The Light Source

We first walked into the store 6 months ago with very low expectations after reading some of the reviews and hearing some ourselves… Fast forward to the present: The Light Source deserves 5 stars! Mainly thanks to Karen Siem, one of the lighting consultants. She came to our house when it was still pretty much to the studs, took measurements, pictures, she listened to us and ‘absorbed’ our vision. It took us approx 3 months to place our first purchase order and we couldn’t be happier! The island pendants, bathroom fixtures, ceiling fans — everything looks amazing! We keep getting compliments from family and friends. Price-​wise, Karen was able to match or even beat online prices. But her knowledge, professionalism, patience — are priceless!!! Thank you, Karen!

Was so very disappointed in the service here. Was looking for a new dining room pendant light, ordered it TWO months ago. Was told back then it would be three-​four weeks and they would call me. Called last week, was promised a call back. Called two days later, was again promised a call back. Finally today I refused to let them say they would call me back. It was discovered that the lamp was NEVER ordered, and that on top of the $ 200 I had already spent there would be an additional $ 130 freight charge. Oh, no one told you that? We are so sorry. I am so mad right now. I need this lamp by next week which is why I ordered it so far in advance. Now I’m caught at the last minute looking for a replacement. Will never go here again.

Ordered bathroom light fixtures from here on January 28^th. Was told it would be 4 weeks. No problem. Get a call on February 16^th, telling me how much to ship to my house extra. Assuring me the lights have been ordered. Get another call from someone else on the 20^th, telling me they are placing the order and the company wants to know if I still want the lights because now it will be 6 – 8 weeks more. Love the lights, so ok. Fuming because they dropped the ball and lied to me. But love the lights. Call on April 24^th to see where my lights are. Guess what? They came in on the 21^st and no one called me. Have one more bathroom to redo. And will be looking for another company in Cali that carries this line. Too bad.

Kathy gives me 5 star service each and every time I am at the store. She is very knowledgeable about all aspects of lighting and great to work with. There isn’t a better lighting store in the Bay Area and a more competent sales person. In addition to all this help, the store offers competitive pricing. If you are serious about your lighting needs, this is where you need to be.

Great service from helpful expert with supplies in stock.
I had purchased a light fixture from an area competitor (recommended by my contractor) and was unable to make the adapter fit. The other store had nothing to offer but a new fixture. The Light Source had several ideas and ultimately found that a similar but smaller adapter would fit the tight squeeze. He then kindly wired the new adapter to the fixture to ensure I’d have no more problems.
While it was a small purchase, I know where I will shop first time, next time.

This was the second time that I have ordered from The Light Source and again had wonderful, prompt service. Ray was very knowledgeable in helping me pick out the right kind of lighting I needed for my yard. He wrote up the order and told me it would take about two weeks for delivery. After only one week he called to say my order had arrived. I was thrilled with both the service Ray provided and the selection at this store. I could spend hours just looking at all they have to offer. I will be back

Great place to finish a remodel! The showroom is packed but the staff is able to point you exactly where you need to go. They are friendly too

Horrible experience! I have 3 pendant lights and I needed to order a canopy and for them to assemble them for me. I called beforehand to see if they could do it and they told me to come into the store. I showed the sales associate and right from the beginning she told me she doesn’t think the light specialist can do it. Even though I am sure she has never assembled a light and just sales the lights. She calls the light specialist to come over.
He does not say one word to me and starts flipping through books. He finally shows me a canopy and says it comes in Bronze or Nickel (my pendants are black!) and I’m not sure how exactly or if it will fit on this. Now what exactly am I suppose to do with this, not helpful, information. Either you can do it or you can’t!
I ask him, then what am I suppose to do… a bronze or nickel canopy will not match a black pendant and how is it going to fit on there… how will it look? I think to myself, I mean you are the light expert here, right? He says, spray paint it. WTH. I ask, are there any other options, you are not giving me very much information, you are not being helpful. I start getting upset and he starts getting mad and he walks away while saying, well I’m not helping you. Are you serious?!
The lady who first helped turns out to be the manager! Even though she was there the whole time she did not come over and help the situation. His rudeness was simply uncalled for and she had nothing to say for him or anything else for that matter. I was amazed at the lack of customer service and stormed out. I will never step foot in that store again and advise others to do the same.

Terrible. Ordered a product 2.5 months ago and it finally arrived and turns out many items needed to install the fixture were missing! Then we are told that the manufacturer of the fixture «never meant for this to happen» but that they cannot get the parts to us for another month! Seriously!!! And of course there is no guarantee that those pieces will even arrive. What a complete waste of time and money. We went to the light source through an interior designer’s relationship with them and will never go there again. So irritating!

I went in to this star ready to make a major purchase on a statement piece of lighting for my daughters room. Not one of the staff greeted me. We walked around for nearly 20 minutes without being acknowledged by a single person at the store. Disgraceful! I will spend my money elsewhere.

I will never come back to this place.
I came in to get a replacement for a light bulb — shocker, they didn’t have it. They special order it for me, and the lady who helped me was VERY nice but extremely slow. They process of ordering something took forever
So — trip 2 — I pick up the bulb a week later — and upon leaving I think hmm — this box seems a LITTLE BIG
Trip 3 — and this is what REALLY drove me nuts — I come in to exchange the bulb. The lady behind the counter (Not the same helpful one from earlier) starts SLOWLY flipping through BINDERS (GET A COMPUTER — ITS 2012 — & not those old crappy balck and white computers you currently have)
Well — while I’m tapping my toe — and TELLING her how annoyed I am that this is my third trip to the store… She STOPS LOOKING FOR MY BULB TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE IN THE STORE — I have NEVER had this happen before — it was so rude I was flabbergasted, told her to stop looking for a replacement and give me my money back.
Worst service I have received, can’t believe she let me walk out like that — NO idea how this store stays in business.

For the past 20 years I have used The Light Source as my source of lighting & lighting consultation. The owner Vickie is quite knowledgeable in the application of light and use of lighting. Karen is also excellent. Their show room is packed with high quality lighting fixtures.
They have guided on a number of house projects —
–spot lighting on an art piece — needing the correct bulb, filter and switch without burning out the neighboring light switches.
— track lighting — they have lots of «track lights» to choose from & guided me to the number of tracks needed and the type of bulbs to use
— recessed lighting — they helped plan the placement & size of the lights
— pendant light for a kitchen island — creativity showing that bending the rail gives another dimension to the pendant lighting
Go to the Light Source. They listen, care and take time to help each person with their lighting needs.

When compared to the wretched service provided at San Ramon Lighting, anything shines. This is one of the advantages of having what is most likely the worst business on the planet a stone’s throw away. LightSource, however, stands on its own.
It is my well-​lit opinion that there isn’t a better lighting company in the East Bay. Amazing ownership, amazing service and amazing products.
If you want cheap, go to Home Depot. If you want quality, go to the LightSource.

Came here to find an outdoor light fixture for a pergola. They were very helpful and very knowledgable. I would definetely do business with them again.

If you are claustrophobic or very tall, beware of this place. It is packed and stacked and with so much on display it is hard to tell what is what.
I will say that customer service is awesome-​we were asked by at least 3 different staff if we needed help or were looking for anything in particular. Since the husband and I were just browsing, we didn’t need help, but found some ideas of things we liked after doing a little bit of ducking around.
Since I really like to support local business, I wanted to give this place a try, but I am not sure if we have lighting needs this is the store I will choose just due to how overwhelming the space/​inventory was but we shall see.

When you walk into this place, it has the feel of your Grandma’s Attic. Everything feels a bit haphazard and chaotic. However, the staff here truly knows where each style of light/​lamp/​fixture is within the store. I, personally, don’t know how they manage the crazy vibe inside there… but they seemingly have a system to their managed chaos.
The prices are pretty intense here… but their inventory includes items that are very unique and different from your standard Target/​Home Depot finds.
Go here for your special lighting needs… you will likely find something… just don’t look at the price tag. ;-)

I don’t do New Years Resolutions. I do random «I’m going to do this from now ons» throughout the year.
This year its I’m going to buy more American Made products. This coming from the self proclaimed Queen of Walmart.
We needed a new light for our newly remodeled bathroom I wanted to come here for variety and uniqueness. I wanted something no one else who just would walk into a Lowes would get.
I found my American made light. Unfortunately I cant remember the name of the light I chose. It was made right here in Rhode Island.
Service was initially slow. I wandered around flicking on and off the lights on display. I shorted out two different gondolas of lights. I loved the loud popping sound it made when it shorted out.
The gentlemen who helped me was very helpful and knowledgeable and instructed me on how not to short out their displays. Sorry!
Keep in mind with the resolution of buying American made you are going to pay more. Its worth it though. You get the hands on customer service that is knowledgeable and right there for you.
Plus you’re helping fellow Americans out too. You cant beat that. I do my part every time I flick the switch on my brand new modern light. Made right here in the U, S of A.

Knowledgeable, good selection but a little high priced.

Al at Light Source is the best. After about 3 minutes of parousing the in-​house selection, he came up to us right away to ask what we were looking for. Most of what they can provide are in catalogs, so within a few seconds we were handed exactly what we were needed along with post-​its to mark pages. Soon after we were done, he made copies and priced everything we chose so we could make our final selections. We were out in about an hour. Not what we were expecting for the rather large remodeling project we are undertaking! Will certainly be back here when we tackle other parts of our home. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Monty at The Light Source helped me diagnose a problem I had with a low voltage light that I could not figure out. He checked each part that I brought in, checked it and found that I had bad transformers. He sold me a part that worked even better for less money than the factor transformer. It solved the problem, something I had been dealing with for two full days and looking at for a couple of years. Thanks again!