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Buyer Beware….yes the lies are flying out of the Penguin Windows sales reps mouth but what most people do is Blame the sales rep. Well let me clue you in folks. I am a former manager of Statewide windows DBA Penguin Windows Yes it’s true the company did change their name due to the increasing number of lawsuits and bad PR. Under the statewide name and that’s about the only thing that is true about penguin. Just please remember all the lies I am going to clue you into started at the top of the company and some even at the factory level.
1st lie
The canvasser or telemarketer or the Kmart/Home show sign up for the free energy inspection.
The company nor the sales rep are trained or have the thermograph equipment to do a real energy inspection of a house.
2nd lie
The appointment will only take 60-90 minutes. There is no way that the sales rep can measure all the windows and his pitch in 90 minutes. And yes the more you say NO the longer they will be wasting your time. In fact I have had reps in a house for over 6 hours. 3-4 hours is the norm for Penguin. 2hrs. is the norm for other companies.
3rd lie
You are told that you have blown seals on most of your windows that are just fine
4th lie
They will sometimes test your windows with a heat lamp however they are trained that if you have a ok argon filled double pane window DO NOT TEST because it will test very close to the penguin window they are about to scam you with.
5th lie
They will show you little samples of glass and put it in front of a 300deg. Lamp then will show you the little sample they say is the penguin window however if you look it says Maxus 10 on it not penguin.
The reason is that Penguin does not make windows they simply order them just like most other window contractors. There is no such thing as a “penguin window “it’s a Great Lakes Uniframe window system that penguin somehow got great lakes to put the penguin logo on the locks. Statewide or penguins marketing strategies earned them the exclusive rights to sell the uniframe window system in this area only. The uniframe window system is sold all over the country by companies like penguin the difference. Is you don’t see all the bad pr about the other companies….maybe they are honest ….hhmmmm just a thought.
6th lie
The sales reps are trained to over measure your windows at least 2 inches each way (horizontal-vertical) and you are told that if you buy the windows there will be another employee called the critical measure guy coming buy in a few days to re measure your windows down to 1/8th” for a custom snug fit however when he does this he fills out what’s called a critical measure sheet the windows are then ordered 1inch under (horizontal-vertical) when they are installed the installers pack the gap with insulation rod.
The over measure does not seem like a big deal but here is the thing.
If your window measures 48x36 on your contract would read 88 united inches for that window at a price of approximately $19.00 per united inch there is a $76.00 difference now multiply that by how many widows you have and there you go….RIPOFF. a very good window of the same quality will cost you around $800.00 installed not cheap but compared to the penguin window at a whopping $1600.00 makes any other window on the market seems like a great deal.
7th
Anyone that has purchased statewide windows or penguin windows to call the corporate office in Mukilteo Washington talk to the owner Dean Laou and demand your critical measure sheet and compare the measurements then demand the difference in cost or because the contract was signed with false measurements it is fraud and is void.
At over 2 times the price do they really need to rip you off on the measurements?
Ps
I am not a “disgruntled” worker penguin paid me very well and I enjoyed working for the company I just can’t stand a rip off.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Penguin windows schedule for they're sales managers looks like this:
7am-10am get reemed
11am-1030pm swindle unsuspecting homeowners.
Wash rinse repeat 6 days a week.
Your wife and kids will despise you for never being home, but don't worry if your lucky you'll make 65k. You literally work 80 hour weeks. You spend a ton of your money working. All your coworkers are alcoholic. Most are obese. You get one night per week that you get to be home by 7pm and one saturday off per month. You will be forced to look at people like lab rats.
Not only will you enjoy the above benefits, you will also get to be a lab rat yourself. Your pay plan will be changed without notice. As will our schedule.
Do not work for this company, do not buy from this company, do not support this company.
I've read the negative and the positive comments on the different boards, and you can't state a product is bad on just the sales team. No, I don't work for them, nor do I have family that works for them. We purchased and had the windows installed without a heavy sales pitch. The home we live in was built in the 60's, which had a combination of vinyl Milgaurd windows and 1980s aluminum double pane windows. The ones that weren't installed correctly, were the vinyl’s which leaked and could have caused serious damage or injury because of the quality of work. Why did we choose them, the penguin door to door team came out in 2009 in our neighborhood and again in 2010, when we agreed last fall to have them come out we had two of the best sales people who could have sold us windows for are detached garage but didn't. We went with them based on their honesty and integrity. The windows are awesome, the quality of there fully certified AMA installers showed professionalism through out the install, their carpenter was the best. So I give them kudos for the workmanship, ethics and quality of the product as I don't have drafts from around the window frame, water leaking from the top of the windows because of being incorrectly installed. So time will tell on my savings over the next few years (oh yeah and I get the tax rebate)
Krypton- Where do you get those numbers? - Just curious
Seriously, for the price they charge I would go with a good wood window like Pella or Anderson for less money. You'd have to be off your rocker to pay that for vinyl windows. Sure they have all the bells and whistles, but they'd never pay for them selves. If they say that they are lying through their teeth. They act like they are the only ones that stand behind their product. Most windows have a lifetime guarantee. When the sales guy came out to quote me a garden window ($4500 yeah right!) He also said they could put a corrian bottom for just $700 more. I literally laughed out loud. I said, "you're going to sell me a $20.00 piece of corrian for $700" He just said, "well we aren't cheap, but it looks like we cater to a different league of client" I couldn't get the jerk out of my house fast enough.
I was a top seller at Penguin Windows...A member of the, "Presidents Club" The windows are awesome there's no doubt...BUT! The price you pay for them will NEVER be offset by the amount you save on your energy bill..Think about it people..If you payed just 20k for you Penguin windows which would be a small ranch house...you could of bought double pane Milgaurds or Anderson's or Pella's any number of brands for atleast 1/2 that amount...So 10 thousand dollars offset price...at what ..lets say you save 50% on your electric bill and it should be about 199 amonth for a small ranch..SO..50 bucks a month..600 a year so over 15years just to get back to even with the double pane windows..And beleave me..You wont see a 50% drop in your bill...there good...but not that good...You better be in your home for the long haul...
I agree with what people are saying about PENGUIN WINDOWS and their salesman I was hornswaggled into the windows about their life time waffanty against defects they will be replaced for free. Well low and behold they declaired bankrupcy in Feb of 2011 and if you need a replacement of a defective window Ply-Gem inOhio they are the manufactors of the window's .The company will replace the window and ship it to a window supply place in Vancouver Washington. But they won't ship it to you direct you have to drive down there and pick up the new window, plus install it yourself or they will give you a name of a window glass company that will charge you to deliliver it and install the window for you for a small fee.So after about 30, 000 dollars of new windows installed in 2008 one of them sprang a leek on the inside .I called Penguin windows here in Mukilteo approx.4 months ago only too find out they are no lomger in business you have to call Ply-Gem and they will make you a new window . Well I called Ply-Gem and they made the window, but we don't install them or deliver them to your address. I told them I live in Everett Wa. the gal said we''ll send it to Vancouver Wa. and you can drive there and pick it up, or we'll ship it to Puyallup and the glass co. there who handles all the Penguin repairs will deliver it and install it for 50.00 delivery plus 35.00 dollars an hour to install it. I don't know what can be done and neither does the lady who represents penguin Windows.So if you know of any one in the greater Seattle area or Everett, MtVernon, Bellingham. Who had Penguin windows installed in the past few years I feel sorry for them because that was a lot of money for us to put out, since I'm retired now and living on S.S. There is no way to get back what they bought if the windows are to be replaced.It will cost you a lot of pain and money .SO BUYERS BEWARE OF THE LIFE TIME GUARANTEE ON ANY COMPANY THAT SAYS LIFE TIME GUARANTEE ...Al lthey have to do is file chapter 11 and their safe and we are S.O.L.
I bought 21 large windows for 21k and didn't have any of the problems mentioned above, I negotiated a decent deal and loved the windows until they started warping, they worked great through the first winter then warped over 1/2 inch during the first summer, Statewide/Penguin warranted over sixty windows for me trying to make the Great Lakes windows work, we've tried everything, different colors, flanges, awnings, they just don't hold up in the sun no matter how you install them, Great Lakes is probably responsible for putting them out of business. I had the Great Lakes rep out twice and he did not have a clue, kept dropping the burden back onto Statewide.
Besides the warping, the windows are amazing, to bad they couldn't get it right.
The quality of all the windows are not the same, as one of the windows always seems to be foggy. A couple of the window screens are almost impossible to remove from the frame due to the frame having a serious bow in it.
how do i submit a lawsuit against penguin windows?
todd elliott
101 munroe ave
woburn ma [protected]
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