Don't let the name fool you.
If you see Jeff Wosleger driving his truck down Ocean Ave., wrapped in advertising for his Budget Blinds franchise, he doesn't want you to think that he's selling a discount product.
"Someone might say 'Oh, Budget Blinds. I'm not on a budget, why would I worry about the money?' But it's not like that.
"We can go from $99 a window to $920 a window," Wosleger says. "The whole thing with 'budget' in the name is that we'll work with any budget."
That flexibility is what makes Wosleger's business unique; he offers a price point that is available to almost anyone who is living in the community. And doing right by the people in the community is a high priority for him and his team.
"We're a local business. I'm going to see you at ShopRite. I'll see you at Red Rock," he says. "I want to be able to say 'Hi.' I don't want to have to hide behind the Cheerios because we had a bad experience."
Breakfast jokes aside, the experience is something that Wosleger's team strives to deliver at an elite level. Whether a person is looking for roller shades – he says that product is a whole lot better and varied than what you might remember; they can be motorized and hooked up to your phone or an Amazon Alexa – or plantation shutters in deep wood tones, there is something for everyone from the deep catalog of manufacturers that Budget Blinds can tap into.
"You don't have to come to a showroom and say, 'I'm not sure how it's going to look'," he says of their personalized approach. "We come to you, it's like a concierge service. You can see it in your space, which removes doubt."
Being in the client's home is a privilege that Wosleger and his team take seriously.
"Most of the time, we're putting something in a favorite part of a house. We want to make sure that they feel good," he says.
His hope is that the work they do, from Tommy Bahama-style shutters to outdoor treatments that can screen in a gazebo or porch, will leave the customer feeling satisfied. They'll do custom shapes and finishes on wooden shutters and have valances, drapes and fabric treatments. "Total eye candy for like a formal living or dining room," he calls it. And if a job well done leads to a review on any platform, well that's just a bonus for Wosleger and his team.
"It's a currency. It really is," he says of the value of a customer vouching for his work.
With the backing of a parent company that has roughly 1,300 franchises in North America, Wosleger and his team are able to really stand behind the products they sell, which come with a first-in-class warranty.
After spending the first part of his career in media sales, and commuting into Manhattan, Wosleger opened his Budget Blinds franchise about six years ago and has relished being able to live and work in the same community.
"I didn't make many 3:30p soccer games," he says of the first 25 years of his career. "I didn't see the community until the weekend. (Doing this) has exposed me to a lot of things that I missed.
"I live here. I'm not driving 45 minutes into an area and then leaving. I'm in it."
Budget Blinds of Long Branch is owned and operated by Jeff and Trish Wosleger. You can contact the office at 732-203-6340 and visit them online at www.budgetblinds.com/long-branch-nj/
Editor's note: Photos included are representations of some of the products offered by Budget Blinds. Images of Budget Blinds' work can be found on their website.
"We get the opportunity to change somebody's living space. We take it seriously. We're in their home."