Champion Windows and Home Exteriors of Cleveland

I contracted for the job on April 2nd and was told that the project would be manufactured, installed and complete within 5-7 weeks (this was after I was told it would take 4 weeks). That meant that the porch would be completed by the end of May and I could enjoy it for the full summer season. I was told at signing that unless I had serious credit issues, they could finance the project. Two weeks later, they tell me that I was not approved for financing (I have a credit score of over 700 and make a six figure salary). For at least another month we went back and forth about whether they would finance me and I was deciding whether I needed to cancel the order and move on. Then, in mid-May I was told the financing had been worked out, but the terms were pretty significantly different. At this point, I was pretty worn down by the process so I agreed to go forward. I was promised a completed porch by early July. When no one had called me to get the project started by June, I called the company back to see what was going on. I also asked whether I needed to make any selections for my project (such as the door and the skirting to go along the sides of the porch) and was told that everything was in order. They told me they were backlogged, but that someone would get back to me, as they had hired a new manager for the area. This went on and on - the room didn't come in yet, the workers were on other jobs. They showed up to start my project the last week of July. I was told it would take 4 days, which became about 3 weeks. The manager who came out to supervise either had no record of what I had requested when I ordered the room or wanted me to agree to less costly items, so we had to go through each item (yes, I did request shingles to match my house instead of a white foam roof; yes, I did say I didn't want a half-screen door but a full screen door; and on and on). Luckily, I worked with a builder to build my house so I had experience with being firm and decisive or I'm sure it would have been an even worse process. Then, today, when I agreed to sign off that the project was complete (because it would be easier to fix the items that are still bothersome than keep fighting about it - for example, the stairs are so crooked that my landscaper commented upon it), immediately after I signed I was told that the financing fell through and that I should call their office. Right now I'm in limbo about what may happen with the financing and while I've been assured by them that everything will be fine, it all seems a little suspicious to me. Here, sign this paper saying you have no problems with us and then zing me.

They did not up charge to reinforce the surroundings of the window which was nice. We are pleased with the new window. They were dead on with the times they said they would show up. We plan to use them again in the future.

During my experiences with them they have been very professional, do a good job including cleanup, come when they say they will, and have quickly returned for minor adjustments. Salesman Todd Adams was very receptive and easy to reach. Due to their A+ service and quality of product, I have had them back for 3 different projects and wouldn't think of using anyone else. Their installers were friendly, on time, and apparently stay with the company since I had the same installer this past time that I did 3 years ago.

They put in two skylights that have leaked ever since we've gotten them. My son noticed it once we had the area enclosed with a flooring. This has gone on for two years. They keep trying different things, but the problem has never been fixed. Now, we've told them to take the skylights out, and they've been playing around with that. They're going to put panels in instead. 5/12/2009, Finally they replaced the panels with the skylights with solid panels. I was sad to loose the light from the skylight, but happy to be leak free, hopefully. It took them five or six weeks to come back out after they agreed they would replace the panels and now the work is completed. We were told by the service techs they went above and beyond the call of duty. The workers worked very hard and tried to be neat, although it was a little messy. Hopefully no more leaks. Now, I need to fight for my refund on the skylights.

My experience with them was good. They did an excellent job. When they put in the new windows, they cleaned them as well. They cleaned up after themselves.

I thought the product was good, but our experience with the workman wasn't the best. We had to call on the supervisor and they had to redo some of the work. Professionalism grade of A is reflective of the 2nd bunch that did the work. The first bunch would have been graded lower.

I thought they were a little high priced. Everyone except the salesman was great, he was kind of pushy. The people who came to put the windows in were professional, did an excellent job and got it done quickly. I didn t have any problems with them. I haven t had any problems with the windows. I am in the middle of using them again, I have a door on order from them.

The work began several weeks later than promised. I must preface this review by stating that I was needing this job to be done since I was going out of town, and did not want them working unsupervised. Two subcontractors showed up to perform the work. I was never told by Champion that the job would be subcontracted. When I told them this, they said that they do better work than Champions installers. They then proceeded to remove the old siding. After they had the enough siding removed to fill their truck, they left, I guess to get their cash from the scrapyard. The next day one worker showed up. The other showed up hours later. As the job progressed I noticed they weren t wrapping the house as I had been told they would. It also stated in the contract that Tyvek would be used. When I told the subcontractor this he looked at me like I was an idiot and said he only wraps new construction. I said well its in the contract and the salesperson said it would be done. The subcontractor told me he has been doing jobs for Champion for a long time and he had never talked to a salesperson about what the job would entail. Eventually a Champion person called me to see what the complaint was. He said they would wrap the house with some other brand of housewrap (apparently Tyvek is an exotic building material and is not readily available.) No cash consideration was offered me. About three-quarters of the way through the job they ran out of siding. Again it was my fault for choosing such an exotic material as gray vinyl siding. They had no idea when the material would be available. When I asked the Champion guy how they could start a job knowing they did not have enough material, he responded by blaming his distributor. Again no cash consideration was offered. In order to remain in my marriage, I bit my tongue and waited and waited. I had piles of junk in my backyard that I had to complain about to have them remove, the new materials were sitting on my grass killing it also. Just to let you know also, during this job these subcontractors would show up sometimes for 3 hours sometimes for 8 hours, we never knew how long they would work. Eventually the siding showed up and they finished the siding job. Then they replaced the gutters with cheap hardware store lengths of gutter caulked together which leaked terribly. They came out to caulk them and eventually left me tubes of caulk so I could do it. Apparently I am a subcontractor now. Oh, and also the downspout on one side of my house was 8 inches short of the crock. Just hanging in the air. In a week I had the gutters replaced by a good company J. Paul s Seamless Gutters whom I cannot recommend highly enough! So my advice is to avoid Champion of Cleveland at all costs. Also the jobsite cleanup was terrible. I kept finding nails and debris for months after Champion left.

They gave a good estimate but couldn't compete with the other companies price.

Overall the service was great they were on time and it was very good. They were professional and she will use them again in the future and also they were on time.

I'm most impressed with the product. Terry the installer did fabulous work.

Within 3 months of getting the window, a crack appeared in the lower right hand corner. When we called and asked them to come out since we have a lifetime warranty, they said it would take 6 weeks to order another window. That put it in December when it finally came in. We ended up calling them at 7 weeks, because they never called us when the replacement arrived. When the installer was putting in the new window, he pushed too hard and cracked it. When I called them, they said they could expedite it and get another one in 1 week. I don't understand why they couldn't expedite the first replacement. The new window is in, but it took almost 5 months to the time the original window showed the crack. I am glad I had a guarantee, and at least they did stick to that.

Similar to other people's experiences, we got a very hard sell from Sandy, Champion's representative. He arrived promptly at 7pm, spent 5 minutes measuring the windows, and then stayed for two hours while he tried to get us to commit on the spot. When I explained that his was the first estimate we got and we wanted to check out other companies before committing, he basically implied that I was foolish for doing so and that he was doing us a favor. As a result of the experience, we won't be going with Champion, regardless of their price/product.

We didn't end up using this company.

There was a really long waiting period between the estimate (in May) and the service (July), that was a long time to wait. When they came out they had a huge crew and they sided the whole house in one day. There was a representative who came out afterwards and was there when I observed things that needed correction. Anytime I called they came out and fixed things immediately. They were very responsive. It was expensive, but I got a deal. It improved the curb appeal 100%. All-in-all I was satisfied but they were a very expensive company I think.

Installed new windows on October 27 th of last year. Patio door leaks and caused ceiling and wall water damage. Windows are crooked and are hard to open. There are shavings of vinyl from opening and closing. Four awning windows freeze up and bead in the changes of weather. Screen levers are stuck open. Basement window is too small for space. I am not happy with installation and windows. I want my money back and will go to another window company to have windows properly installed.

Great experience. Estimator was prompt (came when he said he would) and gave estimate on the spot. He also was able to explain various options and reasons for these options (great help). Installers were excellent and professional, showed up when they said they would and cleaned up all the mess. High quality windows makes our home look new. Patio door is outstanding.

MR. PAUL WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL, WAS RESPECTFUL OF OUR TIME AND EXCELLENT IN HIS FOLLOW UP. THE WINDOWS WE EXAMINED WERE SOLIDLY BUILT, WITH THE FEATURES WE WANTED. THEY APPEARED TO BE THE BEST BUILT OF FOUR BRANDS WE EXAMINED. WE WILL CONSIDER CHAMPION FOR FURTHER WINDOW REPLACEMENTS.

MICHAEL CAME OUT AND LOOKED AT MY WINDOWS AND GAVE ME AN ESTIMATE ($6000). HE HAD DONE ANOTHER HOUSE DOWN THE BLOCK. THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE BUT THEY DO QUALITY WORK. THE WINDOWS WILL BE INSTALLED IN 7 WEEKS.

I OBJECTED TO THE GAME THE SALESMAN AND THE MANAGER PLAYED WITH PRICING. HERE IS THE PRICE TODAY, BUT IF YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL NEXT MONTH WE CAN GIVE THIS PRICE AND IF YOU SIGN CONTRACT RIGHT THIS MINUTE, WE WILL DO YET A BETTER PRICE. THE ENTIRE PROCESS FELT SLEAZY AND HIGH PRESSURE - A WELL REHEARSED ROUTINE BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM! INSTEAD WENT WITH WINDOWS AND SIDING FROM ANOTHER COMPANY THAT WAS MORE STRAIGHT FORWARD AND DID NOT PLAY GAMES. A SMART CONSUMER WILL SHOP AROUND AND COMPARE PRODUCT AND PRICES BEFORE SPENDING THOUSANDS ON WINDOWS AND SIDING. WILL NOT BE PRESSURED!!

I DIDN'T HAVE THEM DO THE WORK BECAUSE THE PRICE WAS OUT OF MY RANGE, WHICH I INFORMED THE REPRESENTATIVE AT THAT TIME. ALSO, I DIDN'T CARE FOR THE WAY THEY PRESENTED THEIR PRODUCT, BY BAD MOUTHING COMPARABLE PRODUCTS. THEY ALSO WERE PRESSURING ME TO BUY THE PRODUCT THAT DAY BY GIVING AWAY WINDOW BLINDS FREE IF YOU PUT THE ORDER IN THAT DAY. WHEN I TOLD THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT I WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT, HE KEPT COMPARING HIS COMPANY TO OTHERS, POINTING OUT THEIR BAD QUALITIES, WHICH I DIDN'T LIKE. I WILL SAY HE WAS PUNCTUAL FOR THE MEETING.

CHAMPION WAS THE 3RD OF A TOTAL 4 QUOTES THAT WE RECEIVED FOR OUR PROJECT AND THIS EXPERIENCE WAS BY FAR THE WORSE. JIM ARRIVED AT 7PM, OUT APPOINTMENT TIME, AND DID NOT LEAVE OUR HOME UNTIL 11:30 AT NIGHT! I FELT THAT WE NEEDED TO PAY HIM JUST TO GET HIM OUT OF OUR HOME. HE WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE BUT VERY HIGH PRESSURE! HE WANTED A COMMITMENT THAT NIGHT AND WAS OBVIOUSLY NOT LEAVING UNTIL HE GOT ONE. THEIR PRODUCT IS VERY GOOD BUT UNREASONABLY HIGH. THEIR QUOTE WAS DOUBLE WHAT WE RECEIVED FROM 3 OTHER COMPANIES,AND HIS SARCASTIC RESPONSE, ''GOOD LUCK FOLKS''. HIS MOOD CHANGED DRAMATICALLY WHEN REALIZING HE WAS NOT GETTING OUR BUSINESS AND WAS VERY INCONSIDERATE ABOUT LEAVING WHEN COMMENTS WERE MADE TO HIM THAT I HAD TO GET UP AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING. I COULD GO ON AND ON... I WOULD NOT SUGGEST THEIR COMPANY TO ANYONE.

IT TOOK 4 MONTHS PLUS TO COMMENCE WORK. NO ATTEMPT TO CONTROL METAL AND FOAM DEBRIS FROM CUTTING ROOF PANELS TO SIZE. VERY SATISFIED WITH WORKMANSHIP AND FINAL RESULT.

IF WE ORDERED ON THE SPOT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE PRICE LISTED, BUT IF WE WAITED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN $1100 MORE. THE HIGH PRESSURE SALES WAS AN INSTANT NEGATIVE.

ONCE THEY GET THE SALE, GOOD LUCK! THEY SAY IT WILL TAKE, 2-3 DAYS TO INSTALL A BACK PORCH. WRONG! THEY HAVE SPENT 5 DAYS OVER THE PAST 6 WEEKS WORKING ON OUR ENCLOSURE, AND IT STILL ISN'T DONE. THE CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. I THINK IT'S THE SALESPEOPLE WHO NEED TO AMEND THEIR SPIEL, OR SPEND A FEW DAYS OUT IN THE FIELD TO SEE HOW JOBS ACTUALLY PROGRESS. ALSO, WE WERE TOLD THAT NO OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS WERE USED, BUT THIS IS FALSE. I THINK THE PROBLEM IS THAT THEY OVER-BOOK THEIR JOBS, AND THEN GET TO YOURS WHENEVER THEY CAN. THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION TEAM WAS PLEASANT AND APOLOGETIC.