Aaron Brothers Art & Framing

Unfortunately I have had 2 custom framing pieces done here — and been disappointed BOTH TIMES. The first was getting two jerseys mounted in a shadow box frame (and it was quite costly) — only to have the the tag sticking out and crocked AND it was not mounted properly and started to fall inside the frame!!! I had to take it back and have it re-​mounted.
The second time, I had a custom mat cut and my artwork framed. The artwork was placed inside the mat with part of it sticking out causing an odd wrinkle and it did not lay flat. I had them re-​do it – and it’s better, but the more that I look at the frame on the wall, the more I can see the mat itself is actually not straight — causing the picture to look crooked on my wall!!!
But I will live with it — as I don’t want to have to go into the store again and wait for another mistake.
I have since taken my business to the Geary Street Aaron Brothers in San Francisco — and they did an amazing job on my last custom prints I had framed and mounted there for the holidays. The customer service is stellar and they also have a higher volume of merchandise there.
Looks like I’ll be heading into the city from now on — to get my custom framing done.

I came to this store looking for a frame to add to my DIY project. Additionally, I had 3 frames gifted to me that I wanted to exchanged, packaged, w/​a receipt. I came in and there was an employee at the counter. No greeting, no hello… and I looked a bit puzzled b/​c it say first time there. I came up to the counter and immediately felt not welcomed. I had to pull teeth to get some answers about an exchange. I even offered to make it easier and let the guy know I can take store credit b/​c I will be buying something. Got a very annoyed response.
Then I went and looked for a frame that I could buy. I found a great frame, wrong size. But there were other sizes. I asked if I could get help and once again it was like pulling teeth. He didn’t even move from where he was standing. He just answered some questions unwittingly as if he doesn’t work there. He told me where to go by pointing upstairs of the store. Uh, thanks.
I came back and picked out a frame. There was a penny sale. I wanted to use a coupon. One that works because I just wanted one frame. I even got attitude for not wanting to use the penny sale and my own 50% off coupon. I looked at the guy’s name and his name is Christopher.
Whoever looks at these reviews needs to check on Christopher. Either he was having a bad day or just hates his job. But it definitely doesn’t make me want to buy jack from this store.

i went in for some custom mats that were ridiculously expensive. the cutter left the price on the board, which was $ 7.95. i got two 20×24 mats with slightly different size openings and was charged $ 80! and this was the cheapest mat board they had.

I went to this store 30mins prior to closing. Store was empty and there were two employees in the store. I got my answers quickly answered and thought there was great customer service. Going to this store during off hours helps as they are usually quite busy with lots of customers.

I came here for some art supplies. Although smaller, its not as chaotic and overwhelming as Michaels. While the people that waited on my were friendly and courteous, there was a VERY heated exchange going on in the back room between two employees — something about an audit. There was swearing, yelling and I honestly thought someone was going to get hurt. This is not cool — besides being unprofessional, it made me as the customer, uneasy. If you have a problem with another employee, take it up with your supervisor — but don’t air your dirty laundry in front of everybody.

Great customer service. Great pricing. Andre, Terrell are like batman and robin. Helped me out with my frames and Matt returns. Hit up their penny sale.

I went to Aaron Brothers for advice on frames for certificates. With hardly anyone in the store I waited for 15 mins. for anyone to even acknowledge me or say «hello, can I help you?» I usually don’t pull the race card but I was getting skipped over and over again by white customers. I stayed patient, and approached the counter for the third time for help. A woman 5 mins later approached the counter and we waited for another 10 mins. for help together. I approached two of the employees that were socialising while there were customers at the counter and asked them for assistance. One of the employees came to the counter and skipped me again and said the woman was next. I said that I was waiting here for 30 mins. and he told me that she was to. I left the store and signed up for Unilocal

Yes the painting looks beautiful, but I will NEVER go here again for custom framing because of their crooked pricing. I found a great mom n pop framing store in Westlake who actually charges fair prices for good work.

I took in a picture to be framed that was an odd size. I had taken it to a well known craft store that wanted to charge me $ 340. I decided to try Aaron Brothers. After looking at the frames myself, I spoke with the assistant manager Andre. We walked up stairs to the premade frames. He showed me a mat that made the picture pop! He then found the perfect frame, It took maybe 2 minutes to find what I had been looking for. It will be done on Monday and the cost was $ 150. I will never shop anywhere else for this type of item.

Needed to frame a gift and was greeted with amazing service and helpful advice from the store manager (Andre) sorry if i got your name wrong, you know who you are and you were wonderful. I recommend anyone needing professional service and quality products to frequent this location!

Save yourself time and frustration and go anywhere but here. After bringing in a painting to be custom framed and being charged almost $ 700 up front, their customer service is pathetic.
They ordered the frame and told me it would be ready in 10 days and they would call when finished. On the 12^th day I called to check status because I never received a call. Apparently the first frame came in damaged so they ordered another one. They didn’t bother to call to tell me this at all.
They then informed me that it would be another 10 days. Begrudgingly I said OK. I waited for their call – that never happened. I called them again, this time at 10 days on the dot. I was informed the second ordered frame was the incorrect size and it would be another 10 days. I insisted they expedite it since it was their mistakes this whole time. They finally did. After yet another week even with expediting the frame, I come to pick it up and the painting is upside-​down. I had to wait an additional 40 minutes for them to fix that.
The people at this store – and over the course of a month I think I’ve dealt with them all – lack any competence whatsoever. Find another frame store. I’m sure you’ll be happier!

I only shop at Aaron Brother’s twice a year, and that’s when they have their Buy 1, Get 1 Cent sale. I give it three stars, because outside of this time, everything they sell is overpriced. Here are three tips to make sure that you’re not breaking the bank at Aaron Brothers:
1) If you can, wait until the Buy 1 Get 1 for 1 Cent Sale. They have one running now through February 3^rd and the next one is in August for the Summer months. From a business perspective, you’ll notice that the sale began right AFTER Christmas the day after all the gifts have been passed out… that brings me to tip #2.
2) If you need to shop outside this period and your frame is NOT on sale, go online and find a 50% off coupon for one regular priced item. You can save the paper and just show the coupon on your smart phone.
3) NEVER EVER EVER pay full price for an item at Aaron Brothers unless your desperate or don’t feel bad spending more than what you should be spending on any given item. There is a reason they still do so well, even with the buy 1 get 1 sale and handing out 50% off coupons every week. They just inflate the price.
Don’t let Aaron Brothers burn a hole in your pocket. Your art work and pictures are worth a lot, but it doesn’t mean the frames you hold them in need to be worth more!

Okay, so truth be told, I used to work at a boutique-​style framing shop in San Francisco (it was not Aaron Bros). So I’m very biased. That being said, I think Aaron Brothers offers a fair amount of products that are priced semi-​appropriately. They also have a lot of of frames in «weird» sizes like 9′ x 12′ and 14′ x 18′, which are usually pretty hard to find. But, not that this specific store can help it – their products are cheaply made. Make sure to thoroughly examine the joints and corners of whatever ready-​made frame you pick out, because a lot of them can be scratched up or not joined correctly. Basically, as long as you’re attentive to little details, everything should work out fine. Mats are overpriced for what you get – the only options I saw were 4-​ply.
I ordered a custom mat yesterday and picked it up today. But when it came time to fit my photo in, the opening was not square, and its edges were wobbly. I was pretty surprised, considering that they probably have a mat cutting wizard to do all the cutting for them. Maybe not? Either way, I probably could have done a better job by holding an X-​acto knife with my toes. I decided to call and get it recut before complaining about it on Unilocal.Susan was very professional and apologetic, and recut it within an hour after we spoke. Unfortunately, this second mat was the size of my image, so it didn’t work either – even though I had specified the size of the image itself (the mat opening needs to be at least ¼″ inch smaller one each side to hold it in). She had it cut again, which turned out fine, but it was definitely a hassle.

Wow, should’ve read the reviews before going here. The customer service is truly abominable. I’m more than willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but not when they simply can’t be bothered to show courtesy.
I think people’s experiences may differ because the people who just want to get something framed seem to get special priority, whereas people waiting at the register have to wait a half an hour or so to get noticed.
What a nightmare.
Here was my experience: I went in one night a few weeks ago to get some frames, and maybe an art supply or two. I wandered the store, never got asked if I needed help. That’s fine, I’m okay choosing stuff. But I guess it was a precursor of things to come. I laid my haul beside the counter because it was getting too heavy for me to hoist. So I took some time collecting over $ 100 worth of stuff.
I passed one of the employees, who was walking up the stairs at the same time, and said distinctly «Okay, I think I’m finally ready!» He said nothing in response, and walked over to the framing section, which *faces” the register but is far enough away that your staring at them has no effect.
He and another employee took ages working with the people getting things framed, *never* saying anything like «Be with you soon! Sorry for the wait!»
The seeming head employee of the shift said to the woman getting something framed, «If you need anything else, you come find me, I work [x] hours, even if there’s a line, I will come and help you.» Uh, no kidding you’ll help her when there’s a line, talk about poor priorities. Was he flirting with her or what?
Another woman got in the line behind me at the register and called something like «We’re ready!»
The head employee barked, «In a minute!» as if we should have known he wasn’t going to take even more ages of time.
Then, he didn’t even come to the register, the other, female employee did. She seemed very spaced out. She didn’t apologize for the wait either. She barely put things in bags and made a helpless gesture when I asked if there was a larger bag for my big frame.
I had a colored pencil which she didn’t put in the bag either and would have rolled away after I paid for it, if I hadn’t kept a hawkeye on everything and said, «where’s my pencil?» then grabbed it as it was rolling off the counter. I would’ve had a better experience with some grocery store DIY checkout computers.
I should’ve just walked out, but after all that I felt like I should at least get some of the frame discounts. Never again going here. You lost several hundred dollars more in business from me at least, Aaron Brothers Colma. Hire better employees.

This place is disrespectful. I waited 20 minutes for service. Lazy ass workers didn’t do a dam thing for me., I hate corporations. They were going to charge me 800 in order to frame a picture. Fuckin assholes. Aaron brothers are playing people. Wake up America. Some wood and acrylic. My tv doesn’t cost that much. My nice kitchen table doesn’t cost that much and it has granite. Wake up and stand up for what’s right. And what’s right is not what Aaron brothers is doing. Their employees get paid minimum wage, where’s the money going? The frame is not made outta gold. Go to hell Aaron brothers, go straight to hell.

I haven’t gotten superb customer service like this in a long time! I’m actually not too picky on customer service to begin with but boy, do these guys (at this location) knock it out of the park.
I came in with some artwork I did in college that I wanted framed. Tito patiently waited and gave input as I selected the frame and mat board. I can get very picky if a shade and layout isn’t just right and he walked me through it and gave me some really good suggestions. I got my mat board back and it was cut to perfection — there were three holes that needed to be cut to display the artwork and they were done with precision.
Second, the frame I purchased that day had some defects that I didn’t discover until I took off the plastic. I came in a week later and bumped into Lisa, who I later discovered was the district manager. She called two different stores to do an inventory check and my item wasn’t in stock. So, she actually took down my name and number, and checked each store during her travels. She managed to find my frame in Modesto and brought it back to the Daly City location for me! I picked up my frame a few days ago but never got to thank her. I intend to give her a call tomorrow.
It’s rare to see that kind of customer service these days. I’m used to the «what ever’s out on the shelf is all we have» response. Tito went over and beyond with his help in selecting my mat and Lisa actually followed up! These guys have won me over with their customer service! 5 stars!
UPDATE 1÷21÷2012:
Tito hooked it up yet again! He framed a oddly shaped certificate I had and weighed in on the color of the wood and the gold accent that would really tie the frame in with the other two diplomas I have. Just got it on the wall and it looks spectacular! Couldn’t be more pleased!

I’ve never gotten anything custom-​framed before, so I don’t have a clear point of reference. That said, I was less than impressed with the final product and Aaron Brothers’ aesthetic standards.
I brought in an antique map to get framed for a birthday gift. The paper itself is a non-​standard size, and the borders surrounding the map are unequal; the top and bottom have about a 1-​inch margin to the paper edge, while the sides have hardly any space at all. I knew that these discrepancies would show up in the finished product, since I didn’t want a mat, and that was fine. At the consultation I was given to believe that the entire image would show up inside the frame.
Not so. The sides of the frame almost, but not quite, cover the border, while the top and bottom have a large margin of white space between the border and the frame. This almost haphazard result was not what I’d expected, and I said as much to the employee. She told me that they do not cut the frames in-​store, so they had just ordered a standard size (for my clearly non-​standard-​size map). She offered to order another frame and then re-​cut the glass so that the top and bottom margins would be covered up, making the border invisible, but at least even, on all sides, for an additional $ 30. But having already shelled out a large sum for a frame I apparently could have picked up off the shelf, and since I did not have any confidence that it would be any better the second time around, I decided to just take it as-​is.
I’m very disappointed that this was not a custom job at all, and I paid an exorbitant price for something I could have bought ready-​made at a small fraction of the price.

The staff was very helpful here! I always thought this was just a frame store and low and behold they sell art supplies too!

After some extensive frame shopping, my boyfriend told me to go check out Aaron’s Brothers because they have a 40% off promotion going on right now.
They sell a good variety of pre-​made frames on their upper level as well as some cute art pieces. There’s a couple i’d want to pick up for decorating. Anyways, I approached the custom framing counter and the salesperson was quite helpful. He gave me a rough quote for a double frame and explained the various options for matting and coloring; from the more reasonable to the splurge end.
Still a bit pricey, as expected but with the on going promotion I’ll probably be back. Also, if you purchase a frame from them, they can frame your photo/​document for you free of charge. Saves you the headache of alignment and crooked pages.
— Jenn

After my trip to Michaels Arts and Crafts, I noticed there was a Aaron Brothers and decided to give that place a shot.
So on the upper level they have rows of simple black frames… and sure enough I found the one I was looking for. I almost had to opt for a dark brown one instead of a black one but hidden behind the brown ones was a nice clean black one.
Lucky me… got home and framed that picture