Universal Windows Direct of Cleveland

Job was started and finished on time, crew was very polite and considerate. Covered all floors prior to starting work and cleaned up after they were done. Dramatic difference in the interior of the house, no drafts and we are still playing with the thermostat as the old settings are too high. Windows are expensive but appear to be as advertised.

EVERYTHING CAME TOGETHER PERFECTLY. PRICE ,TIMING , AND MOST OF ALL QUALITY OF WORK

They arrived on time and blankets were placed on the floors to protect my carpet and hard wood, installed windows and used a shop vac to clean up the mess. Also I was impressed when he came to give me the estimate. I cancelled my appointments with other window companies and decided to go with Windows Direct.

Upon arrival the crew reviewed the job and covered the carpeting to prevent damage. They quickly and efficiently removed the old windows and installed the news ones. Although early into the fall season, I can already tell the new windows are much more energy-efficient and will keep my home warmer over the winter. I am pleased with the products and service provided by Universal Windows Akron, and will definitely consider hiring them again.

We first met with Joe of Universal Windows Direct at the local home show. We evaluated his product line against every other replacement window vendor at the show. The quality of the product stood out for its quality and functionality. We then scheduled an in-home consultation, after which we elected to have UWD replace about half of our windows a year ago. Last week, we had the remaining windows replaced by UWD as well, based on our very positive experience beforehand. The windows operate effortlessly. They insulate well. And they look great. After our experience last year and again this year, we feel that Universal Windows is a great value. And as their commercial says, "we love our windows!!!".

I had familiarized myself with all of the fine points of one of their products and was reasonably well versed with it, in that I already had received quotes from two other companies for the exact ( and the word 'exact' can't be stressed enough) product, as well as quotes from multiple other window companies (as well as the two big box stores). I gave this company two separate chances to submit a competitive bid, but they fell short both times. The first salesman arrived and as he got out of his car with a load of sales equipment (binders full of 'need to know' info, and a window sample), I explained to him that I already was very, very familiar with one specific product, and had written an exact list of what I wanted, so he could save us both time (my most valued asset which can't be replaced) by simply verifying the sizes listed and just giving me his best/lowest price...period...simple. No, he said. He was required to give me the full sales pitch, but promised he would give my the short version. OK, fine. Two hours later, after telling me that 17 windows could cost as much as $33K and the average price would be in the low 20K's, he offered me the window (not what I was interested in) for 18K+ because we were 'friends' and I could take his 'good Christian word on that'. When I asked for a price on exactly what I had originally requested, he lowered it to around 13K. I told him I had received multiple bids on comparable windows, all of which were between $6.600 and $8.200, he then said that he could lower the price if I would allow a sign in the front, neighborhood canvasing, and flyers mailed. That's when I reminded him that he didn't do what I originally asked him to do, which was just give me your lowest price on my list. Two hours gone and listening to his praise of being #20 on the Fortune 500 list, his wonderful offer of lifetime warranty, all being worth this vastly higher price. I said he could offer to sell me the windows for $500 total and I still wouldn't do business with him and goodnight. About 10 days go by and I get a call from the company stating that they read the notes and would like to send someone more experienced than the first salesman out to 'make things right'. Sure...give it a shot. Salesman number two arrived exactly on time and guess what...I asked if he still had the notes of exactly what I wanted. Yes he did. I asked him to simply give me his best, lowest price for the desired product. He first wanted details of where the first salesman went wrong. I quickly obliged. Then, when pressured to pick up the pace and give me that quote which would be his lowest and 'make things right for me', he went to work on his calculator and came up with $10,600 less an additional $500 for the inconvenience of the first salesman. I again said no thanks and that he wasn't in the ballpark, and...finally informed him of his lowest competitions price ($7,600). He then lowered his price to $7,260 and said that he was loosing money on that price, but would make it up elsewhere. I then pointed out that he, like the previous salesman used all of the same sales methods and again didn't give me his best/lowest price immediately. We were done. In my opinion, the sales methods used by this company, though common and legal, are by their very nature high pressured, tick-tock buy it now, time-share type sales methods that take advantage of the uninformed, possibly the elderly, and even the young first time buyer couples who bought a fixer upper. Do your homework and get multiple bids on the same, or same quality products.

I was very disappointed with my experience. The Sales Rep was nice and knowledgeable but insisted on playing games regarding the price. His first quote was $13,700 and within 5 minutes it dropped to $9,400 "if we signed right then". I explained to him that we would not make a decision that night because they were the first company we had gotten an estimate from and we wanted to make an educated decision based on meeting with a minimum of 3 companies. After another 10 minutes of "what price would it take to sign right now" he left. The company made a follow up call the next week and I explained the issues I had with the revolving price game. This was followed up a few days later with another call that promised to give me "substantial savings" if one of their managers could come to my house and meet with me personally. When I asked what their bottom line price would be I was told that he could not tell me over the phone but they would be "substantial". In other words, they expected me to let another one of their employees come in my house and give another high pressure sales pitch. In my opinion their windows, service and warranty should be enough to make a sale and they should give customers a set price as opposed to playing games.

Had a problem with a window not closing all the way. Joe stopped by with his "handy dandy" tools and easily fixed the problem in a minute or two and then explained to my husband what caused it and how to fix it if it should happen again. Always pleasant, Joe left with his usual - be sure to call if you have questions or problems. Thinking we made a good investment not only in the windows we chose but also in the company we selected. Remembering requesting a second demo, the professional installation both times they came to replace the windows leaving a clean yard and home and the great follow up after purchase. Thanks Joe and crew!!

Dave Volpe sold us the doors. He gave a great presentation! The doors look great! Their products look great on our old house! Arrive on time. Brothers Josh and Paul were installers. Just arrived at 9:00 AM left at 2:00. Old doors were quickly taken out with no damage done! Asked questions through out installation process making sure it was what we wanted. Clean up after installations of sliding doors and front door.

Joe and the install crew were very responsive and professional.

William was on time and very professional.

It went great. The installers were so very personable, yet professional and very efficient. They left the work area just as clean, if not cleaner, than when they came. This was my second experience with them and I have nothing but praise.

Joe Pianecki (owner) was very easy to talk to and made me feel comfortable about making this large of an investment to replace my windows. He provide advice on where to research area cost for replacing windows and where to find further information about various window replacement vendors (Angie's List, of course!). They were able to meet my tight timetable on getting the windows installed, very professional and cleaned up before they left. I felt so comfortable with Joe that I had him come back out and replace my front door (which was not that old but showing signs of water damage).

Universal windows Direct were great! I had a non pressured salesman and great follow up with the internal office and on site measure. The installers were great It was a highly questionable weather day due to rain. However the installers were not going to leave the job until it was complete. They both worked thru the intermittent rain to complete the project. The installers were very polite/ kept a clean work site and removed all debris. My highest congratulations regarding the excellent work. Mentor Ohio

The job was not completed within the given time frame. Contractors did very poor job of clean up after installation. Contractor was contacted multiple times to come back out and make some repairs and failed to show or call. Company sales person stated that installation would be completed by employees, but job was done by subcontractors. Would not recommend using this company for siding.

Installers arrived on time (actually earlier than the scheduled time, which was fine) They removed our new storm door, removed our old entry door, installed our beautiful new fiberglass entry door, added new trim, re-installed the storm door. They were done in a few hours and cleaned up, and away they went. The installers were friendly and professional, they knew what they were doing! After the install, we realized the deadbolt was a bit "notchy" to lock, so I called Universal Windows and they sent a service tech out within a few days, in those few days, the deadbolt seemed to "work in" so to speak, well when the service tech. arrived, I told him it seems fine now, but he still wanted to take a look, "it feels as if its dragging a bit" he says, he made an adjustment to the hinges, and now its like a hot knife thru butter! AWESOME service!

Late in reviewing our service, our windows were installed September 2014. However, I can honestly say, "I LOVE MY WINDOWS!!!!" just as advertised. Had estimates from 2 other major local providers and after much deliberation chose Universal- a decision my husband and I are very happy with. We did wait quite a while for windows to come and our installation date was cancelled once due to technician availability, but it was worth the wait. Garage doors were installed separately by different crew than windows. After scheduling delay, we were promised the best window installation crew and Universal delivered exactly that- Eric and his assistant were professional and meticulous in their work. Installation completed in 2 days- crew were very efficient and cleaned up as they went along. Eric even helped look for our dog who ran out of the house- above and beyond my expectations. The windows are very pretty- especially the picture windows. Over the winter we enjoyed lower heating bills and a draft free home, air conditioning more effective too. Would recommend company for a quality product and if you do choose Universal I cannot say enough about Eric- he is a true craftsman. This was a huge purchase but we have no regrets and recommend Universal highly to anyone considering replacement windows. The appearance of our home is much improved with new windows and garage doors. New front door eliminated draft and heat loss- attractive style.

Joe quoted price with estimated installation date. The windows arrived and were installed ahead of schedule. Exterior was finished as described. I asked Joe to add trim to the interior. He agreed and did it himself the following day.

2013: Install was great. Only issue, home office neglected to tell installers to change original install date as I was out of state. More of an issue for them then for me. One flashing came loose a few months later and they come to fix within a week of my call. 2015: Again, install was great. Installers even more personable. One window sash from 2013 had gotten a small crack from the freezing winter weather and they forgot to bring replacement on same day as garage & sliding door install. Sent email regarding the forgotten sash and the sliding door screen not working properly. Installers came next day. Installed sash and corrected screen movement.

We responded to a radio ad offering a free window if we sat thru a sales presentation at our home in December 2014. The salesman was on time and answered all our questions. At the end of the presentation he told us that the install could take up to 6 months because they would only send out a truck if they had an order from someone in our area that was paying for their product. We were not informed about this up front, however beggars can't be choosers and we accepted this since we were heading into winter and weren't all that enthused about letting heat escape the home for an install anyways. Within a week someone came out and measured the window and explained that it would cost $100 total because we were requesting privacy glass and some grates inside the glass to match the rest of the house. This seemed reasonable as knew we were still getting a great deal. We heard nothing until March then when they scheduled an appointment for the install. The next morning I waited for them but they had to cancel the appointment. Later in April they tried to reschedule but we were not available the day they wanted to come out. So May came around and we made the appointment and the window was installed. It is a superior window compared to what we have and we are delighted over it. Universal Windows honored their offer and you cant overstate that. The part of the process that was dissapointing was the salesman became very angry when we did not buy additional services. I understand how he makes his money though and I can't say I completely blame him, sales can be a very hard business.

It is a local company and it has a lot of good reviews here. They had advertized and they had sponsored one of the works here, so we contacted them, they did a beautiful job, we were very pleased, and their pricing was good. We are happy with them. They were fantastic and the windows were great. They did it in half a day, and they put in new foam insulation which I liked. So far so good. My biggest concern is come winter. Will they not leak? We had a $5800 bay window done by another company, but it was so cold in the winter, and we have been constantly in touch with them, and they are at a loss to what is going on. They are the same as the ones that Universal put, but Universal has told us that we should call them if anything happens. They did everything I asked. They were patient and polite, and they did a fantastic job of cleaning up.

I had several complications with my universal experience and I would like to share them with you. The sales representative-- the one and only reason Universal got my business to start is because this man would NOT leave my house. We informed him after an hour of telling him we were not going to sign papers that day, that we had to be somewhere and he still persisted. My husband was in the shower, and he still would not leave. All we wanted was 24 hours to consume the information and we could not get it. Every other person we had at the house was willing to give us 24 hours, and guarantee the price for that time. I eventually wore down and signed the papers, and was very concerned I would regret it. The install crew arrived on time and as planned. Due to my work schedule, there was 4 weeks between when Universal got the windows and when we could install. During this time, the install manager failed to acquire the proper permits. The crew was shut down by the builder inspector the first day. I was told when I called and spoke with someone in the office that she ?would call as soon as they got the proper paperwork?. It was not until I explained I had to take time off work and they would need to compensate me for this that someone was willing to make the arrangements and get the permit. The crew arrived the next day, and had to stay until nearly 7pm finishing. The crew was unable to finish that day because a frame window had been cut incorrectly. They did a great job boarding up the window that could not be replaced. Due to my schedule, I could not be here for 2 more weeks. They came out with the new window, and it was a touch too tight and cracked. They were able to leave it installed and seal it to prevent leakage. The following week, they were supposed to return, but the new window did not come in from the factory. The following week, they came out, and the window was cut incorrectly, AGAIN. The following week they came and AGAIN the window was not cut correctly. Finally, 2 weeks later (due to my schedule), they came with a correctly cut window and a free window for my kitchen which had not replaced in this original plan. To their credit, they did not ask for any additional monies from me until the job was fully complete. The crew-- Steve, Joe, Eric and Patrick-- were wonderful, polite, and the saving grace of the whole experience. There was one window in the whole 20 some we purchased that we did not like, and still don?t love. The selection of grain options they offer is very limited and nothing matched for this room. It will prevent me from using Windows Direct for any of my sliders or doors in the house. My BIGGEST BY FAR ISSUE--I changed all my windows from casement windows to double hung. Not once did any one mention there would be unfinished window sills on the inside of the house where the cranks were previously present. I now need to sand and paint EVERY window sill despite spending a large amount of money to have all my windows replaced. Every window in the house needs the sills sanded and painted. I was extremely disappointing to not have a finished product and to need to spend more money to finish the job. It is unlikey I can recommend the company based on this information. I am overall, happy with my windows, and they do look very good (except for the one) if you ignore the sills, and was very happy with the install crew. I was very displeased with the sales pitch and would not recommend any of my friends invite this into their home. I was not very happy with the install manager either. He did try to make it better by offering me a free window, but it was a very small window, and far from made up for the 5 days I had to make arrangements to stay home and allow install. I am also extremely unhappy about the need to have all the window sills painted. I am hoping in the future, if there are issues, there will be no complications with my warranty.

It all went very well. They completed the job in one day, and cleaned up nicely.

The workers were on time. Were extremely experienced, friendly, and the epitome of customer service. They cleaned-up after installing 22 windows in 2 days. I could not be more satisfied after receiving four (4) estimates, and speeches from other companies with outrageous prices, condemning other companies, etc.

We absolutely LOVE our new windows!!! Thanks so much Universal Windows Direct! They had a big job on their hands with our custom steel windows that were overlayed with brick that they had to remove and replace with beautiful new casement windows! The new windows look wonderful! All the employees were a pleasure to work with starting with the salesman, all the window installers, and the manager. The window quality is superb, and their attention to detail and customer satisfaction was outstanding. They went above and beyond. We look forward to seeing the results of these new efficient windows. Thanks again Universal Windows Direct for our new wonderful windows!