Have you talked to her "Mrs 69" about this?

 

I had the same problem when I decided to vinyl side my house. I called a major national retailer. (The one that used to have "Roebuck" in their name) They scheduled a time to come out to the house to give me an estimate. But Mrs. "67" had to be there also. (We agreed to that) He sat at our kitchen table with books and before and after pics of other jobs. The first thing out of his mouth was "You know the days of getting your house sided for under 10k are gone". (I knew we were in trouble at that point) We let him make his "presentation" then he went outside to check the house and give an estimate. His estimate was 35k!! If we signed a contract "right now" he would discount the job by 5k. LOL I obviously told him to take a hike! I do have to give them credit as they never gave me a call back or harassed me in anyway after the visit. Bottom line; I had a local guy do the house with the top of the line siding, total job complete for 8k.
69: If you are handy at all, you can buy the windows and install them yourself. I replaced all the windows in my house last fall. I had never done it before and I can't stress enough on how easy it is to do it yourself. From the time I took the curtains down, stripped out the old window, insulated, put the new window in, caulked the outside and re-hung the curtains, I was down to 45 min. per window after the 3rd one. Most contractors or window companies are going to charge you 100-200 per window for installation.

 

We had all the windows replaced, new vinyl siding with extra insulation to cover the old siding(probably asbestos based) and new gutters done for around $13K. The hardest part was picking the colors. I replaced the garage doors myself and it's a pretty easy job so you can save money there. Here's a picture after our big snow storm back in Feb. And yes, customer service is a lost art.

 

I used to get those window company calls all the time. I always told them that I was not interested. Then, after about the 50th call and a persistant salesman, I told him okay, come on out and give me a bid (I wasn't interested, just wanted to waste as much of his time as he did of mine). He then says that he wants to have my wife there when he comes (I'm not married, he didn't ask and I didn't tell him). When he arrives, the first question is:
"Is your wife here?"
No, I say.
"When will she be here?"
I'm not really sure.
"Well, I can't give you an estimate unless both you and your wife are here."
Okay, I didn't want an estimate anyway, but you insisted.
"Why did you have me come here if you knew that your wife wasn't going to be here?"
I didn't know that she wouldn't be here. I could have gotten married by the time you arrived!

He finally left in a huff.

I think the reasons they want the wife present is, 1 - They think that women are at home more and use the windows more, therefore it would be easier to sell to them. or 2 - They figure that the house is in both the husband and wifes name, and will require both signatures on a contract.

My favorites were always the guys selling the triple pane windows that were "unconditionally" guaranteed for life. I had some real fun questioning the salesmen about the guarantee (What if I take an ax and chop them up!?).
"Let me ask my supervisor".

 

Hey Garfield....The only thing Mrs.69 thinks about this whole thing is get rid of those 60 year old windows and if her shoes match her purse?!
oh ( and does my a$$ look big in these jeans?)
I don't mind taking the job on myself but it's one of those deals were I never messed with this type of thing. I do have a few carpenter friends but as far as home resale, I think it's better to have some type of warranty with the windows. I more then likely will do it my self.
Jeff, You have a great looking home!!!

 

Originally posted by Kyvox:
I think the reasons they want the wife present is, 1 - They think that women are at home more and use the windows more, therefore it would be easier to sell to them.

Funny story Kyvox.
That is the reason...Easy sale when the wife is breathing down your back.

 

A home appointment with only one of the married couple present is called a "One Legger". The reason they want both people there is so both can sign a contract for a second mortgage. Finance companies won't loan money on a second mortgage that both people don't committ to.

In most states, the customer has a right of rescesion (the right to change their mind) for 3 days after the contract is signed if it was signed in their home. Some crooks will ask the customer to come to their office to sign papers and then you don't have those rights.

 

Originally posted by 69:

Jeff, You have a great looking home!!!

Thanks, but you can only see the outside! My brother and I live together and we're not the best at cleaning. But there is fresh beer on tap at all times at the bar!

The best thing is that right across the street is a public golf course.

 

Next time they call, just tell them that you're renting the house.

 

How do you find your golf ball in all that snow?

I agree, I have been in customer service my whole life and I can't believe the service that's out there these days. I guess I should say the lack of service. There is a reason for this and it's because everything is "numbers" companies don't care how well you treat customers as long as your "numbers" look good on paper. The larger the company the worse this problem is. The times of "the customer is always right" is long gone in most cases. I refuse to treat my customers poorly. I treat everyone (customers, strangers, etc..) the same way I expect to be treated.

He probably could have sold the windows to you if he would have just done what he was asked. He didn't want to waste his time unless he was "sure" it was going to be a sale. While needing two people to sign may be "part" of the reason, that is not the whole reason. Ever go to a car lot with your wife, or looking at homes? The sales people automatically start talking to the wife because they "know" (think) that if they convince her she will convince you (talk you into it), I see it all the time. I bet there is some "chart" out there that compares how many sales are successfully made when the "wife" is there or something like that. So they play the odds, which brings us back to the whole numbers thing.

 

I don't believe I could get by refering to my wife as "Mrs. 69".

 

This must be a relatively new concept in sales. Just last weekend, I was in the middle of a major engine swapping thrash (pulled 2 engines, stuck one in the other vehicle, and got everything buttoned up, tuned, and made some test drives...in 1 1/2 days). Some guy pulls up around 3pm saturday and has 2 big boxes. Of course I know my wife well enough to know that she had set up an appointment with some salesman...knowing full well that right now we can't afford anything extra until we get back on our feet financially. They guy talks to the wife...I keep on working. Pretty soon the wife comes out and says that the salesman "can't" give his presentation without me being in the room So I finally go in the house...filthy, greasy, and I have blood running down my left arm where I got sliced. The guy doesn't even offer to shake my hand Turns out the guy was selling a $2400 vacuum cleaner And, they even had an easy payment plan

 

KURBY to the rescue!!!!!!!!

 

I've always wanted to stage something when they come over. You know, get in a huge fight, screaming "your ALWAYS spending money on stupid @%#" and say "I hate you and I'm leaving!!" just to see what the look on their face is. But after putting them through that I'd probably have to buy something so I wouldn't feel too bad about making a joke out of them.

 

Ditto.Customer service is none existent today.It is all about the bottom line.I personally do not mind paying a little extra to get good service.but as long as there are people out there that are willing to save a buck at any expence these companies that give lip service and no real service will continue to exist and thrive....

 

Originally posted by 69:
I don't mind taking the job on myself but it's one of those deals were I never messed with this type of thing. I do have a few carpenter friends but as far as home resale, I think it's better to have some type of warranty with the windows. I more then likely will do it my self.

69 they are not at all hard to do if you have the right kind of window to begin with. If the kind you have is just held in by the wood stop/trim on the inside then they are simple. If they are the aluminum kind that were framed in before the exterior was built then they are a whole lot harder. If you decide to tackle it yourself go buy them from a vinyl siding/window wholesaler that the contractors buy them from. You will pay a little more than the contractor. Look for one that offers a warranty and they should run you about $150 to $250 per window. To have them installed they will run $100 to $150 to install. (In this area) Do the math and see if it is worth it to you to do it yourself.

 

Originally posted by sicsD8:
I don't believe I could get by refering to my wife as "Mrs. 69".

LOL!
You guys have great idea's...
I did find a local, large company that makes their own windows in their factory....Double hung, multi chambered, fusion welded, draft free, low E, Vinyl, Marble sill, blah, blah......for $275 a window installed...35 year warranty too!.
Not a bad deal, I'm still thinking about doing it myself but I like the idea of giving the warranty over to the next owner of this house.
I'm thinking it's time to step up!, If you guy's are not getting the customer service you deserve, speak up, move on and let that company know.
Do good for a customer they will tell 10 people, Screw somebody they will let 50 people know.

 

When I bought my house 4 years ago we knew we were going to put new windows in. We had to of the major windows companies that sell vinyl replacement windows come and give us quotes. We requested double hung windows and one of the companies quoted me sliders since "he thought" that would be better. Lowest quote was $9000.00

I talked to my b-in-law the general contractor and he had me buy Andersen windows. We put them in ourselves and for about 6k. That was with a very nice upgrade to a bow and a picture window. Everything was done in oak trim. He didn’t take anything for his work. I gave him a $200.00 gift card for Christmas and his son (my godchild) a $100.00s who helped us.

I now have some great looking windows and for less than the vinyl type replacement windows. I paid for the windows on my credit card and got 1% cash back as well and then just paid it off.

I can’t believe that the salespeople wouldn’t even quote the type of windows I wanted. I'm happy though...

 

When the wife is not home, the hubby has an excuse to get the sales rep out of the house, "I need to talk to the wife about this". The rep wants to close NOW! As for service, I ranted several months ago about my experience with a bank and my mortgage, the bank was a big ONE. Bottom line, refinanced and left the big ONE. I left a checking account active at the big ONE bank. They tagged me with a $25.00 "service fee" last month so, I went today to close the account. I had to talk to three levels of people to get my lousy account closed. After the first two, I was tired of explaning why I wanted MY money and told the third, go ask "Jane", I'm tired of explaining this. She replied, Well, Mr. C... is there anything I can do to change your mind? I told her no, please, just close the account and give me a check. She started in again and I lost it. I told her, "Dana", the bank is fired (gave it that little Trump thing), check please. Got the check, went two doors down to my favorite bank and made a nice deposit. Customer service? Shi*^%$&*t.

 

I'm waiting for a call from a window company to set up an appointment for an estimate. The rep I spoke with yesterday seems to be part owner of the business but did start out asking when would be a good time for the estimate that my wife and I would both be home. He dropped the subject like a hot potato when I suggested we are busy people and I didn't see any need for both of us to be involved in the transaction... We'll see what round 2 goes like.

 

I couldn't help but notice the HONDA in the driveway. You know that's gonna bring down the value of the house.

 

Originally posted by sick67:
I couldn't help but notice the HONDA in the driveway. You know that's gonna bring down the value of the house.

That's my brother's car. I should make him park on the side street so nobody will know. I tried to talk him into a Camaro, but he got hooked on the Prelude. He's managed to destroy 2 Hondas so far by running them into the ground. When his Accord blew up, he had to drive one of my 69 Camaros to work until he got another car. His only comment was, "it's nice to have some power when you want to pull out".

 

Originally posted by DjD:
He dropped the subject like a hot potato when I suggested we are busy people and I didn't see any need for both of us to be involved in the transaction... We'll see what round 2 goes like.

Good luck! Thats what they said to me until 1 hour before the app. that he wanted the Mrs. their...Let us know how window sales guy's act on the left coast.