Renewal by Andersen / Southard Corp

The sales person advised us during our sales meeting that one of the resasons the cost was so high was that Renewal by Andersen had the best installers in the city. He stopped by during the beginning of installation to see how things were going and to advise that we needed to give them a rating of 8 or above on this job. It went down hill from there when the installers, who were outside at the time, got into an altercation so vulgar, loud, and frightening that my guests were afraid for their safety and could not leave my house. I called the Renewal by Andersen's office, advised the receptionist of the problem and asked for help. I was placed on hold for so long I had to hang up and call back. The Operations Manager advised that it was Friday afternoon, and there was nothing he could do about it. Since the installers were NOT coming back into my home, I advised the manager that I would have to call the police to get the altercation under control. He then said he would send someone to handle the situation. The Install Manager, Andrew Cullen, came to ask the instllers to leave and finish the job. His first question to me was "What do you think happened here?" What??? We had three windows installed for over $15,000! Buyer beware. This company is overrated and ALL employees need customer service training. This was a very frightening experience.

It was top notch. apparently, they make each door individually, they actually manufactured the door exactly to meet my needs. So basically, everything was custom made.

The installation was good and the windows seem to be a quality product, however we were disappointed by the lengthy sales presentation (over 2 hours!!!) and the high pressure sales tactics (e.g. "you need to lock in this deal by the end of the week to get this amazing discount"). Another thing that greatly disappointed us was that the salesman, Lance Hanners only had a booklet that showed the colors of the windows rather than bringing along some bigger sample pieces of the window frame to show what the colors actually looked like. We ordered windows in off white (e.g. "canvas") as the tiny color strip inside the sales booklet that he provided looked like it would be a good match for the white on our home's exterior. However, when the windows arrived, the color seemed much more yellowish than the sample and they do not match the white exterior trim of our house at all! Another big disappointment is that even though the windows seem to be a quality product, THE WINDOWS ARE EXTREMELY NOISY WHEN IT RAINS. If the rain hits the outer lower sill of the window, it makes a very loud ticky-tack sound like a snare drum. We had our bedroom windows replaced and the noise that windows make during a rainstorm is so loud that it will wake you up at night which is very irritating!

They were efficient, clean, very professional and did a wonderful job.

We replaced 10 windows and spent $13,213.00 on new windows. We originally like Mel, the salesman. When we first met he was relateable and down to earth. After he made the sale, we never saw him again. He told us that every customer receives a survey (and if they aren't completely satisfied) then everything will be done to make the customer satisfied. For our kitchen window we received the incorrect style and had a very difficult time trying to get a hold of Mel to correct the issue. The installers didn't know what to do so we were desperate to reach someone; however, Mel was terribly unresponsive. Bob, the manager, was helpful and worked to get us a discount since the incorrect window was received. Based on the price of their windows it wasn't significant but better than nothing. The installers weren't super professional, which I've come to learn that contractors typically struggle in the area of customer service and customer interaction - so I can forgive that. We were mostly upset because of the complete lack of response from our salesman who got a commission from our purchase. He also lied to us by saying that all customers receive a survey and if they don't get perfect scores then they do whatever it takes to get perfect scores or the employees don't get their bonuses. We've still never received a survey - so it's easy to assume that when things go wrong they aren't sending a survey to mess up those "perfect scores" and bonuses. Thanks to Bob for working to make things right but we still wouldn't use them again. Simply because Mel put on a show for us initially then completely disappeared. We completely believe he doesn't deserve any sort of commission off of our sale and any sort of commission should go to Bob. If Mel comes to your door, I'd suggest sending him and his snake oil (his service) away and ask for a more reputable salesperson.

great .........

Would not hire!

I'd give them an "A" overall. I would absolutely use them again. They are very good. They were able to adjust the door in about an hour.

Installation was done well and professionally. Very little lean up required. However, the sales person, Karen Otto, was severely lacking in professionalism, product knowledge and follow up. We asked that 2 window cranks for current windows be included with the purchase. If it wasn't for our contacting her about this and other issues regarding requests made, there would not have been any further contact or action. Even then, it was pitiful. Would not recommend this company due to the seriously lacking customer service and follow up.

I'm replacing a number of windows that I want to match some other newer windows that I had installed as part of a construction job about 7-8 years ago. I want wood windows, and the salesmen were quick to point out the differences with their product and that they wouldn't be able to provide windows that matched sufficiently to meet my needs. I appreciated that they cut to the chase with this to save time. Mel and John were friendly, informative, and clearly know their product well, and I will consider Renewal for any future projects where the product meets my needs.

The process was very smooth and professional. The windows are exactly as expected, the installers were prompt and thorough and the salesperson was exceptional.

Everyone knows Andersen makes great windows and doors. However, they were 80% higher than the next closest replacement bid. I understanding paying premium for good products, but not THAT much.

We had great service from beginning to the end. Don Jude was our salesman, Bob was professional and prompt in taking measurements. Michelle was helpful on the scheduling. Matt and his guys turned a two day job into one and cleaned everything up from inside to out. It is hard to find great service these days, but they followed thru on every detail.

unknown

Buyer beware. They installed a sliding glass door. I bought the top of the line. Less than 2 years later the door warped and was hard to close. They replaced it but it was clear I did not get the same quality door. I went to the store on a Saturday and asked for someone to come to my home and look at it. The 2 people I spoke with told me they would escalate it and someone would call me the next week. That was 3 months ago and I never received a call. Poor quality and overpriced. I will never use this company again.

The work went great,. And when there was a bit of a problem with the rolling screen part of the sliding glass door, the folks at Anderson were very prompt, courteous, and efficient in coming out and fixing the problem. We were very pleased with their work!

It went mostly great. The windows are really wonderful. When they came to install the windows, half of the windows were the wrong size. We're not sure what happened as almost all the windows were about the same size - there were no funky shapes or sizes and they have two people do measurements, so not sure how they messed it up. BUT, they resolved it quickly and made it right. I would not hesitate to use them again and in fact, hope we can do the exterior doors and the upstairs windows at a later date. They are a bit pricey but were the best quality. You get what you pay for.

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The salesman (Mel) was very talkative.  Didn't ask many questions, just rambled on and on.  In addition, tried several hard sales tactics, which do not resonate with me.  For what it's worth, in your sales pitch, when you prime someone with numbers, you should prime them high and then come down.  Not the opposite.  Mel attempted to prime us by revealing the typical vinyl window replacement cost per window.  Then he revealed the range for aluminum clad wood windows, and finally the your range.  Complete misunderstanding of how priming works in sales.
Mel tried to push that you stand behind your windows.  I appreciate that.  It has been a challenge to find a manufacturer who will stand behind its installers.  [However, don't try to fool me by saying the installers are "your factory trained" people.  We all know that is an euphemism for a 1099 contractor, just like every other company.]
Mel should have spent a bit more time discussing the loss of light due to the size of vinyl frames compared to Fibrex.  He should have also pointed out noise reduction due to construction method as we live in a flight path and we pointed that out to him.
Finally, anytime a salesman says he's giving you his bottom dollar against his boss' wishes, we all know that is a lie.  It's also bad form to bad mouth competitors with opinions instead of factual comparisons.  
When we declined to move forward, he left in a huff and almost forgot his sample.  He was not graceful with a "No".  Including saying, "This is the only time the price will be this good and I won't call you."  Even if I was on the fence, I certainly wouldn't be after that.  Sales is hard, I get it.  But to be grumpy when it doesn't work out, doesn't reflect well on your company.
I can look past the poor sales job; however, the 90 minute sales presentation of material that didn't resonate was a turn off.  I'm choosing to listen to your offering during my family time.  My time is valuable, I expect the sales person to understand my needs and address them in the pitch.  I don't need a 90 minute infomercial.  If I wanted that, I'd go to Las Vegas, at least I'd get a free Vegas show or trip out of it.
The prices were ridiculously high; more expensive than Pella and Rosatti's high end windows.  The value, either in terms of ROI on utilities, NPV or otherwise, didn't justify the expense.  At your price, I could have replaced my windows twice with Pella's top end windows.  Not enough differential in possible utility savings to justify the price.  
In short, the value to price ratio is way off.  We're not looking for bargain basement cheap windows.  We'll pay a premium for quality, but not a premium that's unreasonable compared to the rest of the market.  Absolutely insane pricing.

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We needed 11 new windows for our house.  Renewal had a good reputation so we scheduled an appointment for a quote.  The rep that came out was obnoxious.  He spent over half his time disparaging the quality of his competitor's products instead of explaining the features of his.  In retrospect, the information he gave regarding competitors' products were out-of-date and misleading. Then the quote was much higher than I was willing to spend and he tried to strong arm me to signing then and there by offering a "today only discount".  I explained that we were only looking to stay in our house another five years and really didn't want to spend that much he promptly packed up and said "I'm not going to call you.  You know how to reach me if you change your mind" and walked out without so much as a goodbye or thanks for your time.  I wrote a letter to the president of Anderson with my concerns regarding his behavior and received a very abrupt form letter in return.  Looking online at other experiences I see this same pattern in the Columbus area.  Very disappointing that  a company with high quality products would allow their reputation to be ruined by a substandard, high-pressure sales force.

They did wonderfully.  They were extra careful.  They go above and beyond.  The employees were extra super and professional. 

It was wonderful. We love them. They do a beautiful job. When they take out the old window, each window opening is measured and the new windows are built specifically for that opening. They're expensive but the windows are wonderful windows. They're expensive but I would recommended them to anybody and everybody. They're all tip top people. They don't deal with sub contractors. They do all of their own work. They're very responsive.