Great Beginnings

Show room looks great. The sales staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the all products. If they don’t know the answer right away they will do so what they can to figure it out. Definitely worth a visit!

This place is excellent. It has a really nice selection of items and layouts to give a good idea of how to decorate a nursery.
We ended up buying a Dutalier rocker from them and the customer service and product selection were excellent. The estimated delivery was 10 – 14 weeks and as we approached week 14 (and my due date) and the rocker was still not ready, they brought us a very nice Dutalier free of charge to tide us over until ours arrive.
Would highly recommend them!

Before you make a trip here, know that this is a great store but does not have much in the way of clothes and has no food items.
Great beginnings is the best baby store I’ve been in. We were pretty much set on furniture and everything by the time we moved here and I found it, but as my 1 ½-​year-​olds grow and get into more shenanigans, I’ve gotten most of my baby-​proofing gear here. They have everything in that area, even stuff I’d never thought of. Babies R Us doesn’t even come close.
They do have furniture, strollers, feeding stuff, decorations, and toys, and it’s all really nice. I’ve gotten some toys here, but looking at the prices of furniture, it would be out of my budget if I needed any of it. They *do* have a broad range of prices, but they have a really great selection of very nice stuff.
Staff is super friendly and helpful, and when they haven’t had what I wanted they’ve steered me to websites where I can find it. They also signed me up for notifications of local children’s events.

Echoing the previous reviewers — the furniture delivery situation is truly abysmal. I ordered a Pali dresser, nightstand, and crib on April 25 with the promise it would be delivered in 11 – 14 weeks. Well now it has been almost 27 weeks and still no crib. The dresser and nightstand were delivered about a month ago after a snafu in which the delivery people showed up at 11 while we were out when our window was 1 – 4. The store then said I was in the wrong and had the delivery window wrong — though I distinctly asked them for a morning time because that would work better for us but was told the morning would not work. Anyway, the one thing that was helpful was they also delivered a loaner crib so my now 3 month old could sleep in a crib. On September 30, I received an email saying our crib was on its way and should arrive in a week and to expect a call to schedule delivery. Today is October 22. Still nothing. I called last week asking for an update and have not heard back (well out of their 3 business day return call promise). I called again yesterday and we will see what happens. I am thoroughly frustrated. Yes they have high quality furniture; but unless you order before conception, don’t expect it any time close to when baby arrives. Or any time in infancy for that matter.

Echoing the reviews below. If you plan to buy something from the showroom store then you are in luck. If you have to order and get something delivered… DON’T DO IT. I had one order that is taking 3 separate shipments (I am stilling waiting for the third shipment…18 weeks later). In addition, I was told delivery would be from 900 to 1100… they show up at 1:45. I also purchased the Nuna pack ‘n play and told them I would pick up at the store because of a horrific logistics setup they have. Guess what they are delivering it to my apartment… took them 2 days to «find» the FedEx tracking number. I only hope that I get it.
I repeat… think twice before getting something ordered and delivered. Don’t let the front desk personnel or manager fool you they have a horrible delivery setup.
Don’t Do It! Save the time and money and go thru Amazon. If not on Amazon… kindly rethink what you want to buy.

Our experience with Great Beginnings Gaithersburg has been less than wonderful. The Gaithersburg office closed this week (evidently, though we weren’t informed, despite having an outstanding order with them), so I’m leaving this review at the Chantilly location, since they’re handling the delivery of what we ordered now months ago and are still waiting on.
We had two orders with Great Beginnings Gaithersburg, one of which has been delivered (and the VERY, very end of the 10 – 14 week window, if not a bit later), and the furniture itself is fine. However, it took a lot of back and forth to get delivery updates, etc. and not a lot of pro-​active information from them through this process. But that delivery went okay, for the most part.
We were also told in the midst of this that something we had ordered in order #1 hadn’t been ordered on time, either, which is probably why we waited so long on that shipment. No one took any responsibility for this, though, or tried to offer us any kind of credit for our inconvenience. Either way, had I not followed and clarified this over and over, I’m not sure a lot of what we ordered wouldn’t have been forgotten or left off completely.
The frustrating part has been phase II, as we ordered a glider later than our first order (May) and when we did so, got a vague response from the staff about if it could be expedited to arrive with the original order (placed in early April) or if it would have it’s own 10 – 14 week window. Despite the vague answer, we went ahead and ordered it as we needed a glider regardless, over the phone. A few WEEKS went by before we were informed that what we’d ordered was actually out of stock. We then re-​ordered it, setting us further behind, which took a lot of phone calls and confusion and back and forth, and it still isn’t here as of today (despite an 8 – 11 a.m. delivery window – the truck broke down and I had to call 2x to get an update that it would be here «sometime this afternoon” – again, no proactive information from their staff – it was 1 p.m. by the time I heard from their driver – whole day, gone).
Today is in the 16^th week of our 10 – 14 week window. Needless to say, sitting on the floor to feed a newborn in the middle of the night for weeks on end has not been the most awesome thing. Admittedly, some of this is our fault as we didn’t order things as early as we should have and our baby was early, but waiting this long was NOT part of the agreement and there were many unnecessary delays due to GB’s lack of follow-​through and communication.
This, mixed with the lack of info and accountability on their part in addition, has only added to the hassle. I’ve spent a lot of time emailing and calling to try to get info that I could have easily been provided proactively by them, saving me a lot of time and worry. They would often promise a call back by X date and not call, so I’d have to follow-​up again. So much fun with a newborn baby, because you don’t have anything else to spend your time on.
I also asked their store when I called and emailed for the upteenth time to ask for an update if they would be doing something to compensate us for the late delivery inconvenience (TWICE) and was told, «They’ll handle that when they schedule delivery.» No one has mentioned it and I’m so over this whole thing, I doubt I’ll bother to follow up.
Given the high reviews and recommendations of this store, we have been quite disappointed in the quality of service, and especially delivery, which was the main reason we went there instead of somewhere like Target or Ikea, to avoid the inconvenience of assembly, hauling stuff, etc. I had intended this to be our go-​to for other furniture needs for our family, but won’t shop here anymore.
As is, this process has been far more inconvenient and we wish we’d just gotten cheaper furniture and assembled it ourselves weeks ago. No wonder one of their locations shut down.
And I wish the Baby Bargains book would stop listing them as a favorite, as that’s how we heard about them. Definitely added a lot of stress to our newborn experience.

I wish I read these reviews before buying my baby furniture! Is now 14 weeks that i bought the whole room with the promise that wouldn’t be longer than that, and so far I have no furniture and no information about the delivery date. If I call the status delivery department, the maximum I can do is to leave a message. Nobody NEVER answer the call and at the store «there is nothing that they can do, but transfer to the status delivery department». I’m VERY disappointed!

Great quality, nice people but if you are ordering furniture GO SOME WHERE ELSE. My daughter was 3 months pregnant when I ordered a beautiful crib. The staff was friendly and assured us it would be delivered in 3 months. Today my daughters having her baby and we have no crib. Can’t get calls back when we finally get someone on the phone they say they will call you back and don’t call back. They won’t stay in business with this kind of customer service.

Going to echo many other reviews. Great and very knowledgeable staff, extremely friendly people, great selection, good prices, etc. you won’t find store clerks who know more about baby gear, car seats, strollers anywhere else! The issue is if you order any furniture. It takes forever, they don’t get back to you as to when it might be delivered, they provide no updates, and essentially go dark. After multiple emails, telephone calls and (finally) an in store visit, I got an update about my furniture– it won’t be ready for another 2 weeks. It’s frustrating because I’d like to give my $$ to them vs baby r us or Amazon but the ordering experience isn’t great with them. At all.

The staff here and the store here are absolutely the best we have experienced so far in any baby store.
Visit the store if you want to look at what is the best in the market or pick up items that are available in store. But for things like furniture — order from somewhere else if you want it in any reasonable amount of time.
We ordered baby furniture expecting delivery to be just as good service in the store. However their order management and customer service after the purchase has left a lot to be desired. It has been about 3 months since we ordered furniture and we still haven’t received it yet. They need you to pay in full at the time of order, which in hindsight is ridiculous.

I wish that I had known about this place 10 months ago! I had no idea that this place was around while pregnant. After going recently, I was very impressed by their selection of high quality nursery furnishings including non-​toxic beds and baby accessories. They have a wide selection of Aden and Anais products including their bamboo line. They also have several options for non-​toxic and organic mattresses.
The staff was very helpful, and I wish I could have walked out of the store with the crib that I had researched, but 10 to 14 weeks turnaround was too much for us. I understood that it was shipping from Canada, but 14 weeks while pregnant is different than 3 months with a baby who needs a bed now.
I will certainly keep the store in mind for upcoming baby-​related purchases.

I too would rate this store a zero based on having paid a significant amount of money several months ago and still not having our furniture. We’ve walked in and called at least six times about status and each time they don’t have a clue about when it may come. Repeated promises to follow up with us about status have never been met.

I have no idea why this place is rated so high. The Web site is terrible! I registered with them, and my friends couldn’t navigate the Web site, but had to go to Amazon or Best Buy to buy me gifts. Also, my mother-​in-​law bought us a crib from them in February, and it’s still not ready. When I called, they kept saying they will call me back, three times, nobody ever did.

This place is amazing. AMAZING! Their customer service can’t be beat. Let me start by saying that I was skeptical at first, because it looked like a large warehouse type store, and I thought I wanted something more boutique-​like to shop for our stroller, car seat, glider, etc. I even called another «higher-​end» boutique in the area, but they didn’t have all of the Uppa Baby and Peg Perego models I wanted to see. I also didn’t get the best feeling from this other store in terms of their customer service. So, I decided to try Great Beginnings after calling and learning they had all of the models on the sales floor and whoa am I so glad I did! The associates are amazing. The manager Tina is INCREDIBLE! They spent hours with us, on two separate days, helping us pick the right products for us. Tina is SUPER knowledgeable. She really is an amazing lady. She knows everything and presented it to us in a VERY unbiased way. It wasn’t about up-​selling or her own personal opinions on products. It was about listening to us, and what we wanted, and what our personalities are like so that she could make the very best recommendation possible. She is just so warm and kind and you can tell she loves what she does and is passionate about babies, kids, and the products that best serve them and their parents. We ended up getting everything we needed from this store… and I mean everything (car seat, stroller, pack and play, glider, baby carrier, baby bouncer, clothing, swaddle blankets, bibs, toys, the list goes on and on). It was because she was so incredibly helpful. I felt like we had our own baby sherpa to help guide us through this. She had research and facts and studies to back everything up. And she didn’t care that somehow 50 minutes had passed beyond their closing time and she was still educating us on strollers. She wasn’t worried about going home (even though we felt horrible). She just wanted to be helpful and make sure we got the right product. We ended up with the Uppa Baby Vista stroller and a lot of the Nuna products because of the specifications we wanted, and the great thing is they offer all different types of products spanning the entire gamut at all price points, so you can see them up close to decide which is best for you. I can’t say enough good things about this store, it’s manager, and it’s associates and will definitely be going back JUST TO SEE TINA for all of our future baby needs. I felt like she was a consultant and partner for us, and not just a store manager. She’s amazing!

I found my shopping experience here to be good — staff was friendly and helpful, selection is great — however, my post sale experience has been dreadful. I purchased a Bolton dresser and bookshelf and a Pali dresser dresser the first week of November and I still do not have furniture in good condition (5 and ½ months later)! I was given a delivery estimate of 10 – 14 weeks, the Bolton furniture arrived around 14 weeks at the beginning of February but not the Pali. When asking about the Pali delivery, the status dept was not able to give me an accurate estimate. After asking for updates multiple times, I was told it should arrive at the end of February. When that date passed and after more attempts to contact, I was told another two weeks. In the meantime, I requested they deliver my Bolton furniture instead of waiting for the full order to be completed. When those pieces arrived, they were damaged! I was advised by after sales that a technician would call me to schedule a time to come out, they would need to determine if they could repair the pieces or if full replacement was needed. Alas, I never received a call from anyone. Finally, after 10 days and more attempts to contact after sales, I was told based on the pictures they would not be able to repair and a replacement had been ordered. It could take up to 8 weeks to be delivered. Since I had someone on the line, I asked about my Pali delivery and they promised to check the status and get back to me. When I didn’t receive a call back, I contacted the manager of the chantilly store. He rushed me off the phone but did call Gaithersburg store to have someone assist me and I received a call with a delivery date of the following week. The Pali dresser arrived in great condition, very impressed with the quality. However, I received a call last Friday that my Bolton replacements had arrived and I needed to schedule a delivery. I missed their call, called back on Monday and haven’t received a return call all week nor gave I received a reply from my email yesterday.
Overall, I’m extremely disappointed with my experience at great beginnings. It’s very difficult to get ahold of a live person and communication is sporadic at best. The customer service is extremely lacking and I feel like I had to call and email multiple times just to get a response from anyone. Thank goodness I’m on maternity leave and have the time! I had high hopes for this store, but the post sale process has turned me off entirely.

Glad I found this store! Pretty good selection of furniture and the gliders seemed to be very well priced. Like how we have the option of store pickup, saving $ 100 on delivery! Service was friendly and I will likely return in the future.

Another fantastic experience today! Thank you to everyone for your help with our new Bob jogger!!! Great store and great people.

My husband and I are soon to be first time parents and we (really me) were pretty overwhelmed at choosing anything for our baby registry. You want what you pick to be affordable, but high quality and what is best for the baby. We were about to head to Babies R Us (everyone’s first baby stop) when I came across Great Beginnings in a Google search. We decided to start with Great Beginnings this weekend to support local businesses and we are SO glad we did! The staff here was incredibly helpful without being pushy or making you feel rushed. We started with car seats and Matt helped us with a thorough overview of every feature (pros and cons) and let us try everything for ourselves to make the right selection. He was very tolerant as I asked all my questions spending probably an hour with us going over car seats and strollers. After that, we wandered the store on our own with people checking in on us periodically to ask if we had any questions (which by that point we usually did). All of our questions were answered and guidance given where we needed it. It was clear that this store takes pride in offering only the highest quality products for parents in the area while keeping prices on par with other stores and online.
After leaving Great Beginnings (after ~5 blissful and fun hours there) we drove down to Babies R Us to comparison shop. We petered out within 30 minutes of arriving after finding no one to answer our questions or give us guidance on products. It made me wish we hadn’t left Great Beginnings at all!
The only downside in our experience is that Great Beginnings doesn’t have an automated registry system yet, so you have to write down the products you want on a sheet of paper, but they have a list of common items already printed out so you can highlight those and just add anything else you need. Overall, not enough of a drawback to go down in star rating – this place is the BEST!

Wow, what a beautiful baby gear store! After shopping (with great displeasure) at Baby’s R Us, I was so happy to step inside Great Beginnings and discover attentive and knowledgeable staff, a logical layout, and pricing (at least on strollers) that was on par with Amazon.
One of their staff assisted my sister with determining which double stroller she should buy. He spent a long time with us, and offered to match (or beat) any lower online price that we found. I was so happy with how well he knew his products, that I would have felt really bad if my sister ended up buying the stroller online, so I was really glad when she went back and bought one from them a few weeks later.

I used to drive an hour out to the original Great Beginnings location. So happy we NoVa folks have a new location that is closer. I
The store isnt as large as the Gaithersburg location but it retains the original style and service. The interior is beautiful and stylish and has a ton of stuff. Easy to get to and the staff was very helpful and much better than the BRU disaster around the corner.