When you’re looking to replace the windows in your home, who should you trust? The big-name national brands with millions of dollars of marketing budget, or the local window and door company who lives and works in your area?
Big brands have the name recognition down pat, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the best choice for installing your impact windows and doors in Florida. Call us biased (and we kinda are), but we firmly believe that a local window and door company can provide you with better value for cost on window replacement services than the soulless national chain ever will.
Let’s go over some of the top reasons why you should choose a local installation business rather than the “big box” stores:
Reason to Choose a Local Window and Door Company 1: Because a Local Company Will Make You Their Top Priority
One of the biggest problems of dealing with a major national window seller is that they really don’t care about providing personal, high-quality service. It’s a numbers game, and they have investors and shareholders to please. Short-term monetary gain will always outweigh the concerns of their customers.
Seriously. As noted by the Florida Bar Association, “the board is primarily responsible for the economic performance of the corporation and maximization of shareholder value.”
The top priority of the leadership in any publicly-traded company will always be driving return on investment (ROI) for the shareholders. If they don’t, they may face termination or legal action for failing to uphold their fiduciary duty to the shareholders.
That often translates into charging the most amount of money they can for the least amount of capital spent on labor and materials possible. This drives decisions like using unqualified subcontractors or skimping on caulk or other critical installation supplies to shave their costs.
If this drives up complaints because the windows they install aren’t sealed properly, break more easily than advertised, or are even not the brand that was verbally promised, a national chain just doesn’t have to care. They often have text in their contracts indemnifying them against these problems and if a few customers notice they got gypped, hundreds more won’t.
With a local business, the owners of the company aren’t beholden to a faceless mob of investors. They’re beholden to their customers. It’s customer word-of-mouth that builds the reputation that allows the local window companies to continue earning business.
Reason to Choose a Local Window and Door Company 2: You Can Hold a Local Business Accountable
What happens when there’s a dispute between you and the window installer? If it’s a big box brand that’s part of some national chain, it can be really difficult to hold them accountable for anything.
“It’s not our fault—it’s the subcontractor’s fault! Talk to them!” The most popular dodge of a company that has no intention of providing warranty coverage to a dissatisfied customer. Meanwhile, the subcontractor will point the finger back at the window seller, saying something like: “You didn’t sign a contract with me… talk to the seller!”
The buck gets passed back and forth like a hot potato until you either get tired of trying to get the problem fixed, the seller finally relents and honors their warranty, or you get your lawyer involved.
With a local company that hires their own in-house installation professionals, you can skip the blame game and get accountability right away. For example, Karoly Windows & Doors offers a 25-year labor warranty on every window we install. If your window has a defect, we’ll provide the labor to fix it for up to 25 years after the installation date.
Reason to Choose a Local Window and Door Company 3: No Bait-and-Switch Games on Installation Costs
A horror story that we’ve heard from new customers all too often is that they got quoted one price for their windows when the national brand provided a quote, but got charged a different (typically much higher) price when the bill for their window installation came.
All too often, big window brands will skimp on the quote creation process. Rather than going out to assess your windows in person to account for all of the labor and materials needed to prepare the opening for a proper window installation, they’ll just take measurements over the phone or in an online form.
While that can be okay for getting a rough idea of how big the windows need to be, it doesn’t really give the installer a comprehensive understanding of what your home needs. Is there stucco that needs to be cut back a bit? Are the window openings in square or out (i.e., is the window opening warped)? How high off the ground is the window opening? Is there any damage to the structure around the window that needs to be addressed before installation can begin?
Without this detailed information, it’s effectively impossible to accurately determine how much a window installation should actually cost. That’s why so many national brands have a line in their quotes or contracts about prices being “subject to change without prior notice” for a variety of vague reasons that could fit almost any situation.
That’s why it’s important to choose a local window and door company that performs in-person window installation inspections before writing up a detailed quote for service. With a more thorough inspection, they can better account for the many variables and give you a quote that won’t have to change drastically between when it’s written and when you get your new windows and doors installed.
Not Every Local Window Company Is Created Equally
One of the reasons many homeowners choose to go with the national brands for their window installation is because they recognize and trust the name of the brand. The assumption is that the bigger company is more trustworthy and reliable. These homeowners are worried about running into a fly-by-night type business that will take their deposits and run off with the money.
It is, sadly, a risk when going with an unknown small business. It seems like we can’t go a whole year without hearing about at least one or two window installation companies being taken to court for deceptive business practices, failure to complete work, not paying suppliers (resulting in those suppliers putting liens on their customers’ homes), or outright fraud.
So, when you’re looking for a local window company to handle your window installation, it’s important to vet that company thoroughly. Check for things like:
The Company’s BBB Profile. Is the company accredited with the Better Business Bureau? If so, how long have they been registered with the BBB? A lack of BBB accreditation is one of the first potential red flags you can find about a company.
The Company’s Specialty Contractor License. Is the company licensed as a specialty contractor with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)? If not, they may not have passed the testing needed to certify their expertise in window installation.
The Company’s Warranty. Does the installer provide a warranty on their work? If so, how long is that warranty good for? A year? Five? Ten? Twenty-five or more? A strong, longer-term warranty indicates confidence in the quality and reliability of the windows being installed and the installation process. Companies with weak warranties that are full of exceptions are best avoided.
If the Quote for Service Is Itemized. Does the installer have itemized quotes that spell out parts, labor, and permits for your window installation, or do they just give you a vague total without breaking down how much each window and the labor to install it will be? Itemized quotes are easier to verify and track, helping prevent surprises on the final bill since you’ll have a detailed document spelling out what your installation should cost.
If you need reliable impact window installation work from the best team of installers in Tampa Bay, reach out to Karoly Windows & Doors today! We’ve installed over 100,000 impact windows for homeowners throughout Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco County, and we’ve have decades of five-star reviews to attest to our consistent commitment to quality!
Book a free in-home window installation consultation and inspection today to get started on protecting your home with high-quality impact windows!
