West Wind Hardwood

I have now visited West Wind Hardwood on 3 occasions, and after this last visit, I felt compelled to finally leave a review.While the products they sell are very good and I have found some really interesting and unique woods to work with, I find the staff to be as unfriendly and impersonal as anywhere I have ever shopped.Each time, I've walked in to the warehouse, and have been completely ignored. Each time, I've wandered around for upwards of an hour, made my selections, a few times from several bins and shelves that were not marked with pricing or species names. When taking my stuff to the checkout at the back of the store, each time I've stood there awkwardly feeling like I'm in the way as employees come and go and do their thing. Finally, after waiting for some time (visit three was 10 minutes) someone will begrudgingly ask me if I've been helped.Each time, while performing the transaction, I've tried to engage in small talk, ask questions or explain what I'm working on, and each time, I've been completely ignored as though I'm not even talking. Guy goes in the back, comes out with an invoice, takes my payment (which twice, has been higher than I feel it was supposed to have been), offers no bag, box or assistance of any kind, and walks off without a word..The bottom line: They have a lot of great woods, stuff that I love discovering and creating with. But when I go 300+ km's round trip to shop there, it would sure be lovely to not leave feeling like I'm not welcome there. The staff are just SO unfriendly and impersonable and unfriendly. I'm definitely now on the lookout for another place to shop for hardwoods.

Danny and the team at Westwind Hardwood have been wonderful to work with on a large order of custom serving boards. They are communicative and friendly, and deal with any issues that arise in a timely manner. Part of our order wasn't quite what we had imagined upon arrival due to a miscommunication expectations on my part. Danny quickly arranged for it to be picked up in Vancouver at no cost to us and had the pieces back to me a week later just as I had dreamed them up in the first place. Thanks folks, great work!

Love going here, there’s always something neat to find. Great selection of lumber: exotic and domestic soft and hardwoods. Also lots of neat stuff like dowels, live edge burl, and Australian curiosities. Value added services too, like milling.

I can’t even express how beyond satisfied I am with the products from West Wind Hardwood. I had a project where I needed ultra straight boards that wont warp or bend. I was t sure what wood to use, so I explained my project and the staff helped me select the right wood, Clear Vertical Grain Douglas Fir. I did some research and was expecting them to be straight, but I was completely blown away by how straight and perfectly uniform every board was. I am now finished the project and it looks even better than I had envisioned it. Will definitely go back here for any detailed project I have.

We spent over 20k on hardwood flooring with Westwind and it has been a catastrophic mistake. They sold us wood that is full of sap which will never fully stop seeping out. The solution is to rip out the flooring (which will take the trim and the subfloor with it) and replace everything. I might be inclined to forgive them if it weren't for the awful customer support we received. It has been over a year fighting with them to admit the problem and then to say that they are offering zero accountability and zero help. If you really want hardwood flooring there are way better suppliers up island.

First let me say that I have no issue with the quality of the wood being sold. However I do have an issue with the rudeness and abysmal customer service I received from your staff today.I drove from Nanaimo specifically to visit this store. When I arrived I asked a young man for help in finding some beechwood, his reply, “don’t know, I’m new”! I asked if he could find someone that could help, his reply, “go to the office”. He clearly had no intention of helping.I found the office and asked the gentleman who came out for some help in selecting some wood. He informed me that “customers usually just look round and pick their own wood”, he then reluctantly showed me the beechwood they had. I asked if I could have part of a 10ft x 2 in thick board, his answer, “No, we don’t do that, we can cut it but you have to buy it all”. He then went on to tell me they were short staffed and it was lunchtime, as though that was somehow my fault and justified his rudeness. As he walked off I asked him his name, he said it was “Jan” and he was the boss!I did buy some wood, but not nearly as much as I had intended to as I wasn’t prepared to put up with the bad attitude any longer.It’s a shame that just because you have a long history and a monopoly in the area you feel that customer service is something that you no longer need.

Staff are knowledgeable, but aware of their ignorances, and unafraid to interrupt senior staff to get the answers you need. Custom orders arrive on time, and on budget. Staff are happy to help load any material onto any reasonable vehicle; securing loads is clients responsibility.

I had a great experience with Westwind. They CNC'd a piece of maple for a coffee table. There was a small flaw in the wood when it was done and they rectified the flaw with no extra charge. I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

We stopped by to get some teak and we we’re super happy to see that the sign saying that warehouse was open. Sadly though the warehouse door was locked and now we see their hours on Google say they’re not open today. It might help to add ‘bring in the sign’ to the closing procedures. It happens, we’ve done it too.