Gorell Windows

[JB]

Just got the hardest hard sell ever. This guy took over 1 hour for his "presentation." Anyway, he's got some good references in MA, and quoted a price of 2700 for 5 dh windows. When we said we had to think about it, all of a sudden it became 2450 but we had to decide within 24 hours. I like the windows he was selling Gorell Thermals, but was totally turned off by his salesmanship.

Does this seem like a reasonable price for replacement vinyl windows? TIA.

[innisfree]

I paid $10,000 for 17 Gorell windows in Maryland and I love them. Low-E, tilt-in, vinyl. Bought mine in 1999. Another (local) company quoted me $15-16,000 for their replacement windows. Sounds like a good price.

[HipKat]

WOW, 1 whole hour??
I never did a full demo that took less than 3.

That price seems pretty fair to me, anyhow, at 500 a pop. Gorrells aren't bad windows.

[windowrep]

unbelievable, this is why this sight fustrates me so much. someone wants to invest more money into their biggest investment in their life,their home. and complains about one hour of their time to actually see the window and how it is constructed. to top it off, searches the internet, takes the time to register on a site, and ask if it is too much money. you had the rep their with the window and you dont want to spend the time to maybe ask him questions about the window. i sure hope all others read this and see what window salesreps go through. how can you possibly win? let me ask you a question. can you drop that much money in your home on a purchase that is supposed to be done only once,have all your questions answered,feel comfortable with the company, understand the window and how it will be installed in one hour? is that making an informed decision? and for less than 500.00 per window you should have tipped the salesman. good luck

[marc]

Windowrep,

PLEASE, Tell us how you really feel.

[windowrep]

o.k. here goes.. wait a minute i think i covered everything.

[brotker]

Hi
I had the Gorell rep at my house in Mass last night. Seems to be nice guy and was very helpful. We are looing at 14-16 windows and his quote was 4000-8000...based on the 3 types of windows to choose from.
Has anyone else worked with Ron Lewis in MASS before.
I want to do my homework before I have to write out another monster check.

thanks
ben

oh yeah How are Gorell?

[mrj14]

Windowrep,

While I agree with you on taking the time to hear the presentation and learning more about the windows (I had three estimates, all took over 1 hour), if you got a fast talking salesman on your hands, you probably are wasting your time asking him questions, as you probably won't get honest answers. It was amazing how all three said their windows were the best, and totally ripped each other.

Unfortunately, in the sales game, there are good salesman, and there are people who will say anything to make a sale. The trick is to try to identify them, and make an informed decision.

[windowrep]

i totally agree with you. fortunately nowadays most people wont stand for fast talking sales pitches. a good salesman will point out the positives of their window, if they are selling a good window, that will be enough. the quality of your window should do 90% of the selling. i have never found any reason to bash other windows when i am sitting at someones house.
i have never made a sale by bashing something else. quality sells itself. along with a fair price of course. one thing is for sure if you lie to people and as you said, say anything to get a sale you will not be in sales very long. when someone buys windows from you they will eventually be installed in their home and whatever you told the homeowner better be the truth because they will find out. a good and successful salesman will always be happy to make the sale, but what keeps us going and puts you above the other salesmen is the homeowners refferals,i.e. friends,family,co-workers,neighbors ect. a sale is great but if that person to whom you sold is truly satisfied with you and the product they will talk and hopefully refer you, and that means longevity and faithful consumers.i have been to some families homes 4 times, once for the windows,then the entry door,then the patio door and finally they called me out just so i could look at everything all completed. it also works the other way, even if a homeowner decides they dont want to buy right now. if you pressure them or upset them then there is no way they will ever buy from you nor will they give you a positive refferal. just my take on the sales game as you say. i dont want a couple sales today i want sales that will always lead to more sales.

[HipKat]

EGG-ZACTLY!!!!!!

[Guest]

Brotker. Were in mass?

[brotker]

Danvers

[RGM]

My advice is "Don't get caught just chasing price." There is a ton of science that goes into window design and manufacture. The two benchmark ratings are u-factor and air infiltration. Industry standard for an "acceptable" u-factor is 0.30. Good "energy efficient" ratings come in at 0.21. For more on this go to www.nfrc.com.
For air infiltration, the industry standard is .30 cubic feet per minute. Currently the industry pace setter has a rating of .01cfm. (Soft-Lite Elements window.) For more information on air infiltration go to www.aamanet.org. As you can imagine, the better the ratings, the higher the price.
Factors that affect price and quality include: the number of glass panes, type of spacers between the glass panes, and the type of gas sealed between the glass panes. Also check to see if sashes and frames are foam-filled. Most importantly! Get testimonials on installation quality! The best window is junk if it isn't properly installed.
For what it's worth, we lived in a 150-year-old home in western Pennsylvania with 26 windows. Over a 5-year period we gradually replaced all of them. We ended up using three different brands: first Chelsea, then Kensington and finally Soft-Lite. Soft-lite was our favorite.
Sorry for the long rant but doing your homework does help.

[ranger]

Okna 800 series also has an air infiltraion rate of .01; the 500 series is a .02. Sunrise restorations has a .04 . all very good numbers.
i do agree that chasing price is a dumb idea and always a costly mistake especially with windows.

[HomeSealed]

My advice is "Don't get caught just chasing price." There is a ton of science that goes into window design and manufacture. The two benchmark ratings are u-factor and air infiltration. Industry standard for an "acceptable" u-factor is 0.30. Good "energy efficient" ratings come in at 0.21. For more on this go to http://www.nfrc.com.
For air infiltration, the industry standard is .30 cubic feet per minute. Currently the industry pace setter has a rating of .01cfm. (Soft-Lite Elements window.) For more information on air infiltration go to http://www.aamanet.org. As you can imagine, the better the ratings, the higher the price.
Factors that affect price and quality include: the number of glass panes, type of spacers between the glass panes, and the type of gas sealed between the glass panes. Also check to see if sashes and frames are foam-filled. Most importantly! Get testimonials on installation quality! The best window is junk if it isn't properly installed.
For what it's worth, we lived in a 150-year-old home in western Pennsylvania with 26 windows. Over a 5-year period we gradually replaced all of them. We ended up using three different brands: first Chelsea, then Kensington and finally Soft-Lite. Soft-lite was our favorite.
Sorry for the long rant but doing your homework does help.

You had some credibility until you said, " Also check to see if sashes and frames are foam-filled. " ..... Softlite has good reputation on this site, no need for shameless promotion.
.... I know this thread is old, but I have to say, the op's post is pretty funny. If he thinks that was the "hardest of hard sells", he didn't talk to many people.