Pella Windows & Doors

I will never use Pella service ever again. It has a taken 3 months to get a new potion door installed. Either hire more people or get out of the business. I’m done.

We’ve had 15 windows replaced in our house and have been satisfied with the product and installation. However, for the last single window the sales person offered us an option to pay 0% over 18 months. Of course paying interest free would be good thing. Until we found that the payment schedule and payment terms did not equal the total amount after 18 months which then resulted in a balloon payment of deferred interest that totaled almost 50% of the original amount. Felt like the sale person just made the sale, sent the financing with whatever was the default and let us figure it out or pay the extra charge, which unfortunately we paid.
Good product — base sales, customer service.

We used the Pella factory installers to replace all 9 windows on the front of our house. Best decision of the year! Everything went as promised. The installers showed up on time and went right to work. They laid down tarps everywhere they were working to prevent dirtying up our carpets. They completed the whole job in one day. When they left they cleaned up all their trash and vacuumed all the areas where they had worked. Sad to say but they probably left our house cleaner than when they first arrived.
We got the Architect Series. They look beautiful. The Golden Oak wood trim finish on the inside matches our other wood trim perfectly. We also opted for the Roomside Removable Wood Grills. The exterior aluminum flashing is fit and square. Dresses up the whole look of our house. And I will never have to climb a ladder to paint or caulk again!
Our Pella sales rep Stacy, was no pressure, informed and answered all our questions. We had gotten a quote from another window manufacturer who said if we buy the day of the demo, they’d offer a 5% discount. I’ve heard that is the industry practice. I’m not making a 5 figure decision without getting several quotes and sleeping on it. Pella gave us as much time as we needed. The Pella price was competitive
If you are shopping for replacement windows, we found it very helpful to go to a show room to see product options in person. You just can’t get the full effect from catalogs or online.

My luck has run out, I had to call to schedule a service call when the lock on my door broke and we were locked out of one of the rooms in our home.
I actually timed my wait times, first time 7:08 minutes before a real person came on the line. As experience has taught me, I wanted clarification that this real voice could schedule am appointment. First, just answer a few question. SORRY, I will not do that until you can guarantee you can schedule an appointment. Yes, she can. Then she said she had to hang up ~ WHAT did you just say? I have been on hold and I need to schedule an appointment. She put me on hold for another 2:01 minutes.
Sooooooooooo, I answer her questions and she says the part has to be ordered and I am given an appointment a month away. I guess the part is foreign made and arrives on the slow boat.
The next morning I talk to a supervisor, the part, if it has to be ordered, comes from Iowa. Turns out, the part is readily available on the service truck. Am I just a little steamed? You bet.
When the service gentleman was here, and I truly feel sorry for these men because every one of them has been extremely kind and not a thing like the service person on the phone, and he leaves the service call sheet. Not only did DAWN M. (and I will not use her full last name, so I can’t be sued) not have to order the part, she had put exterior (after clarifying that TWICE) rather than interior.
It’s been YEARS of aggravation with the service department. Competition is tough and personnel who continue to treat customers in this HORRIBLE manner should be history. But then, nobody ever listens to me.

Pella has great products. They have a nice showroom. They sell direct to the consumer or wholesale through installers. All this is good.
What’s better is that a Pella rep was able to come to my house on Monday when I called Friday. They blew me away when on Saturday a FedEx package arrived with a thank you note and a confirmation of the appointment for Monday at 6:00 PM.
Then it sort of goes downhill. The rep was a nice ‘kid’ but didn’t strike me as someone with a lot of experience in the field, though he seemed knowledgable. In other words, it was not like talking to a tradesman who would do the install.
Also, the price, after a 20% promo discount, was still way (WAY) higher than what I got through two installers. They did meet the other guys’ prices but hurt their credibility in my mind.
In the end, I went with an installer that I knew and trusted. He gave me the same advice but I trusted him. With Pella I wasn’t sure if this was a sales guy talking or a building professional.
As final note, Pella’s brochure are murderously hard to follow. Without a pro helping me I would have no way of figuring out what my options are and what to order.