We originally hired MaxGreen based on the numerous positive reviews and our initial positive experience with the estimator who was friendly and seemed very knowledgeable. After officially hiring this company to replace our windows and doors, our experience continually deteriorated.
The first installer came and measured our windows and then was never heard from again. We later found out after numerous phone calls that this person was let go, but we were frustrated with the lack of communication on their part. We were then told that the installation manager would be taking over our job and we were given a span of three or four specific days in which the installation would occur.
When the installer arrived, one window was broken, one screen had a rip in it, one window was missing and one or two had been cut wrong and the trim they brought was the wrong size. Excuses were plentiful, blaming PlyGem, their window supply company and blaming the first installer who did the initial measurements. They failed to realize that, as the customers, we don't care who exactly it was that screwed up, they are all representatives of MaxGreen, and we just want the job done properly and in a timely manner. We found it annoying at first, but tolerable, that they kept placing blame on other parties. Then as time continued to creep on and windows were apparently cut wrong again and again and again, it got to the point of exasperation. Updates on the situation were rarely initiated by MaxGreen and the lack of communication was extremely frustrating.
From our agreed upon installation dates, confirmed by email with the installers, it took nearly SIX months for them to finish the job. Although we were told that a time frame for completion was not part of the contract, we still considered this to be unacceptable, as should they. We previously had our entire basement redone, down to the studs and that took only two and a half months and we juggled with various contractors. This job remained only half complete for months. They continued to blame PlyGem for cutting the windows wrong over and over and over, justifying the ordeal by saying that they wanted only perfection and wouldn't accept anything less. In our view, MaxGreen has chosen PlyGem as their window supply company and therefore they are equally accountable for whatever mishaps occur by PlyGem. It's hard to believe that a window company, whose sole job it is to make windows, could cut a window wrong continuously for months. There was no other choice but to go with that reasoning.
At our request for some kind of compensation, Adam did give us a $500 discount. As far as we were concerned, this was not even remotely adequate, considering the scale of how poorly the job had been handled and how much we were paying them (around $14000!) We were told that we could pay them for the portion of the job done and hire a different company to finish it, if we so desired. This seemed like a cop out on their part.
We initially decided against leaving a bad review, thinking that maybe it was mostly just a series of unfortunate events and perhaps mostly because we were just happy to be finished with them and didn't want to think about it anymore. Our minds were changed when, three weeks after the completion of the job, MaxGreen had the audacity to call, threatening to charge us the 3% fee for late payments received outside of the 30 day allotted payment period if they didn't receive our cheque within the next couple of days. At this point the cheque was already in the mail and we still had nearly a week until the 30 day limit was reached. This move was completely disrespectful, unprofessional and only angered us to the point of leaving this review. It turns out that they received the cheque that very same day.
Overall, we had a horrible experience with MaxGreen and would not hire them again.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $14,000.00
- Company Response
Hi "T", Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with the HomeStars community as it gives us a great opportunity to show future customers how much we care about doing the project the right way and truly do feel terrible when projects take longer than projected, regardless of the causes. Yes, the initial MAXgreen Installation Technician made an error in the measurements and is no longer with us for unrelated reasons. Unfortunately we are not perfect and mistakes do sometimes happen - we are the first to admit that and the reorder cost was ours to cover due to the mistake. Sometimes suppliers make errors too. Most of the time they deliver as promised, but last year our main supplier went through a merger and numerous internal issues that they had to work out, which is not an excuse but rather a fact that we were forced to deal with last year. But the benefit of working with PROFESSIONAL, QUALITY INSTALLATION EXPERTS is that we will not just "force it in" or "make it fit" and say "that's just the way it is" if the product is not built correctly. Our Installation Manager made the call to reorder yet again after the window was rebuilt because it was not up to his HIGH STANDARDS. He was not willing to compromise on your home, just like we would never compromise on any other home. Because your window was not a standard shape, the product had to be "Special Quoted" and "Special Ordered" to ensure the perfect fit. Unfortunately during the supplier's process for the second reorder, something got mixed up and we received a "curve top" window instead of a "peak head" window, forcing us to have to reorder the window yet again. Unfortunately several reorders were also built incorrectly by the supplier due to issues with the merger, which I know you confirmed directly with the supplier as you directly questioned our honesty regarding the sequence of events. That being said, we agree with you that we absolutely are 100% responsible for the actions of our suppliers as we are our customers' advocate. The unfortunate situation with your order and a couple of other projects this past year has forced us to switch the majority of our business over to a new supplier, as Quality and Service are the most important cornerstones of our business, and ones we WILL NEVER COMPROMISE on. I am so truly sorry that you had to be one of the few unlucky customers at the other end of the issues. If we had been able to foresee those issues we would never had stuck with that supplier in 2014. However, that was not the case and you had a terrible experience, and there is no excuse for that. WE ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY for the poor experience as that is not what we promise to our customers. As for the comment " This job remained only half complete for months.", that is inaccurate as it was only a small portion of the job that was left to complete (2 windows plus some finishing work out of the 9 windows and 3 doors on the contract). We never once asked to get paid for the balance of the majority of work we had done to that point as we wanted you to know how seriously we took this delay. This amounted to roughly an $8,000+ Interest-Free Loan to you for the 5 months (July to December) it took to get the correct windows re-built, despite most construction industry contracts requiring progress payments as work is completed. We only offered to sever the contract at the progress point when we were told you would be exploring other options for your remaining windows, in order to give you the choice that suited you the best at that time, which you chose was to wait for MAXgreen to complete the project. As for compensation due to delays, the construction industry faces numerous factors that cause delays and operates on razor thin budgets, and therefore does not ever allow for compensation for delays. If they did, many businesses would go out of business due to circumstances out of their control and not be around to service customers on the back end. Our supplier does not allow for that in their contracts. Neither can MAXgreen for the reason stated above, which is clearly indicated in the contract you agreed to, which has no fine print (all text is 12 point font or more). The credit I offered was simply a showing of good faith on our end because of how terrible I personally felt about your repeated delays. Our final contract payments are due upon completion of the project per your contract, not on a Net 30 basis. We simply called 1 month after the job was completed (called on Jan 7th after completing the job on Dec 6th) to remind you that payment was due that day, and thanked you when you mentioned the cheque was in the mail, and even followed up to thank you when we did receive the cheque later that day, and to remind you we still are here for us should you have any questions or concerns about your new windows and doors. We did not threaten the 3% charge, despite our contract and invoice clearly indicating that charge is applicable to overdue accounts. I have been in the same situation myself as a customer dealing with delays from various suppliers and service providers in many industries so I know the feeling. And please believe me when I say that the frustration I feel when MAXgreen customers are not getting an amazing experience due to circumstances out of our control is infinitely more than the frustration I feel when I am the consumer having to face delays from other service providers. That is how much I and the rest of OUR MAXgreen FAMILY CARES ABOUT OUR EXTENDED FAMILY - OUR CUSTOMERS - AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABOUT OUR OWN DIRECT FAMILIES. We will never walk away from problems or cut corners or give half truths when there is an issue. We promise to readily admit our mistakes (as well of those by our suppliers), as we are not perfect, and fix them for our customers. Thank you again for the opportunity to work with you while we ensured you only received the highest quality products and installation. I am sorry that you felt after all of our discussions, the good faith compensation, and MAXgreen looking out for your best Long Term interests (at the expense of short term inconvenience), that a Zero out of Ten rating was all we deserved. Despite being disappointed with the review score, I am very grateful that HomeStars gives customers a forum to share their side of the story, and also allows a response from the company. This will serve to ensure that all future homeowners are as educated as possible about which company best suits their needs. Please do not hesitate to call us should you have any further questions or concerns with your windows as we will still be happy to help with any warranty or maintenance questions. I promise you that we still do greatly care about you, your family, and your home, despite the negative review. All the best, Adam.