I thought long and hard about our situation with RAM Windows and Doors before I wrote this review. I also gave every opportunity for the company to make it right. Here is a little background…. We bought this home to remodel and live in with our large (and growing) family. We knew going into it that it was going to be a big undertaking and we were ready to take it on. I own a decorating/design business so I have dealt with all kinds of situations and I completely understand the construction world. I do know that most of the time, the contractor measures the openings for windows. When we decided to go with RAM for our windows and doors I was so hesitant because of the cost, but I wanted amazing windows that would be perfect for our home. We work extremely hard for our money and we wanted to make a good investment. I wanted excellent customer service and communication. After meeting with the salesman, I was so confident that this was the best choice for our family and our home. He seemed on top of his game and the customer service was top notch. Every time I called, texted or emailed..he was there right away. He offered to come to our job site and get measurements and look at the project. He said he likes to put his eyes on the project in person. He told us this when we sat down at the table at RAM in the showroom. Never once did he say the contractor needed to measure all the windows. He said he wanted to do it himself to make sure it was correct. He never had us sign off on anything that they were correct. I trusted him because he said has done this for a long time and I figured it was their policy that their company measures and places the order. I have never used them before so I had no idea how they worked or what their protocol was.
He came out 2 times and our contractor just happened to be there, they met once briefly on the first visit on February 8 and the salesman got measurements. He said he would send us a quote and go from there. We decided we wanted to go with RAM after being very impressed with him. He sent me a quote that evening. I looked over it and showed my contractor the next day and he noticed that there were a couple windows missing. I let the salesman know and he added those on, no big deal. I also noticed that one of the bathroom windows were not Sateen glass like we had talked about and he corrected that. I told him on February 11 that we were so excited and ready to proceed.
We went by our house Monday morning, February 12 at 8 am and the salesman was there measuring and verifying everything, we were like Wow, this guy is amazing! He said he was leaving on vacation on Wednesday and he just wanted to double check everything before placing the order. Our contractor just happened to be there meeting with our framers and they talked briefly about a couple things that the salesman asked about. He seemed very distracted or maybe it was that he was very busy and trying to get a lot done before leaving. He said he was all good. He never asked our contractor to measure or verify anything. My contractor would have gladly measured everything. I wish he would have measured everything..then it would have been right and we wouldn’t be in the situation we are right now. He has been doing this for 40 years and he is an amazing contractor. The salesman took all of his own measurements, both times. He wanted to. He asked who would be installing our windows, he said it would be very expensive if we used them. I said our contractor would or we would hire someone. At that point, we had no idea who would install them and he knew that.
After I placed the order and paid half I feel I lost that excellent customer service. I also feel like most of the measurements were incorrect and he got them in a hurry because he had so much on his plate before his vacation. We have had to spend additional money and time to get them to fit. The front door was completely off, the 2 garage windows are way too small (and still are, we have to fix that ourselves because the company won’t take ownership), several of the bedroom and kitchen windows had to have the brick cut to fit, the entry window had to be completely reframed, the patio door was the wrong jamb size…. need I say more? $30,000 on windows and doors and this is what you get?
I am not the only person who feels this way. It has been said to me by an employee that they feel the customer service gets lost after orders are placed as well.
I thought we were receiving all of the windows and doors at once. That is what was portrayed to me. The doors came in the morning, not one person told me that the windows were going to be a separate delivery. So I had lined up our contractor to hang the windows that morning so we could get all of the holes closed up before the rain. Then, when the windows got here I learned from the delivery guy that they were not all there. They were "backordered" (or dropped and broken??) I don't know. Then Friday the office called and said the rest of the windows were being delivered on Monday morning, she said they had one quick stop in Houston and they would be here. I moved my schedule around so I could be there for the delivery to ensure everything was correct. By noon, I hadn't heard from anyone. I called and left a couple messages at the front office and called the salesman at the office...no response from anyone. I finally texted him at 12:54pm and didn't hear from him until 2:16pm. We finally got a delivery at 3:45pm and I learned once again from the delivery guy that all of the windows were not there. Why?? Why are we still short on windows? At that moment, I texted the salesman and he was going to track them down... and I never heard from him again that day. Then I go by the house that evening and the glass is cracked in one of the windows, now they have to order another piece of glass to replace it.
After receiving everything that was backordered or “dropped and broken” I was searching for someone to put them in. Our contractor wasn’t able to get to them put in right away because he had other jobs going on and they weren’t suppose to take this long to get here. The salesman referred us to a guy named Juan. He was an outside source to place the windows. I guess this is still interesting to me because after talking with the manager, he said that whoever measures the windows should be the one installing them. Well, we all know the salesman will not be installing them, there was talk about our contractor installing them, but Juan? I guess I’m confused….
I have been very very disappointed in the way this whole process has been handled. I wish that the salesmen would have stayed on top of it more and had better communication with us. The service should not end after the order is placed. The lack of communication, inefficiency, and all the errors on RAM’S part has been unacceptable. I do understand that things happen that are beyond their control, but communication is key in any business. Here we are weeks later, and we are just getting finished. The order was placed on February 13 and we finished on April 19. However, I suppose I wouldn’t say finished on our end, we have to fix all of their mistakes, but they say they are finished. This has put us behind and it's disappointing. On top of all of this, I was speaking to the manager and I told him how I felt about everything and he said the owner was after him to get our final payment. Is that all they cared about was the money? What about our concerns? I asked him several times to come out to the job site and look at what we had to fix and to meet with us and talk to us with our contractor so we get get it all straightened out. I gave them opportunity after opportunity to work with us and make it right. I really wanted to try to do that. He made it seem like a huge burden to have to come here and meet with us. I told him at the end of our conversation to just go ahead and run our credit card, then I said actually hold off on that, I would like to talk to my husband before you do that, he said ok. (that was at 10:54am on April 24, 2018. Come to find out they ran our credit card for the final amount without telling us at 11:00am, which was right after we got off the phone.
I offered several solutions to fix the problems:
Discount the remaining balance to cover the cost of reframing a few windows and the additional time/money it took to have the windows placed because of the incorrect measurements that we had to pay.
Remake the incorrect windows.
Have their installers come out and make them work, so we don’t have to pay someone to fix their mistakes.
All very good and reasonable solutions.
I worked in sales for years. I am a very understanding person and I do realize things happen in life. But honestly, communication is so very important and if you allow people to know what is going on (good or bad) it is much better than not saying anything at all.
During this whole “train wreck”, (and those are the words of our salesman) this has been quite the ordeal. I contacted the owner on several occasions and he never got back with me. He had the manager, “take care of things.” I find that very odd that the owner would not jump in and handle something that has been such a nightmare. He could see in my emails how frustrated I was. As the owner of my own business, I want to make sure jobs are done correct and to my satisfaction and most importantly, my customers satisfaction.
I am overwhelmed with everything and I feel this has been a headache from the time we placed the order.
We are having our 5th baby August 6 and we are suppose to be in the house by the end of July and unfortunately that is not looking promising anymore.
It was such a huge decision spending this much money on the windows and doors, there have been so many "incidents" in this whole process that is has made me question if I made the right decision. I researched so many places and read all of the reviews for this company and others. I felt RAM, being that they have been in business for 30 years, that I couldn't go wrong. Seeing all of the photos on the website and the dedication they have put into it was astounding. So, needless to say, I am shocked and disappointed.
I will say this, the doors and windows are outstanding. Simply outstanding. The quality is superb. I would love to refer them to all of my clients….. however, I don’t want them to go through what we did. We get so many compliments on the windows and doors. They truly, truly are just incredible and I love them so much! They are the first thing you notice when you see our home. Phenomenal product. However, the constant mistakes and lies are just outrageous. With the salesman, the lies just kept growing and growing. It was absolutely unbelievable. I have never heard a salesperson talk to a client the way he did with my husband, cursing and telling him we were looking for a handout. What a shame. I hope the owner, the manager and the salesman are able to go home at night and rest well knowing they have been dishonest and have not taken responsibility for their actions.
I would like to say that Juana in customer service is amazing. She is so efficient, friendly and professional. Robert, the delivery guy and his helper are outstanding as well. They are both so hard working, understanding and their communication was just excellent every time they made a delivery. I was very impressed with them.
I have tried to be patient with all of the issues that have occurred, but at this point I am truly worn out.
Ram Windows prides itself with a long-standing employee team with a sincere desire to please our customers. We are currently addressing your concerns and are pleased that your project did finally end successfully and your windows/doors look outstanding. It is our hope that in the future you would give us another opportunity to serve you better.