Let me begin by saying that Pella has a great product. In fact, we chose to buy Pella replacement windows for our family room specifically because of their internal blinds system - it's the best available on the market today. We wanted to eliminate wall mounted window treatments in this particular room, and Pella clearly had the best solution. So why the 2 star rating...?
Pella of Louisville delivers a lousy customer experience - period!
From not following-up on my initial showroom visit, to the actual installation and a couple of incidental spots in-between, the entire experience was harder and more disruptive than it needed to be, I won't do a deep dive, but I will provide a couple of installation "highlights".
1, Pella of Louisville will remove all of the windows in the room prior to beginning any replacement work. This is the single biggest "head scratcher" for me. Heck, outdoor temperatures were in the mid-40s on the day they worked. I had over 100 SF of wide-open exterior wall for hours! Even with 2 heat pumps set to "stun", we couldn't maintain a decent indoor temperature. The installers seemed 100% oblivious to what seemed obvious to me and my wife. At one point, with the room completely wide-open, the installer wanted to engage me in a discussion about interior trim widths! At that point, my head was spinning! I directed him to "button-up" my house before we discussed anything to do with trim. I'm sure we had hundreds of cubic feet per minute of 45 degree outside air pouring into my occupied house! How about removing and replacing one window at a time in cold weather?
2. I couldn't understand why Pella of Louisville had to remove all of the interior window trim, but as the installation progressed it cleared-up for me. The replacement windows are fabricated to be "safely" small. That is, there's about 1/2 inch of gap between the replacement window unit and the rough opening. This ensures that the installer can easily install the unit. Since the edge of the replacement unit is about 1/2 inch (all around) smaller, the interior trim, if left in-place, won't properly trim-out the replacement unit. As a result, the existing trim needs to be removed and replaced, leaving a "raw" edge of about 1/2 inch on the interior drywall side that becomes the homeowners problem to repair. (to be fair, the Pella contract clearly states that this may occur) However, given our very recent experience with a Pella competitor, the entire interior trim removal and replacement is an unnecessary process that simply serves to make it easier on Pella while adding additional cost and disruption to the homeowner.
3. On "day 2" of the installation, the crew was performing interior finish work. Even after my clear displeasure with having my house wide-open during "day 1", to my astonishment the newly-installed sliding patio door was wide-open while they were caulking - again with outdoor temps in the mid-40s! I walked-in and said, "Hey guys, okay if I close the door it's kinda cold outside?" By this time, my wife and I just wanted them to get the heck out of here.
Are we satisfied with the final result? Yes.
Was the entire process much harder from beginning to end? Yes.
Can I recommend Pella of Louisville? No.
This is a company that lacks an authentic customer-service culture. The folks in the showroom, the sales representative that visits your home, and the project manager that also visits your home for pre-installation, all recite the expected cliches like "I operate on a no surprises basis", but when a problem pops-up, they're of little assistance (in some cases, somewhat defensive).
Other Pella showrooms in different locations may be better so this isn't an indictment of the entire Pella organization. Just understand what you're getting yourself into if you choose Pella of Louisville, that's all.
For a different "take" on replacement windows, check-out my review of PC Home Center in New Albany. read more