Olympia Windows & Doors Ltd

Here is an edited version of the letter I sent to the Better Business Bureau regarding the conduct of Olympia Windows and their associates. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES****

Re: Case #1136388

On the contract, it states that the job will be scheduled and completed by the end of the first week of June. Friday June 3rd was the original, promised “one-day” installation.

On Friday June 3rd, a company employee, and another labourer who did not identify himself, arrived 3.5 hours late. During a call to the company 2 hours after the scheduled arrival time, the secretary told me that the installers were “held up at the window manufacturers”. When the labourer arrived, he informed me that he went to the dentist, had blood drawn, and then went to pick up the windows. That is the first inaccuracy in the story. Had the workers arrived when they promised, the job would have been completed on that day. These are not circumstances “beyond our control”, as the company president has stated.

On Monday June 6, I called the company president to report that the interior work was poorly done, and that the exterior work was left unfinished over the weekend. He was completely surprised, and when I asked when his crew would finish the job, he exclaimed “What? He’s not finished? He has two doors to install today. No, he can’t do it.”

The company was clearly unaware of their crew's inability to deliver the work on time. It took much discussion and persuasion to get the company to understand that the interior work was poorly done, and that the job needed to be completed immediately.

When the crew leader arrived at my house later that afternoon, he stayed in the driveway talking on his phone for 20 minutes. He was immediately rude and confrontational to my wife. Rather that identifying himself and greeting my wife, he says to her, “I hear you complained about me to the office.” Despite this hostility, my wife brought him into the master bedroom to show him the numerous areas where the sealing and caulking was either incomplete, poorly applied, or applied on top of dirt and debris. The labourer's response was defensive and angry. He told my wife that it was “fine, you paint over the mistakes.” When my wife asked again that the mistakes be repaired, the man advanced on her aggressively, and once he was centimetres away from her face, and our five month old baby, he yelled at her “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB, I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 23 YEARS!”

Faced with this hostile and threatening behaviour, my wife asked the crew leader to leave. He then proceeded to take 15 minutes to put on his shoes and leave. He had to be asked several times to leave the home.

I was informed about this behaviour later that afternoon. I left several messages with various employees but the company president was “unreachable”. Does the president of the company not have a cell phone or pager?

The president finally left a message at my workplace on the morning of Tuesday June 7. I was able to speak with him that afternoon. He refused to acknowledge the abusive behaviour of his employee and I informed him that the employee would not be allowed into my home. I also informed him that I would like to be present while the rest of the work was completed. Given what had happened, one might think that he would act quickly to finish the job. But the best he would offer was to have the job finished on Thursday June 9, a full six days after the promised completion date.

On Thursday, the president arrived and inspected the work. He WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREED that the job was poorly done. Despite this admission, he did not apologize, nor did he acknowledge that his employees had completely misrepresented the quality of their workmanship.

Given this admission, it was both insulting and inaccurate of him to state that “maybe not understanding this type of renovation made her very sensitive”, with regards to my wife. The president further rationalized the poorly performed labour, stating that another previously unnamed labourer accompanying the crew leader had probably performed the work in question, and he was not to do so, because he was a “helper”. As I had watched the crew leader performing the tasks in question, I told him that this was not the case, and completely irrelevant to the situation.

The president then repaired the improperly performed work, and another installer completed the exterior work. When I inquired about redress for Olympia’s failure to honour the terms of our contract, the president became dismissive. When I asked why he was acting like the victim in the situation, he told me “My guys have been with me 23 years. You better believe I’m gonna protect them.”

He refused to discuss a reduction in price, or other means of compensation. Given the previous actions of his employees, I felt that it was safer to resolve the issue through an appropriate third party. I paid the balance of the contract because the president communicated in a belligerent manner that I had no alternative.

Olympia may have completed the expected labour, but they never resolved the situation. The actions of this company and employees are hardly an example of the “highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation…. and service excellence.”

I sincerely believe that Olympia Windows & Doors Ltd violated the following sections of the BBB Code of Ethics: “We will be truthful regarding goods and services offered”; “We will honour guarantees offered”; “We will respond to any problem in a timely and conscientious manner”; “We will maintain a healthy business environment by reinforcing mutual respect and openness between customer and merchant”.

Let me make this completely clear: I did not pay the balance of the contract because I was satisfied with the situation - and to this day, this company never responded with any ethical response.

Update - April 2011 - The BBB refuses to take any action against this firm, and ended the complaint process - the BBB is useless; thank goodness for sites like HomeStars, which allow customers to alert other unsuspecting citizens to the potential for abuse and incompetence.

We changed all our windows and olympia workers were very professional and clean. they were very helpful and they answered every question we asked them. the windows were high quality. Our heating bill have dropped by one third.
I would definitely recommend them to all my family and friends.

I replaced all my windows and some doors with Olympia.
The windows are very good and the installation was very professional.
I am happy that I used them and would again in the future.

We were introduced to Olympia in 2008 when they installed our beautiful patio doors. Olympia came highly recommended to us by family, who had positive experiences with both Windows and Doors. So when it came to replacing all of our windows in 2009, Olympia was the obvious choice! The experience from the showroom, though the installation process and continuing customer care could not have been more positive. Recently (Jan 2011), we had a minor issue with one of our windows, I contacted Olympia and within a few hours Emilio called and told me to expect a call directly from the Manufacturer, assuring me that everything was completely covered under warranty. The Manufacturer called me two days later and within seven days (from start to finish) the problem was resolved and the service could not have been better! We will continue to recommended Olympia to our extended family and friends, as we are delighted with their products, but more importantly we are extremely impressed with the excellent treatment and service that we have received! Thank you Emilio and your wonderful team!!

I build a home in 2000 and Olympia supplied beautiful windows and doors. The service was great before the delivery and just as good after. Even years later when I needed help was right there answering any of my questions. I have recommended Olympia several times.

They did an excellent job on our house and we are very pleased, the front looks like a new house. The installers were very knowledgeable, friendly and courteous. A great experience and would not hesitate to refer Olympia to anyone we know.

We had many quotes but only felt we could trust Olympia. Others were making all kind of promises to get the job and lots of pressure to sign on the spot; Olympia's salesperson made us feel at ease and gave us time to do our research. We are glad we made the right choice.
Our new door and windows look amazing!

Olympia has been replacing the windows and doors on our complex for a while now. I have spoken to many neighbors and heard nothing but praise for the installers and the products. Now that my unit was done I can understand what it was all about. The installers were on time, cleaned up after job completed and my new windows and door are great, no more condensation and the sound of the road has almost disappeared. Olympia has done a great job, Happy Holidays Olympia!

We are really satisfied with Olympia. We had bad experiences in the past and are glad we went with a company we were referred to.
Now anytime any of our friends ask we won’t hesitate to send them to Olympia, a real first class company.