Laurel Awnings

"We are very sorry to hear that you feel we failed to meet your expectations. We take customer complaints very seriously and we appreciate that you have been a customer of ours since we took over ownership in 2001. We wanted to take some time to address your comments. In response to your comments regarding our water proofing process and the appearance of dirt and mold on your awning , we ask you to review your contract you signed with us. As stated in your contract, "cleaning your awning(s) may improve their appearance but will not make them look new or waterproof." The contract also reads,"Due to a change we made in our cleaning process several years ago, we no longer routinely treat Cleaned Awnings with water repellent. Water repellent treatment may not stop all leaks however we can In House Waterproof for the cost below." If you would like to set up for your awning to be waterproofed for the fee stated in your contract, please call our office. Our records indicate that we did a recover on your awning in 2006. This being said, your awning fabric is almost 10 years old. The average life expectancy of an awning is 9-12 years. This being said, it may be time for a new recover. We would be more than happy to set up an appointment to show you the new colors we have available. Regarding the comments made about the service call fee, we ask you to also refer to your service contract. As stated in the paperwork that was signed and sent back, there is a pre-paid service call fee of $99 plus tax for a total of $104.94. This is the process for all service calls, regardless of the reasoning. You placed your request for service on 8/11/15 and we had our crew out to your home on 8/19/15. We apologize if they did not make it within the time window originally stated, but many factors can contribute to our crew running behind for the day. Your awning was fixed that day and as you mentioned we did refund you the service call fee. This is the basis on which we offer our services. It's the same way we have done it from day one. We understand if you do not agree with this and feel the need to take your business elsewhere. However, our Customers return to us each year because they appreciate the quality, service and value we offer. In light of these explanations we ask you to reconsider your comments."

"We stand behind our work at Laurel Awnings and are sorry to hear you are unsatisfied. We have checked out records and would like to address the claims stated in your review. We have attempted several times to contact you about the condition of your awning. We first attempted to reach you on June 5th, immediately after receiving your online contact request. We were unable to reach you and left a message. On June 23rd we made another attempt to reach you, in which you said you would call our office back. We never received a call back to discuss the situation. Our records also indicate that your awning is 9 years old. The average life expectancy of an awning is 9-12 years. Additionally, the fabric pattern of your awning, Sunbrella 4944, is mostly white. Awnings that are white, or a lighter color are by nature more difficult to get completely clean, especially after 9 years of use. In our service contract it is also states, "Cleaning your Awning(s) may improve their appearance but will not make them look new or waterproof." In order to address the issue we would like to offer you a credit for $300 toward a new awning cover. Your current fabric pattern has been discontinued. This being said, we would be more than happy to set up an appointment to show you the new colors we have available.We appreciate your business, and ask you to please contact us if you would like to move forward with a new awning cover."

"We have not provided any service or product to this former Customer since the spring of 2010. It is true that we declined to provide any further service to him after that date, however, not as a result of his complaint to the BBB. We terminated our relationship with him because it became apparent to us that the disruption he was causing to our staff had reached a point where it was adversely effecting our ability to take care of other loyal Customers that find value in the way we schedule and provide Awning Take Down, Storage, Cleaning, Repair and Re-Hang Services. We offer our Take Down/Store/Re-Hang Service by geographic area and not by date certain. This idea came to us from our Customers who told us repeatedly that this method would help eliminate situations where one neighbors Awnings were up and another’s were not. It also has the side benefit of keeping costs lower by making pickups and deliveries more efficient; and this translates into better pricing for the Customer. We publish a schedule each fall and spring of the sequence of geographic areas that we will be working in. This sequence is typically setup so that the first Customer to have their Awnings taken down in the fall will be the first to have them re-hung in the spring. Recognizing that Customers might occasionally need a way to schedule around a special event such as a wedding or party, we offer an option whereby they can schedule to have there Awnings Put Up or Taken Down the week before the event. We do charge an extra fee for this option because we have to re-route a crew and truck to their home from the area where we are currently working and this costs money. The charge, however, is a fraction of our posted Service Call Fee and is set to defray our additional costs in providing this Week Certain Service. This former Customer was never satisfied with when his geographic area came up on the semi-annual rotation or the idea of paying the Week Certain Fee. He called our office repeatedly over several years upbraiding our Customer Service Representatives and Managers about the rotation schedule and Week Certain Service Fee. It is also untrue that we did not give him adequate notice. We wrote to him on October 9, 2009 to let him know that we would take his Awnings down the week of November 1st, 2009, store them over the winter and re-hang them the week of May 1st 2010; and that thereafter we would provide him no further service. He then effectively had a year to locate a replacement service provider. We believe that we work diligently to ensure that our entire sales and service system is designed and constantly reevaluated to preclude disagreements with our thousands of loyal Customers who return to us each year. The last thing we want is to quit a Customer. However, occasionally it works out that it’s for the best. We believe that this Customer represents one of those instances for the reasons explained above. It seems ironic that he can’t realize this after four years of no contact or business together. Laurel Awning Company"