PASADENA AWNING CO

Everything went well after we finally made contact. Installation was done about two weeks after the quote was received. The installers noticed a modification that would make for a better installation, and took care of it on their initiative. Price seemed fair for the value.

I called, they came when they said, they brought samples of fabrics from which to choose, they took the measurements, they then went away and emailed me the estimate. I agreed and sent a deposit, and 5 weeks later they installed the awnings. Just as they promised.

The overall experience was excellent. They were really good. We shopped around a little bit and their price was fair. The quality was great. They had put it way up high and we could never have done it ourselves. They were awesome. They gave us swatches to take home so that we could match it. They also went over the edges and whether we wanted them to be square or curved or straight across. They were great. Everything was great about them and very easy. We have other ones and they came out and did an estimate for us and we are going to use them again. They are going to put some more awnings up and we just didn't want to do it all at once.

Our landscape designer recommended this company, but our experience with Pasadena Awning has been entirely disappointing. When we initially made our deposit in the autumn of 2010, the sales person, Dave Lopez, told us Pasadena Awning would order our awnings and have them ready to go. However, they did not actually place the order for our awnings, so when we were ready for them, we had to wait a month for them to be made. This was our first sign of something amiss--who takes a deposit and then doesn't place the order as promised? Scheduling installation was another delay. Rather than asking customers when they are available, Pasadena Awning calls less than 24 hours in advance and announces when they'll be coming. We are a household of working adults, so of course this method does not work for us. Once they finally did the installation, the awnings did not work properly, and one does not work at all. It's been almost two months since our awnings were installed, and they still aren't functional. Vanessa and the other office staff just take endless messages, but Dave, who seems to handle repairs, never returns phone calls. We have received nothing but a run-around from the staff, and fear that our brand new, never-working awning may never actually work--at a cost of 2k to us. We spent $6k on electric blinds, and definitely wish we had sourced them from a responsive, responsible company, not from this disorganized, slow, unresponsive business.

it didn't.

Pasadena Awning - lacks integrity, poor workmanship, substandard quality and poor customer service. Gives a 5 year warranty but a warranty is only as good as the company behind it. I got three bids for the job. Pasadena Awning was the lowest. That was understandable because of the three bids; the quality was probably the lowest at Pasadena Awning. I was looking for something that will last about 3 years so I decided to go with the lowest estimate. A 50% deposit was required. David Lopez, the owner, gave me a written estimate 9 months before I actually ordered the awning. Due to the lag time, I went to their shop on Fair Oaks Avenue to check whether the price changed and to make the deposit. I used my credit card for the deposit. They told me it will take up to 3 weeks. Within a week, Diane, called and told me the awning was ready and they would come install it on July 13th between 2 to 4 pm. On July 13th, I set aside time (2 to 5 pm) for the installation. When they didn't show up, I left for an appointment. The installer came after I left. Almost immediately, I noticed there was something wrong with the awning. The awning needed an opening in the bottom center to accommodate the knot for the center rope. One was not cut in the factory. The installer improvised and cut a big hole in shape of an inverted T. This opening started fray from day one. This big hole also caused the awning to crease in the center. To add insult to injury, a few days after the install, Pasadena Awning charged the remaining 50% balance to my credit card WITHOUT my authorization! They should at least call me first or send me an invoice. I might have written a personal check instead. Furthermore, I generally don't like to pay contractors until everything is done correctly. Anyway - I called Pasadena Awning and spoke to Diane 6 days after the installation regarding the problem with the awning and the unauthorized charge to my credit card. In regards to the credit card, she told me that it was their policy to let customers know that Pasadena Awning will make a charge to a credit card after the installation. I told her she did not do so with me because I would never agree to such a term. I don't pay until the job is completed as agreed and completed in good workmanship manner. Next she claims the new awning was made exactly like the old awning. I then told her that David Lopez came out and took measurements and never asked whether I would like the new awning to be exactly similar to the old one. I assumed that Mr. Lopez was competent since he has been in the business long enough to know that the replacement awning should be made correctly to the existing frame. Furthermore, if the old one was not made correctly, he would not duplicate the error. At this point I couldn't confirm whether the new one was exactly like the old one because the installer took the old awning (without my authorization). Regardless, the new awning should be made to fit correctly on the frame. Wasn't that obvious? With my untrained eye, I can surmise that the factory should of done was cut a small vertical hole. The lateral cut caused the awning to sag. These people justify their errors. They take no accountability or responsibility for their mistakes. Worse yet, they are so incompetent that they don't know how measure and fabricated a custom awning to fit correctly to the frame. David finally came to my house to look at the awning 3 weeks after it had been installed. David also tried to use the lame excuse that the new awning was exactly like the old. He said that from his experience, he was damned when he does make the old like new and damned when he doesn't. Another lame excuse. I was there when he took the measurements. He could have simply asked. And if he did, I would have opted for the awning to be made correctly. Wasn't it obvious? He took pictures of the awning then proceeds to inform me that I should not be so concerned because the awning was under warranty. David agreed that the opening was not cut properly and the installer should have used a ?hot? knife. He also said he can remove the crease by having it "pressed." Lastly, David said can have someone come out that Friday or sometime next week and that I do not need to be home. He appeared sincere about fixing the problems. I told him I was available anytime next week, Monday through Friday. The last thing David told me was me that Diane would call me to schedule the appointment. Two weeks later, no call. So, I called and left a message. Diane left a voicemail the next day saying that someone will some out Saturday and the time will be confirmed on Friday afternoon. I called Diane that day to let her know that Saturdays don?t work for me but I am available almost any weekday anytime. Again, I suggested anytime Monday through Friday the following week. She told me that she will call me back tomorrow. And she did not. She called me over a week later on a Friday and told me someone can come out tomorrow, Saturday. Again I had to tell her, Saturday does not work for me. Again I offered her Monday through Friday anytime the following week, but this time I also offer Saturday September 4th since she was so insistent on Saturdays. She told me she would call me next week to let me know. Again she did not call so I called her on Friday, September 3rd; I called to inquire whether someone was coming out Saturday September 4th. She told me she was working on the schedule and will call me in just a few minutes. She did not, and again I had to call. When I did, she told me that tomorrow will not work. I told her that I am generally available Monday through Friday. And again I waited and waited and waited. No call. Finally I get it! These people, David and Diane, have been insincere all along and did not intend to fix my awning. They were giving me the old run around. I thought that I will probably get the awning fixed if I write these people a letter. In the letter I had documented all that had transpired. I gave them three dates to fix my awning. That finally did it. An installer FINALLY came out on September 29th - over 11 weeks after the awning was installed. Luckily I was home to supervise because the installer told me he was going to trim the hole into a triangle. I told him no way. He needs to simply seal it so it would not fray anymore than it already has. The hole was causing the awning to sag which in turn causes it to crease. A bigger hole would have made it worse. So he sealed it. He told me that in order to have the awning lie flat, he would have to drill a screw each end of the frame. I told him no way. I live along the foothills and it gets very windy here at times. I don't want the awning to ripe from the screws. Glad I was home this time because I didn't trust these incompetent people. Finally the opening sealed but the awning still sags. STAY AWAY FROM PASADENA AWNING!!! If I can keep only one unsuspecting customer from doing business with these people, I will be satisfied.

see above

The rep came out punctually. He was very honest about the solutions for my problem; i.e. there was no awning or cover that they make that would work for me. He did give me some other ideas that might help(i.e altering the concrete a bit on the patio-I was trying to get water to run off it and not rot out the substructure). While he was there, I did ask him for the estimate for an awning over a door and window. His estimate was ok, and I may call them back for that job.