Anyone who pays over $350 per installed vinyl retro-fitted window (top-of-the-line with all the bells and whistles) doesn't know what they are doing.
With Thompson Creek you can expect to be dealing with a trained "In-Home-Closer". Thus, you can expect them to try to ream you in the backside. In fact, the salesperson gets paid less if they don't close the deal at the higher profit-margins.
They use a tried and true sales method for "in-home closing". It goes like this:
1.) Start with a 1-year guaranteed price - like $750 each
2.) Offer a discounted 30-day price - like $650 each
3.) Offer a deeper discounted "buy today" price - now at $600 each
If that doesn't sell the deal then they'll go to the next step:
4.) They will call their "manager" to get you the "special price" but you have to agree to put a sign in your yard, give them referrals, allow them to bring prospective customers by to see your "showplace", oh and "sign today!" of course - now you're at $550 each
If that doesn't seal the deal for them:
5.) They'll write your contract "contingent on their manager's approval"
which of course is going to be approved, but you must "sign today!" - now $500 each
What they are trying to do over the course of their 2-hour "estimate/consultation" is create a sense of urgency in the mind of the homeowner to "buy now".
I've seen their pitch and their window and honestly, it's just another vinyl window. It is good quality, but nothing extraordinary or special. Even at $500 each you have way overpaid for their window.
I know these things because I was a trained in-home closer back in the '90s. Windows, siding, roofing, waterproofing, decks, porches; all were pretty big ticket items. The game hasn't changed. If I was "on my game" that day, people would sign up on my first visit about 35% of the time.
Buyers beware!
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