Wellington Window & Door Co

I am having trouble with my windows and every time I call them to come out they never show up. The windows are fogging up on me. They installed all my windows 2 years ago but 2 of them are fogging up and I cant get them to come back out. They don't stand behind their work. I spent about $6000 for them to put the windows in.

The repairman, named Keith, was prompt and professional.  He came in, I showed him the windows in the three different bedrooms.  He did all the work I asked.  He was fast, friendly and neat in his work.
Now, while he was working I asked him some questions about all the hullabaloo I had read in the past about bad window glass or something like that.  He said that the previous owner did everything she could to fix the problem and everyone who had a complaint has either had their issues fixed or the parts are on order.   My repairman offered to order a part that may not be covered under warranty, but after I read my warranty in detail, I learned that it was.  He has ordered the part and he said it might be a few months.  I thanked him for being honest about the lead time.  I wrote him a check for the trip / 1st hour of labor charge for $85 and I was satisfied with all the repairs that were done.
After he left, I learned in my own research that Wellington Windows is
no longer in business.  The company who honored the repair warranty is
known as Wellington Home Improvement.  They are not legally obligated to honor the Wellington Windows warranty.  This speaks to the integrity of the family who owns this company.  They are sincerely trying to make good, even to this day.

I cannot speak to the current quality of their windows or other work, but I look forward to using them in the future if I have a need for affordable, energy efficient, vinyl replacement windows.
You can see my previous review about Wellington that I made last week for all the
details of the initial installation 11 years ago.

I had no complaints after the initial installation.  They were fast, professional and left our rooms and yard the same as when they got here.
I'd like to explain why I am posting this review now.  It is now 11
years later since we had the windows installed and on the outside of the
house, the windows look the same as when they were first put in. We
haven't had to perform any maintenance at all.  The caulking is even
still intact and looks new.  I had honestly expected to have to replace the windows in 10 years because of the pricing..  Down the road, I was investigating replacing a larger window and came upon a ton of negativity about Wellington and I never gave them a  second look.  I thought that we just got lucky not having any of the problems I had read about.  So, now, fast forward to today.
I contacted Wellington today, March
21, 2013 to inquire about getting a new weather strip (the fuzzy strip
at the top of the lower sash) that had come loose and to recommend an adhesive to reglue the plastic lift on a different window that had separated..  I provided the job number of the
contract and told them I assumed it wasn't covered under warranty, but
the lovely lady on the other end informed me that they will have someone
come out for the $85 trip charge and assess ALL of the windows and make any
repairs/part replacements under warranty.  I'm thinking that $85 for someone
to come out and go over all of my windows and repair or replace
anything is a deal, especially considering we've had these windows for
11 years.
In my opinion, the money we spent on Wellington Windows was by far the best VALUE than we could have gotten with any competitor even to this day.  The money we spent in 2002 was the total dollars invested for 11 years of trouble free and worry free performance and the windows still look great.  They provided and installed good looking and good performing windows at a price we could afford and they are honoring their lifetime warranty.  There isn't much else a person can ask for.  Our lifetime warranty covers 100% parts/labor  for another 9 years, so the next owner of this home will get the same protection.  I think that's great!
I will update this review after they come out and do the work.

lsStay

I want to preface this by saying this review takes place starting in 12/2008. While I haven't kept track of every single phone call, person or corespondence, this review will show the general chain of events of my experience with Wellington Window and Door. I had not kept track of all the names of people because I had no idea I was going to be in for such an long battle. Had I known I would have kept a better record. I feel that this issue is finally closed so I've written the review below.

I had (9) replacement windows from Wellington Windows and Door Co. installed in my home on Nov 7, 2008 at a cost of $6,730.00. As the winter months progressed, I noticed that condensation was building up on the inside of the window panes. Some were worse than others but eventually it was apparent that every widow exhibited this condensation problem. I called Wellington in late December and stated the trouble. The gentleman I talked to said he would forward my message to the appropriate person. I never heard back from them.

In Feb 2009 I attended the NARI home improvement show where I saw the salesman (Kevin) who sold me the windows. He told me that he would he would let the office know about my issue. Again, I never heard back from them.
 
In Mar 2009 I attended the Lawn and Garden Expo here in Milwaukee and once again saw the salesman (Kevin) at the Wellington window booth. I told him nobody called me since our last encounter. He told me of a production problem they had with my windows. Apparently the machine that puts the desiccant in the windows which eliminates moisture was not working correctly. He said he would put me on a ?hot list? for someone to call me back. I never heard back from them.

It was around April when I called Wellington to get to the bottom of the issue. The person I talked to said they would replace the windows but couldn?t tell me when or how long it would take to replace them. I was not satisfied with this answer so I asked for a manager name and phone number. I think this was a phone number in Minnesota at the headquarters. I left a message on an answering machine stating my problem. I received a phone call the next day from a gentleman who told me the same thing, ?they are aware of the problem but can?t tell me when or how long it will take to replace them.? After a few minutes of debate about replacing defective products, the only thing he could tell me was that once they received word from the manufacturer (I thought Wellington did manufacture them) that the windows were completed, it will be approximately 5 weeks  for delivery and installation. A few days after, I received another phone call; I believe it was the manager from Minnesota. She said she was working to get my windows replaced and ?maybe she could call me by the end of May.? Again she said once they contact me of a manufacturing date it will be 5 weeks after delivery.

Well, May had come and gone, June had come and gone and July was almost gone. I had not heard from them since April and was tired of dealing with it. I?d given them every opportunity to make this right, but they had not done so. I was done making calls and talking to people who obviously had no interest in fixing my $6,730.00 problem. To be fair, they sent a letter in June (6 months after I contacted them) stating they know they have a problem, but also stated that I need to be patient while they resolved the problem.
 
I felt I had been very patient to that point. I had initiated contact with them 5 times since this has happened. I couldn't understand why they had not made greater attempts at resolving it. It had been nearly 7 months since my first phone call (and 8 months since installation) and was no closer to getting my windows fixed.  When I first ordered my windows they were made and installed in a few weeks.

Finally after filing the BBB complaint, Wellington contacted me and attempted to address the issue. After badgering the CS person for a delivery date, she finally gave me an installation date of 8/28/2009. They showed up on 8/28/2009 with only 7 of the 9 windows. The tech stated that the 8th window broke while shipping and gave no explanation as to why the 9th window was not completed.

As of 10/30/2009 they had not called nor had they scheduled a delivery date of the remaining two windows. I called them again and finally got a delivery date of 12/8/2009 for the last two windows, one slider and one double hung (4 panes of glass). They showed up with one pane for the slider and one pane for the double hung. Not only that, they broke the frame of the slider while trying to replace the defective pane of glass. So now I needed to get the frame replaced too. When my wife asked when we could expect to get the remaining two panes, he just said "we'll call you".

After this, I filed a complaint with the consumer protection of Wisconsin. It had been a over a year from the origianl install date and was still beening given the runaround. I stated in my letter that I wanted some sort of refund or I wanted their product removed from my house. I recieved a letter from the president of Wellington stating that they would not offer any sort of refund and they also felt that were adequately resolving the problem.

After this I contacted a lawyer who told me to just sit tight a wait for the rest of the windows. It would be too expensive and troublesome to pursue any sort of suit.

I had finally received the last remaining windows I think it was May or June 2010 but I may a little off on this date. However about mid winter in 2010 I noticed a stress crack in one of those last two windows. When I called and told them of the problem she tried to tell me the warrenty was from the original date of install (Dec 2008). I said, no, no, no. The "good" window was just installed in May or June 2010. She told me she would try to put the order though as warranty work but could not be certain it was covered. Thankfully it was. The last remaining window was installed on 6/12/2011. 

I had filed 2 BBB complaints, a consumer protection complaint, and had asked for legal help.
 
How's that for customer service.

Described above.

We had a good experience with them. Considering the other quotes that we got, their price was reasonable. We talked to 6 different companies. Wellington was the company we liked the best because of the construction of their windows. George was the guy that came out. He was very nice and a great man. They came when it was cold out too.

I have been very satisfied with their service. They were right on time for the job and they did a really nice job. There was one window that had been scratched up during shipping and they came right out and replaced it when I called them. They were very professional. They cleaned up everything and even washed the windows for me. I would use them again if I needed too.

They did the work in the middle of winter. They were good to work around the weather and make the best of it. They did the work quickly and efficiently. They made sure to clean up after themselves. They did a good job.

Wellington Window and Door has a very experienced and friendly salesman. He was very professional and very easy to deal with. They had a good price and they were also able to give us the estimate in a timely manner. They did the work quick and efficently as well.

Excellent. Work was done in 2007. Wellington is the only company in this area that offers a vinyl window with a very dark oak color.(Note to contractors!). I liked their life-time warranty(!)and the fact that the company actually employs people, as opposed to hiring contractors and subcontractors and subsubcontractors. The salesperson, Jerry, was a journeyman carpenter, which meant he had a good deal of knowledge about construction and windows. Jerry spent three lengthy appointments educating me about windows and discussing options. Wellington prides itself in its installation process. They gave me information about what would happen on installation day, a checklist of things to do prior to the day, and called me prior to the event. After the windows had been installed the crew leader and I inspected them, with the help of yet another checklist. Wellington offers high quality windows and excellent service. Although their products are expensive I feel they are very competitive with other high-end window manufacturers/installers. I love my windows! They're easy to operate and clean, very energy efficient, and absolutely beautiful.

I thought it went excellent. It was refreshing.

They did my sisters windows and I liked what they did so we had them do ours, and they ended up bumping the walls and leaving dark marks. They didn't offer to fix the problem. My sister had a better clean-up team then we did, and she had them do hers in the spring. They didn't clean up after themselves at all, and we had a lot of plastic cap ends from the caulking guns, small pieces of wood, I think some shims on the patio.

I was very satisfied. They were very professional and all the work was done on time. The stayed with the estimated price that they had given us. I would recommend them to others.

From the time I entered the showroom to the time my windows were installed, I had a positive experience. The salesman was helpful, informative, and NEVER pushy. He arrived at my home with samples on time and was very friendly. I never felt pressured. He guided me in the right direction without ever over-selling. He was honest. The men who came to install the windows were on time, respectful of my property,and of the fact that I had to let the dogs out now and then. The workers were accommodating to my needs. The work was fast, they left no clean-up and did an almost perfect job. They worked in the rain, so a few of the caulked areas are not perfect to the human eye, but only I would notice. The windows are GREAT, work just as they said they would, and add a nice touch to my home. They are a bit pricey, but its a great quality product. The windows are made exactly to specifications... NOT premade. I will have them install the rest of my windows when the time comes.

The windows seem all right (after waiting a month for the correct size replacements). However, the inside molding color is very unsatisfactory.

Returned my call and promptly scheduled a visit for estimate. Explained in detail what I could expect and when. Explained the differences of their product and company compared to others, in a very positive fashion. Detailed estimates of different options, colored vinyl to match the interior woodwork vs white. I had Pella replacements for a bay window and while pleased with those windows too, the time I would have had to spend staining the wood myself (or have Pella do it at a much higher cost), made Wellington the most sensible choice for me. Very pleased with the results.

I am very pleased with the window replacements. Working with Kevin and the 2 installers Doug and Jason was a very positive experience. Installers were on time, were meticulous, helpful and very professional. They replaced 10 windows and outside aluminum trim. They arrived at 8:15 am and were finished by 3:30 pm. Each window installed was checked and washed and the surrounding area thoroughly vacuumed before moving on to the next window. I now have windows that are air tight and look great. I am impressed with Wellington's product and people.

The work was done as indicated in a professional & timely manner.

WE WERE VERY PLEASED WITH THE INSTALLATION PROCESS. THEY CAME TWICE TO MAKE SURE OF THE MEASUREMENTS. ON INSTALLATION DAY, THEY WERE VERY PROMPT, VERY NEAT AND THEY DIDN'T DESTROY THE SHRUBS IN FRONT OF THE WINDOW. THEY WERE HAPPY TO PLEASE.

Everything went well. I had to reschedule 3 times and they were very accommodating. The salesman was extremely low pressure.

EXCELLENT WORK, THE SALESMAN WAS VERY THOROUGH, TAKING SEVERAL SETS OF MEASUREMENTS TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WENT WELL, & THE FOREMAN DOUBLE CHECKED THAT! THEY CAUGHT A DEFECTIVE WINDOW BEFORE INSTALLATION, & BEFORE THEY REMOVED THE OLD ONE. NO COMPLAINTS, & VERY PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS & THE PROCESS. PLEASANT NOTE SENT IN FOLLOW UP, WHICH WAS PROFESSIONAL & APPRECIATED. GREAT CLEAN UP

THEY ARE EXCELLENT TO DEAL WITH. I'VE USED THEM 5 YEARS PREVIOUSLY AS WELL. A'S ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

THEY CLEANED UP AFTER THEMSELVES. THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO IN A TIMELY MANNER. THEY WERE GOOD TO THEIR WORD. THEIR PRICE WAS GOOD ALSO. ARTISTIC WISE, WHEN THEY WERE INSTALLING THE WINDOWS AROUND OUR PORCH, THEY WERE ABLE TO BLEND THE OLD WITH NEW. GEORGE WAS THE PERSON WHO WE WORKED WITH AND HE WAS VERY GOOD. HE WAS EXTREMELY PATIENT. HE WAS GREAT ABOUT EXPLAINING TO ME SOME OF MY COMPLICATED WINDOW MEASUREMENTS AND SITUATIONS. MY HUSBAND WAS HAPPY AND THAT'S UNUSUAL.

COST WAS COMPARABLE OR BETTER TO OTHER COMPANIES I LOOKED AT. I CHOSE ONE OF THEIR HIGHER GRADE WINDOWS AND FELT I GOT A GREAT VALUE. WINDOWS LOOK WONDERFUL AND HOUSE IS GREATLY WARMER! INSTALLERS WERE ON TIME, VERY PROFESSIONAL AND FRIENDLY. THEY FINISHED THE JOB IN 5 HOURS AND LEFT NO MESS BEHIND. THEY EVEN SHOOK OUT THE RUGS BY MY FRONT DOOR. MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS WITH THE SALESMAN. HE CANCELED ONE OF OUR APPOINTMENTS AT THE TIME WE WERE SUPPOSE TO MEET, AFTER I HAD TAKEN OFF OF WORK. I WOULD OF PREFERRED IF HE HAD CALLED EARLY (EVEN 30 MINUTES) TO LET ME KNOW. MY INSTALLER BENJAMIN MADE THE WORK LOOK SO EASY AND HE SMILED THE WHOLE TIME HE DID IT. I WAS TOLD THE JOB WOULD TAKE ALL DAY AND THEY WERE DONE BY 1PM!