Ordering Andersen Windows
from The Home Depot

The short version of this story is that I received a price quote for $14,000 from Home Depot for some Andersen windows and doors. The Home Depot salesman said that he could get a better price if he sent the quote to their "bid room". He did so, and came back with a $13,000 quote. I wrote out a check for the windows and received a rather complicated looking 9 page invoice as a receipt. When the windows were delivered 2 months late, there was one window less than what was on the quote. Home Depot ended up delivering the missing window, but now wants me to pay 50% of the retail cost of the window even though I already paid for it.

Part two of the problem is that on the advise of the Home Depot salesperson I ordered oversized extension jams for the windows that could be cut down to the exact size of my walls. It turns out that because of the veneer on the jams, it is not possible to stain them after they are cut down. Home Depot is not willing to consider exchanging the jams until I pay what they are asking on the window that they left out of the order.

Around mid-February my options seemed to be either (1) pay Home Depot the $900+ that they want for the missing window in order to get the extension jams exchanged (presumably for free), or (2) I can purchase new set of extension jams for about $700 from somewhere else. I would prefer to do neither.

After several additional telephone calls to Brittany at Home Depot's Atlanta office, the problem was resolved on 3/1/2010, with all adjustments being completed on 3/3/2010. There was one additional error regarding the pricing of some replacement extension jams, however this was resolved relatively quickly.

I know this sounds strange, but there is one thing that I found most interesting during this entire experience. At the top of each and every Home Depot cash register receipt is the name of the store manager, "Chet Keeley". One would assume that Mr Keeley's name is here so that if any problems occur a customer can call the store and speak with him personally. Several times during this long drawn out problem I asked to either meet or speak with Mr Keeley. Several times I was told he would call me. But at no time did Mr Keeley call me, at no time I ever meet or speak with Mr Keeley in his store. I just thought that was interesting...

I can be contacted at: scott (at) musser.com
Here's the long version...

The following information was originally faxed to The Home Depot in Mechanicsburg, PA on January 5, 2010:
Home Depot
Attn: Micky
6000 Carlisle Pike
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
FAX: 717-795-XXXX

Dear Micky:
I'm writing this letter at the suggestion of Dave from Window Panes, the authorized Andersen repair representative in order to document the problems I've had with my window order originally placed with your store on 10/16/2009. Here is a summary of what happened:

October 3, 2009 - A quote was received from your window department for 15 windows and 2 doors, for a total of $14,026.86 (not including sales tax).
 
 
October 4, 2009 - Minor revisions were made to the order to reverse the window positions of the multi-part windows because they had been entered upside down on the original quote. Some windows were re-specified as tempered for building-code reasons because they would be at floor level. The new quote was sent to your "Bid Room" for final pricing.
 
 
October 16, 2009 - "Bid Room" pricing of $13,049.20 was offered & accepted. The "estimated arrival date" on the invoice was 11/07/2009 for both the "Home Depot Delivery Items" and the "Vendor Direct Ship" items. The invoice broke the 15 windows and 2 doors down into 97 component parts, so it was difficult to check that the invoice matched the quote item for item (which, as it turned out later, it did not).
 
 
December ?, 2009 - I was notified by telephone to expect delivery of ONE window, the largest one we had ordered, which was a 6-part window. The problem was that we had ordered TWO identical large 6-part windows. After a careful review of the invoice, it became apparent that while I received a markdown on 13 of the windows and both doors, the quantity for the two 6-part windows had been changed from 2 (on the quote) to 1 (on the invoice). Additionally, the prices for the individual line items for the 6-part window were increased from the price on the quote by a total of almost $700. I contacted Home Depot immediately, and spoke with Victor who stated he would have to escalate the issue to a manager. I expected that the missing window error would be quickly corrected and I would receive the missing window without any additional charges, although probably with some sort of delay.
 
 
December 4, 2009 - The first 6-part window was delivered.
 
 
December 8, 2009 - Called Home Depot about the missing window.
 
 
December 9, 2009 - Spoke with Victor again about the missing window and the pricing on the invoice. I was also told that the reason for the substantial price increase on the remaining window was that there was promotional pricing from Andersen to Home Depot that had expired between the quote and the order. There was no explanation as to why the promotional pricing only applied to one window assembly out of the whole order, nor was any promotion, special pricing or expiration date mentioned when the quote was given to me.
 
 
December 10, 2009 - Somebody from Home Depot contacted my wife, indicating that the "Vendor Direct Ship" portion would be delivered late also.
 
 
December 11, 2009 - I spoke with Micky from Home Depot. She indicated that the entire balance of the order (other than one of the 6-part windows) was missing at Andersen and would have to be reordered. She also indicated that there would be a discount of $500 applied to the 2nd 6-part window which is being reordered. I stated that while I appreciated the offer of a discount, I did not believe that I should be charged anything extra for the missing window. She indicated that the 2nd 6-part window would be available shortly before or after Christmas (I neglected to write down the exact date.)
 
 
December 12, 2009 - I spoke with Tom from Home Depot about the missing 6-part window, in an attempt to confirm that there would be no additional charge for it.
 
 
December 14, 2009 - After opening the only window that had been delivered so far, I noticed damage to some of the outside mulling strips. Because there was tan-colored caulk covering the damage and also adhering to the cardboard, it appeared that the damage had happened prior to shipment. I called Andersen at 800-426-4261 (option #3) to discuss the problem, was referred first to Andersen Customer Service at 888-888-7020 (option #5) who then referred me to Home Depot's "Andersen Ordering Line" at 866-466-3578. Amber, the Andersen representative, stated that final assembly of the multiple-window assemblies, where the mulling and caulk was installed, was performed either by Home Depot or a distributor, but not by Andersen.
 
 
December 15, 2009 - I spoke again with Micky and told her that the Andersen rep did not call me yet.
 
 
December 16, 2009 - I called for Micky, but she was not in (Saturday).
 
 
December 18, 2009 - I called Micky at 9AM, the Andersen rep still did not contact me. At 4PM Micky called to update me that she had been in contact with Andersen and was waiting to hear back from the rep. At 4:30 she called again and stated that Dave from Window Panes, the authorized Andersen field person, would be calling me tomorrow (Saturday).
 
 
December 19, 2009 - Dave called, we discussed the window damage. He stated that he had received the wrong parts (interior instead of exterior) and that he would like to stop by Monday and examine the window before reordering new parts.
 
 
December 21, 2009 - Dave visited to examine the damage to the exterior mulling on the 6-part window. He stated that he would replace damaged mulling, and also that that the remaining "damage" was only extra sealing caulk that could be easily removed. (My opinion is that there should not be sloppy-looking caulk on the visible parts of a $1500 window that I have to clean off.) He will return after the window is installed to replace the broken mulling.
 
 
December 24, 2009 - Micky called to let me know that the 2nd 6-part window that was supposed to be delivered on 12/28 will be late because the delivery from Andersen did not show up at the Home Depot warehouse.
 
 
December 28, 2009 - I called Micky for information on the windows, she said she would get and update and call me back. She called back at 1:30PM and stated that CTS would deliver the balance of the window order (13 windows, 2 doors) on 12/30/2009. She called back again at 4:45 to notify me that the 2nd 6-part window would also be delivered on 12/30/2009. While she was speaking at with me at 4:45 CTS was leaving a voicemail message that the delivery on 12/30 would need to be rescheduled because it did not yet arrive at their warehouse.
 
 
December 29, 2009 - CTS called to reschedule the larger order for 12/31.
 
 
December 30, 2009 - The 2nd 6-part window was delivered.
 
 
December 31, 2009 - CTS called to reschedule the order for 1/4/2010 because of snow.
 
 
January 4, 2010 - The remainder of the window order (13 windows, 2 doors, 33 boxes total) was delivered. At least one of the windows appears to have been placed on the truck and then later in my garage in a position that does not match the "This Side Up" arrow printed on the cardboard box. Not sure if it is damaged or not, although I called Dave the Andersen rep about it. Additionally, the delivery people wanted to store the windows flat on the ground (they may have been on the truck in this position also, we did not check), which contradicts what the Dave told us about always keeping the windows upright to avoid stressing the mulling/joins. We will not know until we install all the windows if anything was bent out of shape due to mishandling or if anything is missing because of the indecipherable box markings. We discussed all of these issues with Dave which prompted him to suggest that I write this letter.
 
 
The issue of the cost of the 2nd 6-part window has yet to be resolved. As of now I have an invoice that indicates that I owe $1813.43, and I appear to have already paid $2,237.24 for one window when I was led to believe that I was purchasing two. I was told several times that what, if anything, I would pay for the missing window would be resolved after all of the windows had been delivered.

Sincerely,
Scott Musser
As of February 15, 2010, I have received absolutely no acknowledgement from The Home Depot that they received the above fax.

Here's a followup to our "adventure" with The Home Depot and our new Andersen Windows:

January 21, 2010 - Dave arrived to repair the mulling strip on one of the large 6-part window combinations. As he started to install the replacement strip, it became apparent that he had the wrong part. Although it fit into the window correctly, it did not look the same (different cross-section) as the originally mulling strip. He left, stating that it would probably be several weeks before he would be able to obtain the correct part. The window was left with a piece of duct tape where the original 8 ft high vertical mulling strip had been. I contacted the Mechanicsburg Home Depot to apprise them of the situation.
 
 
January 22, 2010 - Home Depot thought that they had the correct part in stock in Carlisle. John from Home Depot drove to Carlisle to pick up the part and deliver to the job site. When he arrived, he found that he too has the wrong part. It was the same type that Dave had brought yesterday.
 
 
January 28, 2010 - I received a telephone survey from Andersen Windows about whether I was satisfied with my newly installed windows.
 
 
February 9, 2010 - Dave, the Andersen Rep, installed the correct mulling strip on the damaged 6-part window. As before, both Dave and his assistant were very polite and very professional.
 
 
February 15, 2010 - We examined the jam extensions for the windows, prior to staining. The jam extensions were ordered as 7 1/8" thickness in order to accomodate a slightly thicker than usual wall depth. (The standard jam extension size is 6 9/16".) At the time we ordered, and again during a telephone conversation with Mark from Home Depot today, we were told that the jam extensions could be trimmed in the field to fit the window size. It is for this reason that we ordered slightly oversized extensions, in order to avoid having to fabricate filler strips between the extenions and the window trim as we previously had to do with other windows in the house. Unfortulately we found that the Andersen jam extenions were fabricated with finger-jointed wood with a thin veneer on the exposed surface, meaning that we could not trim to fit because it would take off the veneer and expose the finger-jointed surface below that was not suitable for staining. Interestingly, one window and the screen kit for the french door were shipped with 6 9/16" jam extensions instead of 7 1/8". Not sure why, but at least we have one correct size set of jam extensions. I spoke with both Micky and Mark at the Mechanicsburg Home Depot about the problem, and asked what the procedure was for exchanging the 7 1/8" jam extensions for 6 9/16" extensions. Mark indicated that he would look into it and call me back.
 
 
February 16, 2010 - Mark called. He stated that most of the jam extensions were available in Carlisle, with the exception of the parts for the sliding glass door. I mentioned to him that it also appeared that jam extensions for the french door were missing, and had never been included in the original parts list. He said that a manager will call me tomorrow morning to discuss "who will pay for the jam extensions".
 
 
February 17, 2010 - Bob, who stated he was a manager at The Home Depot, called. He also confirmed that the parts were available in Carlisle, but did not discuss when they would be delivered and did not make clear what charges, if any, there would be to exchange them. Again, I mentioned that the jam for the french door appeared to be missing. At this point, he asked if I recalled the "offer" that a Home Depot employee had made to me previously about offering a "discount" on the missing 2nd window, and asked if I was willing to pay for this. I stated that I was not willing to pay extra for a window that I had already paid for, and asked him if he had reviewed the fax I had sent last month (above) explaining what had happened. He said that he had not seen it, and that he was not aware that I had sent it. At this point, he indicated that he would look for the fax, review it and would call me later...
 
 
February 18, 2010 - I called Bob in the late morning. He stated that although he read the fax I had sent to Micky last month, he didn't recall the details. He also stated that he was not aware of any jam extensions in Carlisle, and that he thought that they were all "special order" items. He said that he needed to determine why they ordered veneered jam extensions instead of regular ones. I asked when the 6 9/16" jam extensions were going to be available and he stated that they had not been ordered yet, and that they had to resolve the $1900+ open invoice for the "missing" window. He stated that Home Depot's only concern up to this point was to make sure that I received the items that I ordered. (I neglected to ask why this didn't also apply to getting me the correct jam extensions.) He said he would call me back later today. At this point I have to say that I am not particularly happy...
 
 
February 18, 2010 - Bob called back, said that he spoke with Chet Keeley the Store Manager, and that they were "willing to meet me 1/2 way" on the price of the $1900 (retail price) window. I refused again, stating that I had no intention of paying an additional $1000. With regard to the extension jams, Bob stated that special order items were not returnable although he would "work with me" if Andersen were to make an exception and take the 7 1/8" jams back. This contradicts a document I was given in October when originally paying for the windows that says "Except where prohibited by law, all returned Special Order Merchandise" is subject to a fifteen percent (15%) restocking fee. Custom made goods are not returnable". All of the jams are a standard size (7 1/8") and would fall under the 15% restocking fee category. However, considering that I was explicitly told, once when quoting the windows and again several times this week, that the jams could be trimmed to fit the windows, I'm going to request that the restocking fee be waived. The jams CANNOT be trimmed to fit if they are going to be stained, unless you want to see a checkboard of wood grains where the veneer was trimmed off. Bob also said that he would have Brian Bushy (not sure if I have his last name spelled correctly) from Andersen contact me about the jam extensions.
 
 
February 18, 2010 - I also spoke with Home Depot's corporate headquarters in Atlanta today. The woman I spoke with, Brittany, asked for an emailed copy of this web site, not sure why she couldn't read it online... firewall perhaps?
 
 
February 19, 2010 - I called Home Depot's corporate HQ again, left a voicemail message for Brittany, whom I spoke with yesterday.
 
 
February 19, 2010 - Brian Bushy, a marketing person from Andersen, called to discuss the jam extensions. He too suggested that I simply cut them down to the required 6 9/16" size. He was not aware of any veneer that would be removed when the jam extension was trimmed down. I explained how the jam extensions appeared to be constructed and he said he would look into it and get back to me.
 
 
February 19, 2010 - I called Bob at Home Depot, to let him know the Brian was unable to help with the jam extensions. When I asked Bob again if he was familiar with all of the problems with this Andersen order since October 2009, particularly if he knew about the "bid room" quote that was modified from the original quote that was given to me. He said again that he wasn't, so we agreed that I would meet him at his store in a few days to let him review the quote and invoice documents.
 
 
February 19, 2010 - Brian Bushy from Andersen called back to discuss the jam extensions. He indicated that although Andersen was willing to work with The Home Depot to exchange the jam extensions for me, he was unable to do so because Home Depot wants to resolve the issue with the window that "wasn't paid for" first. That statement really bothered me for some reason...
 
 
February 21, 2010 - Met with Bob, a manager at the Mechanicsburg PA Home Depot. Showed him the original quote and the invoice, which he made copies of. He was not able to explain the discrepancy between the original quote (15 windows & 2 doors) and the invoice (14 windows & 2 doors, with one window $700 higher in price than the quote). He asked for Tony to look at it, he had no explanation either, but suggested that Mark (the original sales person) take a look at the documents tomorrow. I also provided Bob with a copy of this document.
 
 
February 22, 2010 - I Called Home Depot around 9AM and spoke with Ann at the Pro Desk. She said all managers are in a meeting, and Bob no longer works at this store. She will have somebody call me back after the meeting. (Nobody called me back until shortly after 3PM.)
 
 
February 22, 2010 - I called Brittany again in the Atlanta Home Depot main office and left another voicemail. About an hour later I called back and spoke with Aiesha (probably not spelled correctly) who aplogized for nobody returning my call, then took down my name and number which she said she would send to both Britanny and her supervisor. (As of February 24, nobody called me back from Home Depot's Atlanta headquarters.)
 
 
February 22, 2010 - Shortly after 12 noon I called the Mechanicsburg Home Depot store again, and asked first for Chet Keeley the store mananger. He was not available, so I asked for any manager. I ended up with Tom. He said he would call Bob, who no longer works at that store, to find out what is going on with my window and extension jam problem. (He did not call me back.)
 
 
February 22, 2010 - At about 3PM I called back and asked for store manager Chet Keeley again. Again, he is unavailable. While waiting for another manager to speak to, another call from Home Depot comes in on my cellphone.
 
 
February 22, 2010 - Adam, one of the Home Depot assistant manangers called me. He said he will call me back later today, that he and people from the millwork department are looking at copies of the quote and invoice that Bob made several days ago. (I've just figured out that all the "managers" I've spoken with at Home Depot are actually "assistant managers". There seem to be quite a few of them. The head manager, Chet Keeley, is never available, although I've asked to speak with him several times. Perhaps it is safer to always have assistant managers deal with customers, sort of a CYA thing maybe?)
 
 
February 22, 2010 - At about 7:50PM Adam from the Mechanicsburg Home Depot store called me back. He said he is still trying to determine what the problem is, that the invoice is very complicated. He is "rebuilding" the order a line at a time (each of the 15 windows and 2 doors has up to 36 individual line items) to help him to understand what happened. He said he is not going to be in tomorrow (Tuesday), so nobody would be calling me until the day after (Wednesday). Interestingly, he also said that he is not allowed to resolve the jam extension problem until the missing window problem is taken care of. With great difficult, I held my comments and simply said "I don't think that's very fair". Sort of lame, huh?
 
 
February 24, 2010 - At about 4:30 I called the Home Depot Mechanicsburg store and asked for Adam. I was told he was on another call but would call me back. Adam returned my call at about 5:10. He said he and Mark (the salesperson that wrote up my quote and invoice) are still working on the problem, and that Mark has been working on it for 3 solid days now because the invoice is so complicated and difficult to understand. I somewhat freaked out at Adam. I don't think I exactly yelled, but I spoke fast & loud about how I have a builder that I'm paying by the hour who's standing around waiting for the extension jams that Home Depot won't exchange while they are busy trying to figure out what they did on my invoice. Adam said that he would call me tomorrow with an update, which did not sound very promising as far as actually getting the problem resolved. (By the way, Adam was very patient and polite while I was ranting at him.)
 
 
February 25, 2010 - I spoke with Brittany at Home Depot's Atlanta office twice, and sent 2 emails to her. 3rd call to her was no answer.
 
 
February 26, 2010 - I left a voicemail message for Brittany at Home Depot's Atlanta office around 3PM. At about 3:05PM I called the Mechanicburg Home Depot store, the phone rang once, then silence. Obviously a phone system problem, but I was beginning to wonder if they blocked my phone number. I finally did get through to Adam to discuss pricing on the large 6-part window.
 
 
February 29, 2010 - Adam called about 3:15PM to continue the discussion on the window pricing. What I understood him to say was that the price difference between the quote and the invoice for the large window was mostly related to additional steel wind-load reinforcing required due to the size of the window and where the window was going to be installed, in central Pennsylvania. I pointed out to Adam that this was not given to me as an option and was not clearly indicated on the documents, as indicated by the trouble everyone was having in determining what had caused the price discrepancy. Additionaly we discussed the extension jam problem, and I was told that this is a "store managers decision" (presumably meaning Chet Keeley) and that the large window issue (in other words who is paying for it) had to be resolved first, before addressing the extension jams.

I followed up with a call to Brittany in Atlanta. She stated that she had spoken with Chet Keeley (the local store manager) and that he would give me a call today (he didn't).

I spoke with Adam later that day and he stated that he is still working on the problem. I'm not sure which problem he meant, either the window invoice problem, or the jam extension return problem.
 
 
March 1, 2010 - Brittany called me and said that the problems were resolved. Full credit will be issued for the window, and the extension jams will be exchanged less a 15% restocking fee.
 
 
March 2, 2010 - I took the extension jams back to the store today. It took a while to check them in, about 1 hour. I received a new quote for the replacement jams, however it had an additional error (that was corrected after I pointed it out), the total length was about 32 feet too short.
 
 
March 3, 2010 - At about 8AM Tony from the Mechanicsburg Home Depot store processed the order to pick up the replacement extension jams at the local Andersen factory in Carlisle, PA. Intially the price was about $50 too high, I thought perhaps the "bid room" discount had been accidentally dropped. The pricing problem was fixed when I complained (not sure if they thought there was really a problem or if they were just tired of my complaining), and at 2PM I picked up the jams at Andersen without further problems.
 
 
Postscript
Several months later, I have to say that I am pleased with the way the Andersen windows and doors look. I also put in several new Pella windows and a french door the previous year, and I like them too. For me the big difference between Andersen and Pella will always be the extremely long drawn out and frustrating ordering process that I had for the Andersen windows and doors. For the Pella windows, I ordered directly from the Pella store in Harrisburg, PA, instead of from a home improvement "big-box" store. The ordering & delivery process for Pella was happily uneventful!