American Vision Windows

I desperately needed new windows and was originally going to use the cheapy ones you find at the big warehouse stores but figured I would at least see what it would cost and what the difference in quality was. The sales guy was extremely educated. He even took a heat lamp and placed it on one side of the glass of a typical window and then on the Analin window....wow...the cheapy window was blazing hot and on the Analin window I couldn't feel a thing. The cost was only slightly higher for double pane with gas in the middle and they installed them in a few hours and left NO MESS. The quiet factor was a huge unexpected surprise..my house was so quiet and peaceful with the new windows. I didn't even realize that noise from outside was coming through the closed windows until it was gone.

My overall experience with them was good. Their price was good. The quality of the work done was excellent. They were responsive and punctual. They were very professional. I would use them again.

Happy with all phases of the upgrade. During the process we determined that we needed a change in the order and this was successfully accomplished to our satisfaction. Price was mid stream between the three bids taken. Came highly recommended by a friend. Installers did great. Completed job in one day. Very clean overall.

American Vision Windows (AVW) pulled a bait and switch on me. After explaining everything in detail to the sales man (who came out and took measurements, etc), we agreed on a price (after he went back to his office). But after a short time I got a call from someone else at AVW who said that I needed to hire an engineer to design the window loads and effect on cutting the hole in the wall. They wanted me to hire a "buddy" of his, who could do it for just a few extra thousand dollars. I told them that I already had a contract for the full job, and this was a new cost that was never explained by the sales man. Their excuse was that the sales man was not experienced (despite having been there for years, and having gone back to his office to check the numbers and write up the quote). It was obviously a scam to get me to pay more money to a "buddy" of theirs. When I told them they needed to abide by the contract at the agreed on price, they said they didn't have to because this was "unexpected". I told them that I was a lawyer and under contract law they couldn't decide unilaterally to back out of the agreement simply because I didn't want to pay thousands more than the contract called for. As soon as I mentioned I was a lawyer, they refused to talk with me any more and referred me to their vice president. The vice president said they would not work for me at all anymore, since they didn't want to deal with litigious lawyers, and they sent me my money back. What they did was completely unethical and illegal, but I chose to simply count my blessings that I got my refund and I was simply "out" a dozen hours of my wasted time dealing with them (and I chose to find another window company that could do the job rather than sue them for breach of contract). Beware of AVW - my experience was that they didn't give me the real price, and later came up with fake extra charges (directed to their parter companies), and they will never ever receive my business again.

At the beginning it seemed really great. The salesman was helpful and made good suggestions. I drove out to Chatsworth to see the actual windows in the showroom. This was in May and I told the salesman, Brad, that my concern was that I was leaving town at the end of July and he said that there was no problem, all of the work could be done by then. Inasmuch as I was doing a remodel on my bathroom as well, I needed to coordinate the installation with the remodel. As the middle of July approached, I had heard nothing so I called American Vision. After leaving 3-4 messages, I finally got a call back from Lisa telling me that there was a problem. They had received the windows but there was a damaged window and the whole install would have to wait for the replacement. Uh, yeah. I was disappointed that I was the one that had to initiate all calls. I asked why the install couldn't be done, less the replacement window and was told that they couldn't do that. Now my bathroom remodel had to be put on hold. I was going to be out of town until the end of August so the install was scheduled for August 30th. Inasmuch as it was a whole-house window replacement, I removed all shades, curtains, window coverings, etc. The installers arrived when they said they would and it was a 2 day install. Overall the install was correct, however, two of the windows were installed with the incorrect grid color and I was told that they would have to be replaced. There was also some plaster damage around a couple of the windows and I was told that this would be repaired. At the end of the install I noticed that the woodgrain plastic strips that are caulked around the windows were not sticking. The installer told me that this would set up. He gave me the final paperwork and I wrote down on the paper that inasmuch as they were having to replace a window with the wrong grid colors, I wanted this window with no grids whatsoever. I also told the installer as well. The next day I noticed that my toolbox which I had left in one of the rooms was missing. I called AVW and left a message. Within a couple of weeks I had not heard anything about the replacement window, nor the toolbox. Very, very long story short, I called at least 3 times before getting a call back from Jason, the service manager. He had my paperwork in front of him and I reiterated the request about the window and the toolbox. Even though I had left detailed messages, he responded as though he was hearing all of this for the first time. He said he'd get back to me. Again, no return call so I called and left another message. He called me back and said he would have to check on the window and try to find the installers about the toolbox. Now, this is at least 4-5 weeks after the install. No calls from AVW. Last week I sent a letter to the proud owners, BIll and Katherine (sp?).....yeah, I know, as if there really is a BIll and Katherine. After a back and forth message round with John (what, not Bill or Katherine????)---he said that he checked the installation vans and my toolbox wasn't there and he couldn't accuse anyone. Oh, yeah, and there could have been a charge for the window, but they just want me to be satisfied. I'd love to give these people lessons in customer service. Hey, BIll and Katherine, how about I do a workshop for you regarding customer service? I never accused them of stealing my toolbox, I just said that they probably picked it up in error when they were leaving. After almost two months I seriously doubt it's in the van. What to do???? How about offering to at least replace the contents of my toolbox? I wasn't going to complain about the installation and clean up, but now I am nitpicking. They left pieces of metal and plastic thrown around in my plants outside. The plaster repair looked like my 4 year old nephew did it. It was just a blob of patch material covering the hole, not even smoothed out with a putty knife. I had to go back and do it myself. The bottom line is that they are super friendly and accommodating when they come out. The windows in the showroom are obviously done with loving care. However, the customer care and service ends there. I could have loved my windows and been in a position to recommend them. However, the lack of customer care and service and follow up are really, really poor. Hey, Bill and Katherine----take your pictures off of your full page ads and stop misleading people into thinking you care. I tried to send you a letter, call you, etc., but maybe you're in your house in the Hamptons-----which probably has custom Marvin Windows installed by a team of professionals. I tried to find out repeatedly about your corporate headquarters and the CEO, etc., and the best I got was John telling me that he was corporate. No, wouldn't recommend AVW.

Due to this experience we have learned a very valuable lesson to make sure you kick out pushy sales people who make the hair on your neck rise and to read and comment on every aspect of the quote till you are satisfied. While having our house painted in early May we discovered that two of our windows needed to be replaced before the painters could finish the job. We called AVW's for a quote and a rude sales person I will call 'Samuel' arrived, griping about the commute to our house and how it wasn't worth his time if we were only interested in two windows. This was when we should have said goodbye and waited for the next day and a new quote. Instead due to desperation, we listened to his speel and went from our original price range of $900 to almost $3000 including the addition of two more windows (as slimy as he is, he got us). Samuel made promises that we found out were impossible to keep, such as having our windows within two weeks of the final measurements before our painters finished our house. After showing us nothing but black and white drawings of styles to choose from, he ordered an obscured window for our kitchen even though we had stated several times we had wanted a tinted window, he lead us to believe that obscured meant tinted. Due to our ignorance and his maliciousness we ended up having to hire another company and spend another $300 to remove an obscured window from our kitchen. There were also several things that he neglected to put onto the quote even though we had signed off on the job cards, including a specific pattern that we had wanted on all four windows. Now only one has the pattern and it looks really out of place. Two months from the day we signed the contract, our windows were installed. You could only imagine the apoplectic anger when walking into our kitchen and seeing a giant bathroom window over our kitchen sink. I will NEVER use this company again. I will NEVER recommend this company to anyone and I am shocked that Samuel continues to be employed since we've decided to go with another company to replace all the windows in our house including replacing the lone window with a pattern.

Before calling American Vision Windows, I did a lot of research on windows. I have continuously heard commercials on KFI about American Vision Windows and their great service and product. There was another company that was local to me that I was considering, but after reading Angies List, my mind was made up that regardless I was going with American Vision Windows. Online I submitted my name and phone number to American Vision Windows. They called me within two hours and set up an appointment for an estimate. Tim came out on a Sat. ( exactly on time) and described their products and the difference in price and performance. He was very friendly and knowledgeable. I chose my product and then another appointment was made for an exact measurement. They worked around my time constraints and once again the gentlemen came exactly on time and worked quickly. Installation day: Two very friendly gentlemen came out on time and installed my windows. They were very thorough and cleaned up any mess...which there wasn't much. They hauled off all the old windows. I was very happy with the quality and especially with the design of my sliding glass door that I had a doggie door put in on the opposite end. The windows move with ease and the screens pop out with a breeze. The only thing I am unhappy about is my windows do not have panels. I thought all windows came with panels. I also assumed that they would because one of my needs was easiness of cleaning and Tim told me the panels were inside the window. But after installed I noticed they did not have panels. No biggie for the back of house but the two up front do bother me. I called them and I was told I would have to purchase new ones. After spending what I did I think they could have done better than that.

Their salesman was on-time, responsive to questions, and professional. The windows they quoted for us were very nice triple-pane windows which are probably not necessary in southern California. I think they sold the type of windows we eventually went with, we just didn't want to go through another quote session and are happy with the contractor we signed with.

The installers were great; they were very respectful and so forth. The salesperson was really lacking in knowledge and delivery took longer than I expected. The price was good.

We chose American Vision Windows based on their stated priorities for putting the customer first, then their employees, based on the premise that well trained and happy employees lead to happy customers. It certainly proved true in our case. We also chose American Vision because they do not sub-contract any of the work, and can therefore accept full responsibility for customer satisfaction. Quality and price were also factors for us. While American Vision wasn't the lowest price, you usually get what you pay for, and they were certainly competitive. The promise of customer satisfaction was the most important to us. The job started with Paul's visit to review our needs and talk about options. He was very knowledgeable and gave us the pros and cons of each option. He gave advice about whether or not to remove tile in advance of the job, and he even fixed a leaky faucett while he was here! Almost as he was leaving, we mentioned that our next step was to start researching shutters. He said American Vision also had shutters, and he would go to his car to retrieve samples, etc. After another hour of pros and cons, we also ordered Norman WoodLore Shutters. (These would be installed later, following completion of the window job) Their process and the schedule of events is very organized and went just as they said it would. Within a week of Paul's visit, another representative came out to confirm window measurements, and was very helpful in reviewing a couple of changes that we were considering. (Changes to your order are no problem up until this final measure is completed). He arrived very promptly and like Paul he was a contractor in a previous life, and was very friendly and knowledgeable. The fact that American Vision was using highly qualified, knowledgeable and customer-focused people made us feel even more confident in our selection of American Vision. Within 3-4 weeks of the final measure, they called to say our windows were ready, and they were happy to accomodate a request for a Saturday install. The installation team (3) arrived exactly at the time scheduled, and went to work. This was obviously not their first rodeo ! They protected our floors with cavass, and had the entire process down to a science. They installed 4 standard Anlin Catalina windows, an Anlin Malibu patio sliding door, and a large Anlin Malibu "mulled" unit. We live in a two story condo, on the third story of the condo building. Completing the job seemed a piece of cake to them - ladders inside and out and they worked carefully to not mar surrounding walls. They actually hoisted the frame of the patio slider up over the 3rd floor balcony because it couldn't come up the stairs or elevator. When I heard this plan, I was anticipating the frame would be scratched from the process but during the final walk through I found only one very minor scratch which they fixed on the spot. They completed the entire job the same day, arriving at 8:30 and leaving at 5:00. During the final walk through, they gave information about care and operation, and touched up a couple of small spots on an outside frame. We had a very, very small scratch on the screen frame to the patio slider, which we planned to remedy with a tiny dab of touch up paint. A notation of the scratch was made on the final sign-off, and within a week American Vision called to say they were delivering a brand new screen instead ! The scratch was so small the paint would have been a very acceptable solution - we hadn't even asked them to replace the entire thing! Again - good, customer-focused service. If you are considering the Anlin product, ask the sales rep to explain the 'window stop' on the inside of the window. It is placed there to ensure the window locks do not mar the interior window frame when the window is opened all the way - but the 'stop' looks kind of hokey, like an afterthought. You can easily remove the stop with no tools if you choose. We've had the windows a couple of weeks, and couldn't be happier. We live on a very busy street and the noise is no longer an issue. Also, the interior temp is very easily managed now that we have the energy efficient windows - what a difference. The behind the scenes crew, who took questions and coordinated scheduling, etc, was also very pleasant to work with. PS - American Vision's web site often offers free installation of energy efficient windows - ours was free and the windows are eligible for an energy credit/rebate.

They had an ad in the paper and so I called them.

Things went very well. They did a very nice job and worked efficiently. They were able to complete the job in a couple of days and were quick to return to attend to minor completion details. We are very happy with the windows. They were very professional and easy to work with.

We spent about $6500 on that service and we thought that the price was very good. The work overall went very good. They came out, told us what they were going to do and it was supposed to be a two day job, but they did it on one. They went out of their way and they ripped out whole door frames and carted everything away. They did a really good job and we were very happy with the work that they did and the glass doors as well. They were recommended to us by a neighbor who had used them first.

They were awesome. Their price was competitive. Their work was excellent. They were responsive and responsible. I had no problems at all. They got the job done on time. Everything was wonderful and the windows are fine.

The person that came out was great! We are going to go with them. The person that came out was very thorough. They explained everything in detail. The sales person had a really good presentation. We like the product that they carry.

In early November, we contacted AVW to get information about replacing windows in our house (and to possibly qualify for the $1,500 energy tax credit for 2010). Within a few days, Tim Corbett came out and presented us with our options and prices. He was very knowledgeable and had a "no-nonsense" approach (which I greatly appreciated). We decided to purchase new windows on the spot. A couple weeks after that, another representative from AVW came out to re-measure our windows for ordering and answer any other questions. By late December, our windows were shipped and delivered to AVW's warehouse. Installation was scheduled for 5 days later. On the day of installation, the install crew of 3 arrived promptly and were extremely courteous and professional. They kept me abreast of everything that was going on throughout the entire installation process. What made the largest impression was the fact that they checked, re-checked, and re-checked again as each window was installed, spray foamed, and sealed. It was truly a pleasure to watch them work. Overall, I was extremely impressed with American Vision Windows throughout every step of my interaction with them. I probably could have found my windows cheaper from another company, but I am convinced that we would not have received nearly the same level of service or quality.

I got another major company (California Deluxe Windows) to give me an estimate. Looked like a great product but out of my budget. I called American Vision and they seemed like a good window and company. They gave me a price and then lowered it somehow to work with my budget. They did the work fast and cleanly. They have been great and have returned a few times for minor issues over they years. They are always nice and responsive. One of the best companies I have ever dealt with. Really! They stand behind their product all the way. And they continue. Even after they get their money. How refreshing is that? I have recommended them to several people.

The process went very well with them. We had a personal referral from a friend in addition to vetting them through here on Angie's list. We discussed doing some garage doors with them too, but decided to just focus on the vinyl replacement windows instead. Likely will be using another contractor for the garage doors. The one "B" I gave them in the rating was due to the fact that they incorrectly measured one of our windows, so they had to come back a few weeks later to finish the last one. But they were very communicative and punctual - and even though we had a pretty "big job" they finished all of the on-site work in a single day (with the exception of having to come back for that one window). On our final walk-through we did find one screen that was a bit loose and a scratch in one of the windows - but their staff fixed the screen on-site that day and they brought a replacement sash with no arguments or questions on the scratched pane. I'd fully recommend working with them and had a good project.

They were very good in installation and prompt. Off recent my handyman noticed the cocking job was poorly done. They used very good quality for our windows and they look beautiful. They were moderately priced. I will use their services in the future.

They had a mix-up with the warehouse and so had to split the job into two appointments even though it was all supposed to be done in one day. However, they were apologetic about it and called immediately when they discovered the problem. The only reason I didn't give an excellent all the way down is because I felt like the first set of installers were too conservative with the insulation in the walls surrounding the door and with the sealer around the outside. I wanted every nook and cranny filled but they didn't. They also didn't put sealer into the top part of the door inside, which I discovered after they left. I called the company and they sent someone out to complete the sealing and he said he always makes sure he seals everything completely, so not sure why the other crew didn't. I was disappointed that I had to monitor and check up on their work as I figured with their reputation and the price I paid that they would be top notch all around. Overall, I'd still recommend them - just watch the entire process.

The installers were very skilled and polite. They did a great job of installing the new windows! They were somewhat pricey but I feel it?s worth it for the quality you receive.

We did the windows first. They did a great job. When we decided to do another project a few weeks later, we didn't hesitate to call them in again.

They were extremely responsive and very courteous on the phone. They called back promptly, but were never pushy. Don came and provided an estimate and we felt so comfortable with his professionalism and knowledge about the work that we hired him on the spot. They called back to schedule the appt for final measurings exactly as we were told and the windows were special ordered and came in three weeks which we were quoted. They just installed the windows yesterday and they were in by 9 and out by 3:30. my husband was amazed at how quickly they worked. they did a very thorough cleaning job too and the windows all look fantastic! I highly recommend this company to any of my friends and family. I am a very satisfied customer!

Met Co. at home show in 1000 Oaks, had seen ads . Gonzo was the man, he came the next week also had 2 others from the show come and bid job. Co came and started demo. One man completed one BR window as sample, we reviewed the work, oked itaas it was exactly what we wanted. The rest of the crew cut the old windows out, cut the walls down for the new doors, routed the electrical wiring above the windows and put the windows in. Each evening the house was clean in and out. Finished the job Friday pm on time and I made a Tri Tip lunch for all. We had many jobs like New AC, electrical, fence gates, plumbing, painting etc in 5months and the Am. Vision job went the smoothest, on time with no problems. Double pane windows and doors, very happy.

They came out and replaced the outside and inside seals and cleaned it. They told me that I needed to clean the traps more often as this can cause them not to drain as they should. I was not charged for this visit, I have a lifetime guarantee. After sealing the windows everything is now air-tight!