My feedback is not all negative, as the project/workmanship turned out well. The technicians are good. My issue is with trust and communication, from sales. I do not trust them, not for the job, just the salesman, the owner as he never followed up with my questions as promised. I feel the salesman was only concerned with the sale, not the customer.
I also blame myself
I met with the salesman and discussed my job, being 10 windows and 3 garage doors, totaling about $20,000.00. When we discussed the windows, he never brought up that they would be "white capping all the frames". We live in an 1897 home with wooden window frames and would never consider capping them.
I discovered this when I went home to the jobsite as the job was getting started; the technician said they would be capping the windows, we said, "it's not what we expected". I called the salesman and he bluntly said, "it's in the contract". No empathy, no consideration, just the statement. He was a bit rude. He did not care.
I do consider this to be partly my fault as I trusted the contract would mirror our discussions.
If you hire this company, make certain you review the contract line-item, by line-item and not simply sign the contract. The contract was sent by email for signatures with no review with sales before agreeing. Again, this is my fault for not doing so. I suggest you sit with the company and review everything, do not trust anything other than the written contract and be very thorough.
So, the solution. The technician came up with a good way to resolve this, being ¼ round PVC along the edges of the windows instead of "aluminum capping".
Within a few hours of the job completion the salesman called me asking if I had my credit and pay the bill "right now", over the phone. I never had this experience as usually a final bill is sent to pay when changes were made. My windows are very large, so I asked about the difference between capping the windows verses using ¼ round. He said the ¼ round and the capping are the same cost, which I found hard to believe as the PVC is $5.09 per 8' section and the aluminum is over $100.00 a roll. I showed and discussed this with a few high integrity contractors I know and trust. The responses were all the same, it is more labor-intensive to cap the windows, and the capping costs much more verses the ¼ round PVC.
I asked for a final billing covering the change orders before paying, and the salesman said, "I don't know what you want". So, I went to the shop and sat down with the owner who could not explain the accounting as the office assistant "was on vacation", but he wanted payment now. I paid the bill asking for a final accounting after the fact, which he said he would do. That was 2 weeks ago, and I have heard nothing.
Also, the 3 garage doors were miss-quoted. The salesman told me that 1 of my garages needed a high lift, which is more expensive and not able be done as my garage is not high enough. I found this out talking with the installer and he and I fixed this. Again, a less expensive lift, which is why I asked for a final billing before I wanted to pay them.
I noticed one of the garage doors was being installed without the trim like the other doors. The tech and I spoke about this and made the changes; it turned out well. The salesman said this was an extra cost but was unwilling to send me an adjusted bill explaining the changes; however, he did call me asking for payment within hours the day the job was done.
It comes down to a matter of trust, not workmanship.
The salesman is just a salesman. When I questioned for clarity, he did not care.
Would I use them or recommend them, probably not?
There are reputable companies out there that care about the customer experience, about contract transparency and not simply selling.
If you use them, be thorough, ask a lot of questions, if changes happen ask the differences before approving changes or paying them, and do not trust them, verify everything.
I trusted the salesman and the owner, which is my fault, but I did; do not make the same mistake
Follow-up Review... Service after the sale feedback.
I wish I could say this company revealed their character in a positive way.
I had Lancaster Door install 3 Garaga garage doors. With all due respect, I love the doors themselves.
If you read my first review, I feel less than comfortable with the transparency of their sales and pricing, and now the service after the sale.
On October 8th, I sent the following email to the salesman and the owner of the company, Kevin, and follow-up emails as well.
Anton,
I know you are not happy with me as I gave you a less than stellar review.
I am concerned about one of the garage doors as the track is not straight after use.
Are you still willing to stand behind the product?
Wayne Angelo
I thought they would stand behind the product and show me that they are in fact a reputable company and give me an opportunity to give them a good review and change my opinion read more
