A Showering of Customer Service

Once the location of a mattress retailer, the storefront at 140 Jericho Turnpike has moved from bedding to bath with the opening of , a new retail location of which is concentrating on the aesthetics and glasswork design of the home washroom.

The Mineola location is the newest branch of the family-owned company, which has other locations in Massapequa and Huntington Station. While the Massapequa store shares "The Shower Door" moniker, the Mineola location seems to have borrowed Huntington's - "A World of Mirrors and Glass." The store is encased by a glass door and while inside, the glass front desk, and mirrored walls and ceiling surround the many shower displays featuring both simple and high-end units.

Despite the openness created by the unending reflective surfaces, the store may seem small compared to big chains like Home Depot and Lowe's, but employees at do not consider the family owned company a "small business."

Customers can order custom-made doors and other glass products like table-tops and mirrors, crafted by Shower Door glaziers in a full-service glass shop at the Massapequa location. Custom orders placed in Mineola or Huntington Station are delivered to the appropriate store for the customer's convenience.

All doors purchased and installed by the company are eligible for service for the life of the product; a database stores all purchases since the opening of the original store. "Shower doors of today need service down the road," said Linda, the manager of all three Shower Door locations, who declined to give her last name. "So it's very, very important to go with a company that's going to be here down the road."

The Shower Door handles all aspects of the units it carries, including sales, installation and service. The company separates itself from small businesses through an in-house training program for installers. Trainees are required to complete a four-year apprenticeship, shadowing a veteran installer in the field.

Trained sales representatives also provide customers with "an education" about the pros and cons of each unit, Linda said. Years of experience make it possible for Shower Door employees to even navigate customers who are lost in their search for a new bathroom design. "When you're knowledgeable about all of your products, you kind of know what a person needs within the first five minutes of speaking with them," said Linda.

Hanging above the Mineola location door reads the following motto: "The sadness of poor quality stays long after the happiness of a low price is forgotten." It's this commitment to customer service that makes The Shower Door still feel like a small business. "It's really a customer-oriented service at The Shower Door," Linda said. "That's basically what we're all about."