Joys of the Window Salesman

One of our current house projects is to replace the windows. About a year ago, I called a local company that I used to deliver coffee to in my coffee slinging days. The owner himself came out to do the estimate and was very honest and informative. He told us that the windows that he carries were higher quality then what I would probably want, but he had some install techniques that would bring down the cost. Overall, the price was still too high, so he broke down the project into 2 more manageable projects, but ultimately we decided that we live in a cheaply constructed townhome and we'd rather put more money into the kitchen remodel then the windows.

Since we would like to replace the AC this summer, we thought we'd dig up the window project again because what is the point of a new AC unit, if the windows are letting in so much heat. I contacted a contractor finding service to give me the names of some reputable companies. They sent me information on 3 companies. One of them contacted me the same day, and we set up an appointment for an estimator to come out the next day (yesterday). While on the phone with this company, I told them that I was looking for low budget windows and the lady said they were actually much more high quality, but she suggested that for my comparison shopping I should have some estimates from a variety of quality levels. So I went ahead and booked the appointment.

The guy was 30 minutes early, which was fine. He was VERY friendly and informative. He was rather disorganized though, and we were his last call of the day so he was obviously tired. He went through his pitch, and about 45 minutes later he took measurements and wrote up the numbers. Since I had already had an estimate with a comparable company, I was prepared for a high number, and one that I wasn't ready to pay (still didn't rob a bank yet). The estimate was $12,100 with a 20% discount, for 5 windows and a patio door. They offered an awesome financing agreement with 0% interest for 12 months with 0% down.

He excused himself to call his wife (we had already heard his sob story about his time being worth a lot because he has a kid who needs a quality education and that's why he does this for a living, blah blah blah, needs more time with his kid and his wife, lives in Brentwood, cry me a river already! Eric and I agreed that the windows were beautiful, and the piece of mind of the 10 year transferable warranty was great, but we needed to evaluate the budget because we didn't estimate that much freakin money!

When the sales dude came back, he asked what we thought. I said that the financing option sounded really nice. Suddenly he was on the phone with the creditors and then handed me the phone to start my application. And I was like... WHOA! I said it sounded nice, not that I wanted to do it. And then the weight of his life and his day fell on our kitchen table. He takes the phone from me and tells the nice lady, "Nevermind, she doesn't want it anymore." And then he glares at me. Tells me he doesn't understand why I wouldn't want to buy them if I like them. He starts getting really kurt and angry. I thought he might start crying or yelling, or both. I told him that I'd like some time to think about it, because it was more then what we were wanting to spend. He said he'd give us until next Tuesday to get all the discounts, because he likes us (my ASS, it said right there on the paper from corporate that those numbers were good until next Tuesday). I said that if we decided to work with him, that we'd give him a call. And he said..."But then I'll still have to come back out here and spend more time writing it up, when I could just do it right now". (Soooo loosing points, and decreasing the likelihood that I wanted to give him the freakin sale!) He kept saying he didn't understand, and he quickly packed up all of his shit and scooted out of there. I almost yelled at him to get out of my house (which I did say after he was in his truck).

Even 2 hours later, I would randomly yell... THAT MAN! His sales technique did not bode well for me wanting to call him back. You'd think that after 15 years of him being in that business, that he'd learn that some sales calls do not sign on the first visit, and that getting angry with them does not increase his odds of signing the job later or gaining referrals. We are still considering calling the ASS man back (thanks Dot for your ASS term), but maybe not doing the whole job with him. We might cheapen out on the patio door install (his quote was $6500 for that door alone).

I love being a homeowner. (I know its been 3 posts in a row about the house. Hopefully something non-house related will happen this weekend so I can break the bitch routine)