, he had enough and they decided to stay in Tampa.
“We started looking for other alternatives,” Elaine says. “We always wanted to own a small business together, grow it and be able to employ people and give back to our community.”
Elaine says that they started looking at franchising and stumbled upon Budget Blinds. She says that since the company has great corporate support, buying power and was military veteran-friendly, “their business model was in line with our thinking.”
So, as the local economy hit rock bottom, the Trotters opened their first business. “We could have run the business ourselves during the economic downturn, but we hired people anyway and started out very slow. There were four of us in the beginning, but now, we’ve grown to 15 employees.”
Elaine says that the growth forced them to move from the small, original showroom in Land O’Lakes to its current space in Tampa, which houses large displays of the company’s products, including numerous variations on Budget Blinds’ own lines of blinds, shutters, shades, drapes (including the signature Inspired Drapes line that launched last year), panels, bedding, screens and even area rugs.
Elaine says her store should be fully stocked with Momeni Rugs within the next month and that she has a rug “for any budget to complete any room.”
Elaine also explains that one of the most popular product lines that Budget Blinds sells is plantation shutters.
“Most of our customers love plantation shutters (decorative shutters that are placed on the inside of the home),” she says. “They’re a beautiful asset to your home, like furniture for your windows. They’re also considered a permanent fixture of your home and can increase its appraisal value. They provide great insulation from the heat and a good view.”
But, you don’t have to rely on just your own opinion for decorating with new window accessories because Budget Blinds has a team of in-home consultation designers.
“We come into the home,” Elaine says. “We bring samples and products to the client’s home. Our consultants can see the client’s decorating style and get a look at the actual window to solve the problem, whether it’s heat or glare or privacy. We always work with our clients. We bring the ‘shop-at-home’ experience to them, so they don’t have to run around to multiple stores.”
Elaine says that Budget Blinds also stands by its products, offering a five-year “No Questions Asked” warranty on all products.
“Our warranties separate us from everyone else in the industry,” Elaine explains. “Blinds are like cars. They have parts that wear out, and accidents can happen in the home. We get a lot of calls about pets. It really gives our clients the peace of mind that if something happens, we’ll replace that product for free, once, within a five-year period, no matter what happens.”
Elaine tells of a recent customer who had just purchased blinds from her store.
“The client was fostering a dog,” Elaine says. “Yes, it happened, the foster dog ate the blinds. She called us distraught, but was excited to hear that they were covered under our warranty.”
Customers brag about the Greater Tampa store on her website — Budget Blinds.com/NorthTampa.
“The selection at Budget Blinds is incredible!,” says a Wesley Chapel resident named Holly. “We found exactly what we were looking for and received excellent customer service all the way through — from scheduling our in-home appointment, our one-on-one consultation and with the installation. Bravo for a job well done, start to finish!”
Elaine and the friendly folks at Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa are good at what they do — so good, in fact, that they recently won a national award: first place in the 2015 Budget Blinds Design Contest for Decorative Hardware. To commemorate the victory, Elaine’s decorative drapery design was featured in Window Fashion VISION magazine, a respected industry publication.
“We don’t just sell a product,” Elaine says. “We try to help our customers solve dilemmas and provide them with good service and a good experience. We’re not perfect and we may not always get it right, but we’ll always try to make it right.”
Be sure to check out the Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa showroom at 1208 W. Fletcher Ave., which is open Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and 10 a.m.–3 p.m. on Sat. Call 968-5050 to schedule a free in-home consultation or visit BudgetBlinds.com/North Tampa for more info.
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