Thursday, February 12, 2009

Wellington Windows: Total Window Failure, Part 2

So five months went by and Wellington Windows finally arrived to reinstall every window that failed the first time, but of course there were issues right away. As they went to unload the truck they found that on arrival, eight of the windows were already broken. So that's a pretty good percentage of failure right from the start. The second problem is that we assumed that we would be getting all new windows, including the sashes, but it turns out they were just going to install new glass in the sashes we already have. One problem, though. Each time they tried to remove the old failed glass from the old sash frames, the frames cracked. Not once, not twice, but every single time they tried.

After about the forth or fifth window the installer gave up! There was no way he could install the new glass in the old sashes without the frames cracking, he said. Why was this happening? we asked. He didn't know. Had this happened to him before? Not ever. The only thing he could suggest is that all the windows would need to be remade a *third* time in order to get them installed properly, and this time they would have to make new glass and new sashes in order to get it right.

While at our house we learned a few other things. It seems as if everyone in Minnesota, for six months or more, had been given faulty windows from Wellington. There had been an error in their manufacturing process, which went unnoticed for months, and every window purchased and installed in that time period might need to be replaced. From what we were told, a letter went out to all the homeowners about this problem -- a letter which we never got. The only good news is that someone got fired over the problem. And were told that things were going to change.

So what was there to do? Just sit back and wait for Wellington to make us a third set of windows in a five month period. Two weeks we were promised. Two weeks and the windows would be installed once and for all. But this time they would get it right, don't you think? The third time's a charm, isn't that what they say? But this is Wellington Windows we're talking about. And our disgust with the service and support from Wellington hadn't even come close to peaking.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Wellington Windows: The Christmas Day Surprise

So we heard the news that the second batch of windows, to replace the first faulty set, would be made before Christmas, right around the third week of December. So we waited. For three more weeks we waited. And surprise, no one called us to say they were done. So we, as always, had to call them. They were done, they told us. When would they be installed, we asked. Probably mid January we were told.

What? Three more weeks? The windows were finished, sitting in a factory somewhere in Minnesota, but they couldn't spare the crew to bring them out until January? So again, rather than get angry with the first person I talked to on the phone, I demanded to speak with someone in charge right away. If we waited until January, we will have waited nearly five months to get our windows. Who did I need to talk to to get this resolved?

I waited an hour for a call back, and then two hours, and then three. Nothing. Finally I called them again. I talked to the first person on the phone who said they couldn't help me. They passed me on to my salesperson, who I already knew couldn't help me. He said someone else would call me back right away. And then another hour passed before I finally got the call.

It turned out the windows were done, but they didn't have any available crews to install them before Christmas. And they were shutting down the plant until after the new year. The soonest possible time to get them in would be the second week in January. No exceptions.

At this point I unloaded a little: Five months of waiting. 100% failure rate. $15,000 and nothing to show for it. No one calls us back. No one tells us what's going on. And the person on the other end of the phone listened, said it was a bad situation, but there was nothing he could do. Either wait to get them installed in January or not get them at all. It was finally at this point that someone at Wellington Windows let us know that it wasn't just us that had bad windows, but every single window they installed for the last six months had similar failures. Someone at the factory had fallen asleep at the switch and the windows hadn't been constructed correctly for months, but no one had caught the error. Lucky us, and lucky everyone else who made the mistake of buying windows from Wellington during that six month period.

So what could we do? If waiting three more weeks meant we would finally get our windows installed properly, once and for all, we would wait. Five months of waiting for one set of well-built windows wasn't too much in the big scheme of things, was it? As we were soon to learn, the second time isn't always the charm.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Wellington Windows: Waiting on Wellington

So let's say you're Wellington Windows and someone pays you $15,000 to put in windows. And lets say (as you've read below) that every single one of those windows had malfunctioned. What would your response be? How quick would you work to resolve the situation? Well, the correct answer is (according to Wellington, at least): two months.

After we discovered all the windows installed were faulty, we were assured that the new windows would be made as soon as possible. About a week later, I got curious. How long did that actually mean? I called Wellington to ask. It was the last week in November. Winter had arrived in Minnesota. I was pretty sure the "new" new windows would be in before Christmas. The person who I talked to, who was in charge of scheduling, was hesitant to give a straight answer. They were busy, she said, it would be hard to pin down a day. Give me an estimate, then, I said. Her best estimate to when the windows would get made would be mid to late January -- two months away!

I was shocked. I told her that it only took one month to make the first batch of windows AND get them installed, but now it seemed it would take them two months just to get a new set made.

Why was it going to take so long, I asked? No answer given.

Was there anything I could do to speed up the process? No, I was told.

At this point I was pretty upset, but I realize I was more than likely getting upset with the wrong person. Who could I talk to to get this taken care of, I asked. She would look into it, she said, and get back to me.

And then four days went by, without hearing a thing. And so I called back. It seems that now they could make our windows before mid to late January. And in fact we would have them made by mid-December. Why no one called to explain this to me, I have no idea, but I was relieved. It seemed as if the ordeal with Wellington and trying to get the windows we had paid for months before was finally coming to a close. But Wellington had many more surprises in store for us, including one of the infuriating Christmas presents ever.