The GutterShutter Co

My parents had recently got new gutters from this company and had recommended them to us. We had them come out to our house and give us an estimate. They were flexible with scheduling and came in the evening so we did not need to miss any work. The salesman was very friendly and answered all our questions. We agreed to get the work done. They scheduled a time to come out and perform the work but it was not necessary for us to be home since the work was all on the outside of the house. They custom cut the lengths of gutter needed the day before install. The pieces were left on the side lawn till the next day when they were installed. The install was done in one day. They had me inspect it and sign my approval of the job. They also cleaned up after themselves very well. I did not find any mettle pieces in my yard or scraps of any kind.

The installers were prompt, professional and cleaned up. They showed me how to clean out the down spouts. These are put in every down spout to catch anything that gets through. Since my downspouts go in to underground drains, I clean them everytime I think of it. Once a month might be about right. I have a valley that overflows the gutters and the way they installed it, plugs it up. I call them once a year and they come and clean it out. I tell them the salesman told me I would never have to clean my gutters. So far they come out, put a ladder up and clean out the gutter.

We signed up for a free, no-pressure estimate at a local festival. I will not bother going into detail about the actual high pressure sales guy that showed up at our home (there are plenty of those reviews already about that and they are 100% dead on). The installers came out to drop off the gutters in advance and just left them lying in our front yard for three days. We were quoted a price that was supposed to include a complete replacement of the soffits and facia because they were rotting out, new gutters and downspouts, and wrapping the new facia and soffit boards. Instead, they just wrapped the existing soffits and facia with the vinyl covering but did not replace the rotting, damaged boards - when we said something to the installers, we were blown off and told they were simply following their work order. We were still charged the same price we were quoted with the full replacement of the rotting boards even thought he work was not done. When we complained, we were told that there was no way that the price included the full board replacement! It was then that we realized that the sales guy did not leave us a copy of the detailed estimate. We requested a copy of the detailed estimate from the company to show them that the soffit and facia replacement was part of the quote and it took 4 months (and over 10 requests from us) for them to finally send it. When we received the paperwork, the company had whited out the detailed pricing so we could not see what it quoted and only left the total estimate. They fought with us and claimed we had no proof of the estimate including the new soffit and facia boards! While I will admit the quality of the new gutters, downspouts, and wrapping are very nice. The customer service, installers, and sales guys are so unprofessional and pushy, I would never recommend this company to anyone. Do not even let them into your home for the free, non-high pressure, estimate because they will not leave until they have the sale - and then they start the work before the alloted cancellation time on the contract so you have no way of changing your mind. They change the paperwork so it suits them and basically tell you that you are the liars when you question them on it.

In an off moment I filled out an enter to win drawing for GutterShutter at a local festival knowing full and well I'd get a series of phone calls. In another off moment, I accepted an appointment during one of these calls. First red flag occurred, when I said, and quot;Yesand quot; to an appointment and the individual from GutterShutter said, and quot;Really?and quot; Second red flag, the never-ending sales pitch in which the representative trashed every other company with a similar product. He went on and on and on even though I told him repeatedly I wanted a brief description and overview. His claims were over the top and in some cases literally said, and quot;never ever.and quot; When concerns were voiced, the way in which he tried to overcome the objection was so far fetched he must have thought I was an idiot. I swear he would have spent time trying to convince me that there is an Easter Bunny if he thought I'd sign that day. He even pointed out companies GutterShutter had sued or claimed to have put out of business. I found myself thinking, if your product is so wonderful then let's focus on the product and the not spend time speculating about the supposed failure of other companies. Third, red flag the and quot;lets make a dealand quot; pricing portion of the presentation in which you actually play a game guessing the price. The price, good for one year, began at $8,300, then dropped to roughly $6,800 because he liked me and wanted to offer a rebate if I signed that day. Then drum roll please, the phone call to the warehouse manager. It was so ridiculous and cheesy that I joked that he wasn't really talking to his warehouse manager. And, yes he put him on speaker phone. Low and behold it was my lucky, lucky day because I happened to pick a color that was overstocked so the price dropped to $5015. I told him he had lost his mind. Wait for it, wait for it . . . here it comes: and quot;What will it take for me to get you in gutters today.and quot; Mmmm, let me think. How about producing the real live Easter Bunny, right here, right now. Today! Then the price went to $4,999 because it looks like it's entire grand cheaper. (He actually said that.) Oh, you want to play a game, John? Let's do it. I told him I like things that end in five. He said his office would be very upset with him and he would get in trouble but was willing to go to $4,995. I explained about 25 times that I do not purchase a product or service at this amount without sleeping on it. Fourth, red flag: What the representative sitting across from me didn't realize is that he talked so long it allowed me enough time to pull up Angie's List and check out GutterShutter ratings. (Normally I'd do this before requesting an estimate and oh how I wished I had. Remember, how I said I did this in a weak moment?) It took about 60 seconds to see that others have a similar experiences right down to the starting price, continual price dropping and the high pressure tactics to get you to sign today. I was a little curious to see if I could get the quote down to $3,300 to match one of the other reviews mentioned on Angie's List. It was taking too long, just like this review. Fifth, red flag: When I asked why GutterShutter had such a poor Angie's List rating, he remarked that it was their competitors that rated them poorly to make them look bad and they are a national company that can't control the other people that sell their product. When I explained I was looking at ratings that were specific to his office, he just said they do a lot of installations in the area and therefore would naturally get more complaints. I hope that helps him sleep at night. Sixth, red flag: I finally just got up and headed out of the house to signal to him that I was done. He hesitated right before getting in his car and said, and quot;If I drop the price to $4,000 would you sign?and quot; $3,300, here we come! Seventh, red flag: Just check out the GutterShutter ratings on the Better Business Bureau. The complaints ( and there are many) support the concerns that are listed right here on Angie's List. Each speak of deceptive sales practices, poor service, unresponsive staff, and failure to honor the lifetime guarantee. Eight, red flag: I should also mention he did not provide pricing in writing and did not stipulate what was included in the price. He didn't even provide a business card. If you have a good product and you can stand behind your guarantee there is no reason for a hard core sales pitch in which you pressure people to sign that day for an incredible rebate. Be aware! Save yourself three hours of your life and avoid the pain of the GutterShutter process. Oh, by the way . . . GutterShutter I do not work for one of your competitors but will be calling one of them.

They are very good with customer service and responsiveness.

Sales presentation 7/17/12. Scheduled installation for 7/23. We were told the installation guys would be professional and highly trained with great satisfaction. What wasn't mentioned was their drop off policy. A and quot;cut and dropand quot; guy showed up Friday. No call ahead. He says and quot;I'm here to measure your house for gutters because don't you have an installation on Monday?and quot; OK I let him measure. Next thing, he's gone and I have gutters laying in my backyard. I called CS#, I was transferred up and a service manager called me back . I conceded to them leaving the gutter over the weekend at their risk. But the guy came back, moved the gutters but not to where I had agreed. Then I called back and CS Manager directly. I got his voice mail @ 4:45. He did not take my call, return the call or have the problem corrected. So we get to Monday. Our sales rep said they'd be here Monday morning. I got a call @ 10:30. The guys were then leaving Cincinnati. They did not arrive until about 11:40. Again NO CS. Upon arrival they did not notify us. A knock on the door we're here and getting started. NO we heard people on the roof and looked out to find shirtless men on the front lawn. I asked the one installation guy I saw to put on a shirt.( I have pictures.) His idea of a shirt was not sufficient. He was also smoking in the yard and tossing butts on our drought browned grass. His name was Jesse Glass. When the install guys left I went out to check the work.... there was gutter debris on the yard, on the driveway. Several 6and quot; nails in the grass. (I took pictures.) Old gutters left strewn on the side yard. I had asked for teh old gutters to be left in a specific place. They did not follow directions. They have no customer service or respect for customers. Actual gutters look fine. I hope they work and live up to the warranty. But CS and installation professionalism is sorely lacking. I would not recommend these installation guys, Jesse Glass and James Brooks. Installation was @ 28 Strader Dr, 45426

Seven weeks after they completed my house I had some work done that changed the roofline on my house. I needed a longer gutter to replace two separate pieces. They came and gave me an estimate of $750 for a 28 foot piece of gutter. Twice I called Jim Dargis at Gutter Shutter (937) 853-6000 and explained to him I just needed the gutter and that I would even install it myself if possible. All the brackets and pieces from the April job could still be used. All I needed was the gutter section and 1 top cover, nothing else. After several calls and several e-mail reminders his final position was: He's sorry but the company has to install all new everything when doing a job; even a and quot;repairand quot;. The cost stands at $750 ($26.75 per foot) regardless of the circumstance. A new customer needed some help and was willing to pay for the product requested. Gutter Shutter treated me very well until I needed their help and then they got very petty. My impression is that this company is not interested in customer loyalty or repeat business; they want the onetime, high-dollar sale and then they're off to the next guy. Very disappointing. My previous gutters were Rain Guard and I wish now that I would have gone back to them. Shortly after posting this and several other reviews, a company representative contacted me and apologized for the misunderstanding. He resolved the problem in less than 2 minutes and my new gutter looks great. His explanation was that the local contractor was relatively new at his position and therefor did not fully understand the company's commitment to customer service. I have no hard feelings and appreciate the manner in which this was resolved.

After a two hour sales pitch about how great they are, they quoted me $14,000 for $4,000 - $5,000 job, then gratiously negotiated down to $8,000 but only if I agreed to sign the contract that night.... If you're really a good buisness then you don't need to pull that cr@p , just give me an honest estimate and get out of my house. Oh, and they also mentioned they are a good standing member of Angies List, but didn't happen to mention their failing ratings.... If you feel like getting an estimate from this company anyways, I would tell them up front on the phone that under no circumstances will you sign a contract the day they give the estimate, and see if they are still interested in coming out.

Upon calling Gutter Shutter to schedule an inspection it took 1 1/2 months for an inspector to come to the house (We were told that they were overwhelmed due to the the hail storm damage in our area). It took the inspector three visits to the hourse to get the measurements correct. The inspector was overwhelmed with work, thus estimated the amount to be replaced verus doing actual measurements. Unfortunately this didn't match up with the insurance company's estimate. In the end, they recommended just replacing the gutter covers versus the whole gutter, thus saving some money. The gutter repair work was then completed about 1 month later. I wasn't happy with the speed, but the people were nice and unfortunately overloaded with work. The actual repair work went flawless and was impressed by the quality and speed of the installation, plus they even picked up nails left over from the roof replacement - which I didn't even notice. I did think the price was a little high - but I didn't obtain any additional estimates because this was an insurance claim and the work couldn't be done by any other gutter company. If I were to buy gutters I would give Gutter Shutter and couple other companies a chance to provide a quote (such as Leaf Guard) for competition sake.

Wanted a written estimate to replace my entire gutter system. Salesman arrived on time and wanted to sit down with me and my wife to discuss. My wife was not available and I explained. Salesman kept saying "didn't they tell you your wife had to be here". I said the appointment setter did not, but I wanted something in writing first anyway so I could compare bids. The salesman then asked again where my wife was. I explained she was not available, and asked for a written bid. The salesman then became verbally abusive, cursing, calling me names. I asked him to leave. He walked to his car, made a phone call, then stormed back up my driveway towards me, cursing, and got in my face, making threatening gestures. He then left , no punches thrown. What a great company.

They did a good job for me and they were good about explaining the maintenance of the gutters. They were thorough.

We had seen this company's product advertised at a building show. We gave our contact information. Later, a rep called to schedule a sales call, promising that the estimate would include a price that is locked in for one year. I specifically asked if there would be any "sign today" pressure in order to get a certain price. He said there would not; only a price that is good for one year. At the agreed upon time, Paul Schickler showed up for the sales call with my wife and me. I began by explaining that we were not looking to replace our gutters - we just wanted to know what the GS product costs. He went through a lengthy presentation, telling us about the product and how great the company is. He noted that it is a member of NARI (I think that is the right acronym) and is on Angie's list since 2002. (Interestingly,there are a number of negative reports about this company on AL, and the information I found states that GS has been on the list since 2009). Anyway, he told us several times that we could see how he could save us money, even when I said that I could not see how he could save me money (I clean my own gutters, and they are not hard to clean). Anyway,he walked around the house, pointing out "problems" with the gutters (home built in 1993, original gutters). The "problems" are very minor and easily corrected. During his presentation, he presented his competitors' products, and explained how they are inferior (although some of them are rated quite high on Consumer Reports). Finally, he asked us to guess his estimate in a game of Price is Right. Then he presented a price of $6235.00 for 94 feet of gutter and seven 10-foot downspouts, which is good for one year (the estimate form does not have a date on it anywhere, or even a line on which to put the date). The house is a ranch and the gutters are easy to get to. When I asked to have a copy of the price estimate, he offered to write it on a door hanger he had with him. I asked to be able to photocopy the estimate, and he agreed, so I did. We said this price is way too high. He pulled out and read a letter ostensibly from the president of the company, explaining about a rebate if we sign today because they cannot predict their material costs later. I objected, reporting what I had been told during the scheduling call about "sign today" prices, and that we would not even discuss the rebate because we do not do "sign today" deals under any circumstances. He then made a telephone call that he said was to his friend at the warehouse; I asked why he was calling (I heard him state in his call that our "gutters need some help" which apparently is code for the customer not buying), and he said the guy on the other end of the phone was checking the supplies in the warehouse to see if he could "help me out." I asked if t his would be "good today only" discounted price, and if so, we would not discuss it and he is wasting his time. At this point, he ended his call, packed up his demonstration kit and left, saying "it is a great rebate" as he left. About an hour later, I received a telephone call from Paul. He reported that his boss really wanted our business, and that Gutter Shutter could do our entire job for $2500.00. This also would be a "today only" price. I told him I wanted to discuss this with my wife and then call him back. I did discuss it with her, but I did not call him back. Given the nearly $4000.00 difference in the quoted price over the course of an hour, we simply could not trust anything about this company. I did not want to deal with a company after such a bad initial interaction with it. We will not deal with this company in the future.

A salesman came to give me a free estimate an hour late. His dispatch call to say he would be late because of car trouble but the sale man stated that he was held up by previous appointment. He was extremely pushy and asking personal information. I Felt like I was dealing with a used car sales man. After stating he made some vary erroneous statements I decided that I had enough of him and asked him to leave. After the experience, I felt so dirty. I have never had a vender act so poorly on trying to get my business.

Salesperson who came and provided the estimate was far too takative, went into too much detail even though i asked him to skip the"standard" 30 minute sales hype. Salesman also called "supposedly" his Manager to see if he could get us a lower price then the outrageous price he was quoting. It was "shtick" right out of the used car salemen stereotype. I offered less the "Manager" quoted and they accepted on the spot. Workman came out in a day or so, had all the right materials, worked professionally and promptly. Left a few odds and ends of metal in the grass, but mostly cleaned up well. Gutters have been working fine.

As others have noted, the sales presentation is very high pressure. No one likes the "buy today for this price" threat. And there were several calls to the "warehouse" to see what was available, as well as phased price reductions. I liked the product, however, so I bought it. The installation was completed the same week, and the only damage I noted was to a lilac bush that's close to the house. I can forgive that. The gutters look very nice. After living with these gutters through the winter, I've noticed the problems. As others have said, there's over-run during heavy storms and too many icicles in winter. Our house has a cistern and we collect roof run-off, and these gutters aren't efficient for that. Our old gutters weren't pretty, but they collected more water, even though they were smaller gutters (4").

A salesman came to give me a free estimate that I had requested after seeing the product at a home improvement show. He was extremely pushy and kept acting as if I was desperately in need of gutters. He of course told me how inferior all other products were and kept offering me lower and lower prices. He wouldn't take no for an answer. I had told him from the beginning that I was only interested in getting an estimate for the work to be done in a few months. I had to all but throw him out of my house to get him to leave. A marketing person from the company called and I told her what had happened. She apologized, but I didn't get a true feeling that anything would be done.

THIS COMPANY IS B.S.!!!!! DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY - AND DO NOT BELIEVE JOHN CROSS, THE SALES MANAGER. HECK EVEN THE PEOPLE ANSWERING THE PHONES ARE RUDE!!

We showed the salesman the rotted trim and facia board which needed replacement prior to gutter installation. Gutter Shutter replaced the rotted facia board but not the rotted trim piece. Now, we cannot have our house painted until someone detaches Gutter Shutter's downspout from the rotted trim piece. I called this problem to the attention of the installer, and refused to sign the installation form. The salesman had told us that their jobs are regularly inspected. To our knowledge, no one has inspected the installation.

The sales rep knocked on my door on a Saturday afternoon stating that they were offering free quotes. I stated that I wouldn't be doing anything on the home for at least a year. He informed me that the price would be good for a year. We scheduled an appointment for later the next week. He arrived on time, we did a visual walk-around the home. We proceeded inside for a sales presentation and viewed samples from competitors and his company's. Throughout the sales presentation there were subtle forms of commitment with questions like, "Is there anything about our system that you don't like?...What's your favorite part about our system?" He refers back to some of your answers when you later decline to sign today. After the presentation you start dealing on price just like you would with a car salesman. We started at almost 7k. I told him thank you for your time but I wasn't ready to commit. After 3 phones calls to his "aluminum buyer" the price got as low as $3700. I told him I wanted to think about it. He and the gentleman on the other end of the phone said I had to decide today or I wouldn't receive that price. I again declined being wary since the company approach me, how aggressive they were being, and because they wanted 50% down. The sales rep wasn't happy, but he stayed very professional.

We had them came back to look at the problems. They said there was nothing they could do about. The quality is good in general but I do not think they were made right, they are not catching all the water. They came out right away, they just said that they could not help us.

The salesman came out and gave the pitch. He continually said, once you get this gutter system, it's maintentance free. I told him that I hire a guy to come out twice a year to clean out the gutters. The salesman said that wasn't necessary anymore. I believed him and bought the product. BIG MISTAKE! As others have noted, during periods of heavy rain, the water just shoots off the edge of the gutter right down to the ground. Also, in the contract, it states that in the winter icicles may form on the gutters. What they don't mention is that these icicles that form are the size of swords and if they break off and fall on someone, a serious injury can occur. I called to have somebody check out the gutters because of the water run off. They sent out a crew and informed me that there was algae build up on the gutter. They told me that I needed to periodically wash the tops of the gutters off so that the gutters would work properly. That surely sounds like maintenance to me. I got the gutters because they were "maintenance free". Now instead of hiring somebody to clean out the gutters, I had to hire somebody to wash off the gutters. The gentlemen who I dealt with were far from professional. They claimed that it was not their respsonsiblity to address the issue even though they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. It took me filing a complaint with the BBB to get them to agree to clean off the gutters regularly at their cost. Even when algae free, the gutters don't work like they should. DO NOT GET THESE GUTTERS! I should have stuck with what i had and continued to hire the gutter cleaner twice a year. I would have gutters that work and I wouldn't have deadly icicles hanging around the perimeter of my house in the winter time.

Sales pitch was very high pressure, unnecessarily long (3 hours) however salesman was knowledgeable and did a good job comparing with other products. Included pricing gimmicks like calling for a "rebate" on our old gutters. The installers were several hours late and didn't have enough of the correct color of downspouts so had to return another day to complete the job. The gutter shutters are preforming well and we are happy with the product.

On Wednesday I recieved a call from a telemarketer offering a free estimate for new gutters. I said no a few times, but when they said someone could be there that same day within an hour, and the estimate is good for 1 year, and there would not be any high pressure, I finally agreed. The salesman arrived on time. It WAS a high pressure pitch. He showed examples of all the competitors systems and the problems with them, which was interesting. The 1 year estimate for my small 1 story 1 bedroom house was $4250. I told him I wanted the estimate that is good for a year, I don't want any "today only" specials because I am not prepared to make my final decision today. He actually turned red. "But that doesn't make any sense." he said. He then filled out a coupon for a today only price anyway. It was for $500 off. I said, "that's nice, but I can't have that price because I'm not signing up today." He was flabbergasted. He then called his supervisor on speaker phone to ask if he could give me a lower price. (what?) The new today only price was around $3000. I said, "that's nice, but I can't have that price because I'm not signing up today." He stared at me in disbelief. He wanted to know why. Because I like to get multiple estimates and choose the right one, because I like to do all my research first on websites like Angie's list! I told him thank you for the estimate, and walked over to the front door and opened it for him. He would not get up off my kitchen chair! He remained there still trying to close the deal no matter what. He got on the phone again. I said, "don't get me any more lower prices that are only good for today!" But he did. He called the factory (?) to see if they had my exact sizes and color in stock. Yes. Now the price was $2047, but only today! By this time, I was feeling ill and only wanted him to get out of my house. So I signed the contract. I do like my new gutters, but would have liked to have gotten other estimates.

The experience was excellent. They showed up when they were supposed to. They cleaned up everything when they were done. They were careful of the flowers and shrubs in the area. The quality was top of the line. I would use them in the future.

Very professional company. Job was performed in 1 day. Removed all gutters and downspouts and replaced everything. They made sure to cleanup all debris once they were done. Have not had any issues with the new gutters.