My experience with window shopping so far....

There are good companies who have honest and ethical practices. Many will even give you a quote over the phone or online... I'd stay away from the national chains and the really big guys, that is where you will run into all the same slimey tactics. Find yourself a nice medium sized local company, you'll likely get a great product, price, and better service.... If everyone REALLY wants to get rid of the sleazeballs there is a very simple solution: STOP BUYING FROM THEM.

No one is forcing you to sit through their presentations.You can ask them to leave, tell them you have to leave,tell them to measure from the outside and send you the quote.They only use these tactics because they work and people let them.

I can guarantee you that if you called me and I drove an hour to your home and you pulled this on me, you would not be getting a quote from me or about 90% of the other window companies in the business. If a consumer isn't willing to sit down and look at the window and listen to the reasons I feel this is the best window for them then don't waste my time. I don't "owe" anyone a FREE estimate. Windows are built differently and some are better than others. Any consumer who isn't willing to invest the time to find out what those differences are can go to Window World or Home Depot or read Consumer Reports. But, don't waste my time because my time is valuable too.

Nobody likes the sleazy tactics and if they start with and it bothers you, them ask them to either stop or leave but don't play stupid games. This is your time to interact with the representative. Don't just sit there and nod your head. Ask questions. Write them down before the rep even gets to your house. This is the best way to turn a sales pitch into a positive interaction and a way to see if there is a good company behind the marketing fascade. Believe it or not, often there is. But, keep in mind that companies that market aggressively are going to have aggressive salespeople. They have to in order to stay in business because they are the ones who spent the money to contact you. Sure this rubs some people the wrong way and they can always do their research on site like this, figure out what they want and what a fair price is and then just contact a company and pretty much just put in a purchase order. But, there's a whole lot of people who don't want to be bothered as they have more important things going on in their lives to be bothered with putting in a lot of time researching windows and don't really care if they paid a little more than the "best deal".

If i pulled this on you I think you would have missed the point that I would not want a bid from you.In all high pressure sales that I know of personnally the home owner has paid a lot more then the "best deal".I have seen to many people get taken advantage of by high pressure sales people and have no pity for them nor would I want to take that time to have a positive interaction with them.I would take my chances with Home Depot or Window World.

WOW!!! Talk about missing the point.