If you are in the market for new window treatments or coverings, you may find yourself in the same place I was, overwhelmed and ignorant. First, there are so many choices: different types, manufacturers, colors, fabrics and materials; I needed a lot of hand-holding. And, to top it off, I had no idea if the prices were competitive. I live in a busy and crowded city and don't particularly enjoy driving all over town doing price comparisons.

By reputation, I assumed that if I went to the Home Depot I would be getting good, competitive prices. And, in the end, once I learned how to comparison shop more efficiently and effectively, I found that they were competitive. But, I also found that the service was hit-and-miss, sometimes even non-existent.

A friend of mine suggested that I try some of the shopping engines to do price comparisons. There are a bunch of these shopping comparison websites; I believe the top ones are Shopzilla, PriceGrabber and Shopping.com. You can just search for what you want and compare prices from one place to the next. It's very easy and very efficient. What I found was that most of the lowest prices were online retailers of window treatments, a ton of them actually - who knew? The shopping engines really helped cut through the clutter. I found a bunch of retailers but was still left with a problem. I really needed good service; someone who could walk me through the different options and manufacturers. I am no interior decorator but I do know what I like when I see it.

I called one website and luckily got a sympathetic customer service person, turns out a lot of guys need hand-holding in this department. The woman I talked to asked me some basic questions and was able to really narrow down the right possible choices for me. She gave me way more personal attention then I received at the Home Depot and really won me over.

It turns out, at least in my case, that low prices aren't the whole enchilada; service is really important when choosing something like window blinds. They are something you are going to have for a long time and will dramatically affect the looks of your home. There are even more considerations. Some window treatments offer good insulation (cellular shades), some shades (pleated shades) look like cellular shades, are cheaper but lack the insulation. If you want to cover big windows, like sliding doors, you need vertical blinds, panel tracks or even drapes. For areas of high heat and humidity, you need to consider faux wood or composite blinds. If you want mini blinds, vinyl is cheap but aluminum last a lot longer. The list goes on. I really learned a lot.

What I ended up receiving was a lot of service and good prices. Not to sound to pessimistic but I didn't think that was possible anymore. In this day and age of giant, discount mega-store like Wal-Mart, and the Home Depot service the service-element of shopping has really suffered.

In the end, I purchased some very cool vertical blinds for my patio doors and cellular shades for my windows. I got my order quickly but then I was confronted with the daunting task of installing them myself. My order did come with installation instructions but, I still had questions. I thought I would put their customer service to the test and see if I would get the same service after the sale. I called the online retailer and asked for help. I spoke with a different customer service person that was just as helpful as the first. He walked me through the installation, I was pleasantly surprised.