I hired Gem windows to do the windows on a large renovation job and in terms of quality of customer service and installation quality and delivery you could do no worse. A November 2016 installation date is still not completely finished and they have billed me in full without my consent. There have been so many problems it would take me hours to list them all here but below are a few of the main issues:
1) Upon initial delivery they did not bring nor had they ordered one door from the original contract and I had to prove to them it was in the original contract (which it was). This door then took many months to arrive.
2) One fixed window was installed upside down and another with the drainage on the side as it was manufactured wrong. This caused the windows to gain a tremendous amount of water which delayed the interior finishing of my house for many many months as we tried to determine the source of the water. In contacting and inquiring with Gem I had to call them many times and send the same information multiple times before they finally investigated the windows and identified them as the problem. To their credit, eventually, they did fix the problem.
3) Most large windows are bowing across the length as their installers only shimmed on the sides and spray foamed the tops which the pressure bowed the windows significantly. See attached photo. This has not been addressed. The owner was supposed to come to my house to look at this last week but did not come and instead chose to run my final payment on the CC I had used for earlier payments without my consent.
Like I said, this is only a partial list of the problems I have experienced. Suffice to say, this is a terrible company to deal with and I hope by sharing my experience it will save someone else from such a fiasco and so many 'firsts' one should not encounter.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $30,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Mr. Morton,
At GEM Windows & Doors we take all of our customer’s comments seriously, we learn for them and do everything in our power to rectify the issues.
After reviewing your concerns and examining our records we find that your comments are a misrepresentation of the facts. We hope that all who read this will take your comments and our facts and come to their own conclusion of the service that you received from GEM Windows & Doors.
Mr. Morton, you signed a contract with GEM Windows & Doors on September 2016 and your first installation date was November 14, 2016, our crews were there for 2 days installing all your windows. We generally do not split orders and prefer to complete the installation for our customers one time; we made accommodations to your request and did the windows only while we waited for the doors.
On December 20th, a GEM crew was sent to complete the remaining windows and doors on your order. At this point it was discovered that a door had been missed. GEM did rectify this by ordering the door for you. Based on the terms and conditions you signed, GEM had substantially completed the scope of work on the contract and payment was due. We were willing to hold back the amount of the missing door until that door was installed, but the bulk of the remaining balance was due at this point. A payment was made, leaving the remaining balance greater then 10% of your contract with GEM.
When the last door was ready for installation you were contacted by our production department on April 18th and again on May 2nd, both days’ messages were left. When you finally contacted GEM you were refusing our installation due to a manufacture service.
On June 2nd GEM crews were there to rectify any GEM service issues you were having. You have acknowledged that we did fix your issues in your review. On July 7th GEM had fulfilled all their contractual and client obligations, the remaining balance was due, you did not pay the balance at this time.
The frames around your door glass not being what you ordered was a manufacture error and you were dealing directly with them to get this service completed, this had no bearing on the completion of the contract signed with GEM Windows & Doors. On July 12th a representative of the door manufacture met with you at your home to discuss the manufacture service and on July 13th a service call with the manufacture was booked on August 10th to get the job completed.
During this service call GEM’s service manager was going to join the meeting to examine the large window and to ensure that the service by the manufacture was done to both our standards and your satisfaction. You were contacted 3 days prior to your service call as a reminder. On the scheduled date you were not at your home to receive service. The manufacture service technician was at your home and even called you when he arrive, you stated that you had ‘forgotten’ and were to far away and not able to make it back, and the service technician left, you will now be rebooked. GEM is also absorbing the cost of the missed service call, as a courtesy to you. Our representative was not there because there was no service being done; GEM will also be contacting you to reschedule our service.
GEM fulfilled their contract with you and even went above and beyond by providing you with a free of charge sidelight that was broken by your contractors, this should have been a charge to you for not only the glass but also our crew coming to your home to install it, this was done as a gesture to you to do what needs to be done to satisfy our customers.
To recap, GEM Windows & Doors fulfilled the contract you signed and co ordinated the required services on your behalf. In turn, you have refused service on occasion and received multiple NO CHARGE items; in return you did not pay your final balance for over 7 month and received no interest penalties.
On August 11th, your credit card was charged for the remaining and final balance of your contract. GEM Windows & Doors was well within our rights to process the payment, within the guideline of our Terms and Conditions section #2 (attached below)
We hope that the readers see that your negative feelings towards GEM only transpired when a final overdue payment was taken as per the terms of our contract. On another note, our staff all stated that you were a pleasure to speak with and very calm through the entire time.
GEM Windows & Doors will continue to provide our customers with quality service, and should an issue arise GEM will continue to work with you until you are satisfied.