Door Outlet

This is a follow-up to a previous review, where we got a pretty good product at a pretty good price, with lousy service and punctuality. We needed a solid core door to install between our garage and house. The Door Outlet quoted $285.00 plus tax for a pre-hung 1-3/4" solid core slab door (no raised panels, etc.), birch face, with weatherstripping and a threshold. It seemed high to me so I told them I'd shop around. I called Stock Building Supply in South Austin and got the door with the exact specifications for $154.81 including tax. The only thing the Door Outlet had going for it was price. Not anymore! Shop around.

We placed an order for (3) doors on July 10 with a promised delivery date of August 10. We dealt with a male service rep whose name I won't include in this review. He didn't seem to know the difference between a right-hand swing and a left-hand swing door. My wife (an architect, who DOES know the difference) exchanged three or four phone calls with the rep after the initial order was placed in person before we were confident the order was understood and placed correctly. We got a call the week of August 5th saying the order wouldn't be ready on the 10th. That wasn't a problem, since we wouldn't be ready to install them anyway. A few weeks later we got a call saying they'd be delivered on Saturday, August 24th. We stayed around the house that day waiting for the delivery - it didn't happen. We called on Monday and were told they didn't deliver on Saturday. This was odd since they'd confirmed the Saturday delivery, but again, we weren't ready to install them so it wasn't the end of the world, just a waste of a Saturday waiting for the delivery. The doors were delivered the following week, and we're happy with the quality for the price. Bottom line - if you know EXACTLY what you want, don't need the product by a certain date and don't mind a lack of knowledgeable customer service, Door Outlet is the place to go. The doors are good quality but the customer service was REALLY bad..

On December 7th, 2012 we placed the order at the shop after reviewing their catalog. The salesperson, Morgan offered to have the doors/sidelites stained at their shop. When calling to following up, we learned that the order had not been placed with the manufacturer because our choice of texture was not available so we ordered a dfferent one. After several weeks, we were called to take a look at the stain color for approval. For some reason, the sidelites had been placed far away from the door but that did not prevent us noticing that the sidelites had a very different type texture than the door. The sales person Morgan said "this is how they come". To us, that was an unacceptable answer, not what we ordered. We felt best to involve the owner, Don, who acknowledged the problem saying he would address this with the manufacturer. Weeks went by. We tried to follow-up but it was hard to get a hold of Don and he would not return calls. We finally learned from him that the sidelites were being replaced. We were called to the store to take a look once they arrived though they had not yet been finished (stained). We also decided to take a last look before delivery. At that time we found several touch ups needed and broken door frame which we pointed out and Don said he would take care of these issues. Finally, nearly 4 months since ordering, the door and sidelites were delivered to us on March 27,2013. A week after installation we noticed that the stain job was defective, peeling in several places. We called Don, he sent a technician who acknowledged the mishap and noticed a considerable amount of (glue?) residue that should have been removed around the glass. He said he would also correct. The day the repairs were to take place, Don cancel because he was ?short staffed? and said he?d call to reschedule. After a week of waiting I called him. He said that he would see if he could send someone ?even though the peeling occured after installation". I was appalled at his answer. Our purchase of over $3,000 turned out to be poorly finished, the experience has been frustrating and after such a long wait and patience, undeserving. We are still waiting for the owner of Door Outlet to redress the problem.

See above.