What ever happened to quality control and customer service?
Today we are supposed to have two doors replaced. Long story but bottom line is that after weeks of delay getting the Pella door, they 1)did not send the jam extensions, 2) the vinyl cladding on the door has a freaking crack in it that was not covered up and any total MORON could see it. and 3) all you get from their phone line is a recording.
I don’t understand how they maintain a reputation. Ive called at least 5 times to have them come fix a window and they seem to care less.
Ive had it. Period.
Replies
Sounds fairly typical for Pella, to me. I've gotten a lot of screwed up stuff from them but the people try to jump on it to get it right.
But what number are you dialing? the national800?
Find out who is the rep in your area. Their business model is based on customer service and satisfaction. Everone on the team for that area gets their bonus dependent on the number of complaints that month. More than a couple of valid complaints and nobody gets zip. If they keep a track record of steadily satisfying customers while growing sales numbers, they get bigger and bigger bonuses.
Could be your area is so far down, they don't even plan to get a bonus, but the closet rep is the one you should be dealing with.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
yes you have to tell Andersen the jam dimentions..
and we have been calling the local rep....they seem to busy to return a call
Are you going to keep accepting no satisfaction at all ?
Or are you going to go higher until you find someone who WILL offer you satisfaction ?
: )Don't bogart the Ghost
Quittin' Time
Evn though your a chiefs fan.. that aient right what they did to ya. I would call their corporate customer service and complain and follow up with a letter and demand somethingmin writting. plus when you write the letter its always good to include some cc's at the bottem of the letter (whether you send them or not) such as FHB, A Carps local in your area, your congressman ect....
hope this helps and BTW RAIDERS RULE DUDE...:>)
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
Ronny...I didnt know you were a Raiders fan!!! We`re having a roller coaster season this year! J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Yep but we re on top right now with my man Reagan Upshaw back in the defense and charles woodson coming back and they just signed darrien gordon for punt returns I think we might have a good shot at it this year as long as the refs know what a fumble is.....
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
No no no....he was in the process of passing the ball....dont you always throw from the chest?J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Yah, we like the Raiders. I wish Madden was still coach.
I like Gruden he was the raiders but coach calahan hes getting a little more animate starting to snarl ect yea he's beginning to fit the mold nicely..this Denver game in the moseleum is going to be interesting
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
Chiefsfan is suspiciously silent after the initial rant.
Care to fill us in on the whole story?
Hes probably your typical chiefsfan he'll stay quiet until after the Raiders play the chiefs at the black hole and then If they win he'll show up and talk his smack
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
The whole story?
Sure...The house has (or had) two doors that needed to be replaced. They were old Peachtree doors that had rotted jams and were too far gone to mess with.
The objective was simple...take out the old and replace with new ones. One Andersen, one Pella. The decision on the brands was driven by appearence and location.
The Andersen is the new top of the line door and the Pella is their wood core/vinyl clad on a basement walk out.
Not to be too simple, ordered the doors...gave all the correct info...Pella was ordered direct from Pella, the Andersen from Lumberyard (not a big box).
So...the pella is a mess when it gets here, not only the wrong size with no jam extensions but also vinyl has a crack about 4 inches long in it.
The Andersen looks great, works fine, no problem. Pella finally called back. Gee, it will be Jan 9-10 before they canget us the door. Sorry about that.Wine is God's way of capturing the sun.
#1-You have a door problem not a jamb problem. You already have the jambs so reuse them.
#2- where was your moron when they were delivered
#3-The way of the world bud. While your online a customer might be ranting "I got another busy signal."
Exactly what was the original problem???? We like long stories or was it a no fault situation which they decided to give replacements to keep peace?
Inquiring minds want to know!!!!
Did you purchase through the local Pella store, or through a retailer (HD), lumber supply? A neighbor had a Pella door problem and a similar experience. Five months of calling the local HD and no repairs. After the ladies husband died, I got them out there to correct the problem. Had to make a personal visit to the HD and the local Pella store. In twenty plus years of dealing with Pella, this is about thier norm around here.
Dave
I hear ya!
We generally recommend all major window man. to people to go and see which look they like. Then we price the ones they liked and we give them our opinion of those based on experience. Over the last 2 years I have seen nothing but problems with pella products. 8 year old completely rotten metal clads with no responsibility taken on by pella and it took them forever to even come and look. Thank God we didn't contract that place. We just put in approx 25 units in a new house. They were pella-low-line and could you ever tell. They had bowed the jambs putting the factory extentions on, some with totally uneven reveals. Their service is atrocious. I always try to steer people away now. Its just not worth the risk.
"they cut the forest down to build a piece of crap"
ian
Wiley, Andersen's Frenchwood Glider does not offer extension jambs. You may be able to get your local source of Andersen to apply shop made extensions for you but they won't be factory applied or made. On the Frenchwood Hinge series, you can order either interior or exterior extensions in three different widths. The factory won't apply either type but your supplier may do this as well. Their website (http://www.andersenwindows.com) has excellent detail drawings available.
Al
CF
Try a registered letter to the main office stating your complaints and let them know what the next letter they'll be getting if you get no reply in three bussiness days.
Good luck
a
One works on oneself, always. That's the greatest gift you can give to community because the more you extricate your mind from that which defines separateness, that defines community. The first thing is to become community. "Ram Dass"
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
The extensions are all on the inside by my memory. The exterior has that flange that appears to be the zero point in their dimensions.
If you are caseing the windows yourself, then consider the standard depth. With the drywall, framing variations etc it will probably be necessary to make a return anyway to match the window caseing. I remember when I bought mine the extended depth made a pricey option.
Question on the stucco. Is this an older house that has builtup stucco over the years? The former owner of my house lived there for 40 plus years putting on another layer of mud every 2 years. It is a nightmare to even put in a vent for a dryer. It has to be 2 inches thick. If you've got an older house then I think I understand the question on where the extended jamb extension is extended.
The frame of the window has a vinyl flange that thankfully slips into a vinyl plated groove on the exterior (side and top) of the frame. If that was moveable or specifiable then it could be useful for retrofitting the thickening stucco on my old structure.
Don't forget to use the sealing tape (tar strip) to seal the window to the sheathing on your building. That and drip edge.
I was just "passing through" the postings and saw your question. I have used Milgard windows for many years in very large homes and have found them to be completely reliable. I'm in Portland Oregon near one of their factories which helps service etc. I really like there turnaround times. We fram the house, make needed improvements to the window layouts and order the windows while the framers are on the roof. Typically in 8-10 biz days they are on site. The screen dept is great. The service department is very responsive and great with clients. We had a large custom home with serveral large french doors they supplied, 8 footers. Long story short, they replaced them all due to a manufacturing problem without an argument and changed their manufacturing process from this issue to avoid future problems. If you have an unusual application, like a high wind area we were in, their teck people will work with you to design the right stuff into the window. They make noise resistand options too. So...I'm a strong proponent.
Andersen frenchwood are available with a 6-9/16 ex jamb kit that mounts on the outside, we recently installed one. It comes with a sill extender as well. This allows your doors to swing in without hitting the jamb.
BTW, for those of you who are looking at pella, I have family member who is a branch manager. The product is good, but I have some issues with their order process, options, service, in house sales, etc.
I don't recommend them to my customers unless they mention pella specifically.
Tom
I don't want to hurt any feelings for a family member but what is your definition of a good product?
Does it include;
double hungs that won't close?
Millwork that has shredded wood fibres standing up like fingernail shavings glued to the wood from dull cutters?
glue joints that you can stick a pencil lead into?
late and wrong deliveries?
half screens that are designed to be installed so as to force you to use the double hungs like single hungs, obviating the whole purpose of installing double hung windows in the3 first place?
promising brass hardware and then failing to deliver it until after three tries? (I've got many boxes of white plastic stuff in the shop)
My experience is that Pella makes not a good product but one that is barely acceptable and then tries to cover it up with better tahn average after hours service which sometimes succeeds and more often fails because the trouble shooters get overwhelmed and over worked with too much trouble to fix when it would have been better to havre fixed that trouble by preventing it at the factory..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
So, what's your opinion on Pella windows?
Stop buying Proline's and
Learn how to install the others <g>
But then again, I've had some of the same issue's with Anderson, and other brands.
With both of these windows, you are paying a good portion for the name
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Barry E
I'm not pushing Andersen either but I'll take them way before a Pella!
When I learn that an architect is in the process of specifying Perlla, I make sure the owners and the archy know I will use them only at their risk. That leads to the question why? Once I am done explaining, the archy asks which would you prefer and I mention three or four others appropriate for the style and back off again..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Was tthinking about using Marvin windows for the addition to my house being that they seem to make windows that can have that older appearance. Whatcha think? Any other ideas? Just got the plans back yesterday. What a project this will be..WOW!
Have a great New Year
NAmaste
AndyOne works on oneself, always. That's the greatest gift you can give to community because the more you extricate your mind from that which defines separateness, that defines community. The first thing is to become community. "Ram Dass"http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
For really good older apperance /restoration quality, I would look for a local shop capable of repeating what you have.
But if that's too expensive or hard to find, the Marvins are a good choice. They finally started doing some narrow muntins..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Totally setting the appearance issue of Marvins aside, do you have any observations on the physical quality and longevity of Marvins? Will I be getting something of higher quality than Andersons to reflect the higher price?
Other than custom windows, I have yet to find production windows with better millwork. The hardware seems a little better than Anderson too. Mike and some others have had good things to say about Kolbe&Kolbe too. I just haven't ever used them.
Marvin is probably 20% better in my book than Andserson unless you are looking for true divided lights or some things like that that you can't even get from Anderson. That is sometimes the deciding factor.
.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
And why does pella put the operating panel on the outside?
Rollers die early from all the junk in the track, it's real easy to lock someone in with a stick, and inside animals destroy the screens.
Thanks. And though I didn't mention it, my primary attraction to Marvin is for getting windows that will pass for having an older style to them, including the true divided lights.
Yup, it's what a lot of mny customers choose with older homes..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Andy....dont know if its a regional thing....but here in southern NY, I often have problems with delivery dates and incomplete shipments. Other than that, a quality product.J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Hey Jay, just wanted to say I love your personal quote in your profile. Should be your tagline here.
Well, right after the one you use now! Just read that.
Edited 1/17/2003 4:34:14 PM ET by Mugsy
Thanks...its a simple creed...but I think it speaks volumes.J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Maybe my bro in law is reading this.
I really like my andersen guy. Even though the just screwed me on a delivery date.
Thing that psisses me off about pella is there orders are so detailed that even the reps don't understand them. And they wan't you to sign off on it.
Sometimes less options are better. Proline is probably a decent value for the masses, considering the options. But I'm not sticking up for them.Tom