For curtain retailers · Lead times
Tired of explaining late curtains to your customer?
What a supplier might tell you, crossed out: “It’s been pushed back another week.”
What we say instead: Know what moves a date before you promise one.
At Speedy Blinds every estimate is written down and counted from the later of your order being accepted and paid and the fabric arriving, and if your fabric goes on back order, you hear as soon as we do, then choose to switch fabric, wait, or cancel the curtains it affects.
What it costs you
- You gave your customer a date, and now you’re calling to move it.
- The installer’s booked, the day’s blocked out, and the curtains aren’t there.
- Nobody told you the fabric was late until you asked.
What you can be certain of
JOB SPDY-2012 · LEAD TIMES
- 01
- We commit to
- Estimates in writing, before you quote.
- How you’ll know
- They’re written into our tolerances, and the estimates are on our turnaround page.
- 02
- We commit to
- The usual date movers, named up front.
- How you’ll know
- Fabric ordered in (typically 1 to 2 weeks from the supplier), Group C (3 weeks), pre training (3 business days extra) and the peak months, late October into January.
- 03
- We commit to
- Word as soon as your fabric goes on back order.
- How you’ll know
- If a fabric goes on back order, we tell you as soon as we’re told.
- If something goes wrong
- You choose: switch to another fabric, wait for it, or cancel the curtains it affects.
- 04
- We commit to
- Stock you can check before you sell.
- How you’ll know
- Fabric Stock shows our stock, live, with no login. It can still move between when you look and when your job is cut, especially on a low roll, so call us if it’s close.
- 05
- We commit to
- The job’s stage where you can see it.
- How you’ll know
- Each part of the job shows its own stage in the Order app, Back Order included: see how order tracking works.
Give your customer a date you can keep
The same standard curtain job, two ways.
Fabric in stock
- You send the job, and it’s accepted and paid in cleared funds.
- The fabric’s already here, so the estimate starts then: 5 business days for standard curtains, plus 3 business days if they’re pre trained.
- Then allow for delivery to the address, or collect from the factory.
Fabric ordered in
- You send the job, and it’s accepted and paid in cleared funds.
- We order the fabric. Supplier delivery is typically 1 to 2 weeks, and longer in the peak months.
- The estimate starts when the fabric arrives: 5 business days for standard curtains, plus 3 business days if they’re pre trained.
- Then allow for delivery to the address, or collect from the factory.
If the date is tight, or it’s late October into January, call us before you promise it.
Key facts
- Fabric ordered in
- Typically 1 to 2 weeks
- From the supplier; longer in peak months
- Peak months
- Late October into January
- The clock starts
- At the later of payment and fabric in
- Fabric on back order
- Told as soon as we’re told
- Your choice on a back order
- Switch fabric, wait, or cancel those curtains
- Christmas orders
- Usually taken later than most workrooms
Questions retailers ask
What can move my date?
The usual ones, named before you order: fabric that has to be ordered in (typically 1 to 2 weeks from the supplier, longer in the peak months), the extra time Group C and pre training take, and the industry’s peak months, late October into January, when every estimate stretches.
What if my fabric is late?
If the fabric goes on back order, we tell you as soon as we’re told. Then it’s your call: switch to another fabric, wait for it, or cancel the curtains it affects. Fabric ordered in typically takes 1 to 2 weeks from the supplier, so check stock before you promise a date.
What happens from late October?
Our estimates stretch through the industry’s peak months, late October into January, and supplier fabric can take longer too. We usually take Christmas orders later than most workrooms. We close over Christmas and New Year, and the dates go to all retailers in advance.
Will you commit to a date?
We give estimates, not delivery dates. Our trading terms say so, and we’d rather be straight about it. What doesn’t move is how the estimate is counted, and that you hear as soon as we’re told a fabric has gone on back order. If a date really matters, call us before you promise it.
Can I see where my job is up to?
Yes. Open the job in the Order app, and each part (curtain, track, roller blind) shows its own stage, from New through to Out. There’s more on how order tracking works on its own page.
The other reasons retailers switch
Losing jobs to someone faster
Standard curtains in an estimated 5 business days.Never knowing where a job is up to
Each part of every job shows its stage in the Order app.Quality that’s hit and miss
Made to your order within written tolerances, and checked before it’s packed.Their mistakes costing you your reputation
Checked twice before it leaves, and owned if it’s wrong.Paying for a supplier’s mistakes
If we made it wrong, we put it right under our Made to Spec Guarantee.No one to ask when a job gets tricky
One number for calls, texts and WhatsApp, in business hours.A supplier who also sells to your customers
Wholesale only. It’s clause 2.1 of our trading terms.Losing jobs on price
One price list for every retailer, and $0 extra for an urgent job.Looking for a new curtain manufacturer?
Manufacturing curtains, delivering certainty.
Start with one job
No application, no minimum, no contract.
Send us one job and see how it comes back. Most retailers start that way.
Tell us what you sell, where you work and what you need from a workroom. We’ll tell you plainly whether we’re the right fit, and if we’re not, we’ll say that too.