Excel Shades - Ajax Ontario Gabriel (owner) Excel Shades - TERRIBLE service/support - AVOID DOING BUSINESS WITH THEM !! Ajax, Ontario
About half a year ago I first contacted Excel Shades about a repair needed to my adjustable shutters and a bedroom window blind. After repeated calls I finally heard back from the company and booked an appointment. Excel Shades explained that it would cost $90.00 for the service call. I arranged my day to meet the repair man in the morning but he was over an hour late and I got a call asking if it would be OK if he came two hours later. I informed Gabriel (owner) that this would not work and I didn't hear anything back from me despite several attempts (e-mails and phone calls) to re-book an appointment. Finally, in August, I got through with the company's receptionist who booked a late afternoon for the repair man to come to my house. Turns out the "repair man" is actually Gabriel's son who arrived with no tools and no desire to repair my shutters. He did, however, take the blind away for repair (supposedly covered under Hunter Douglas warranty) and a month went by with no call back from Excel. After calling Hunter Douglas Canada they apologized for the terrible communication and service of Excel and reported that the blind had been repaired. Following more calls to attempt to re-book an installation appointment, we finally got a return visit from Gabriel's son (Michael) who apologized for the tardy service and promised to do our repairs to the shutters and blind for free - this sounded reasonable to me. Oh yes - the shutters ... On his first and second visit to my house, Michael said he didn't have the right parts to repair the shutters. On the third visit (last week - the second week of November) he actually DID repair the shutters then demanded my wife pay him $150.00 for his expenses. When I tried calling the company and explained the half year of terrible communication and service, and having been promised a repair cost of $90.00, then a waived cost, I was told that Gabriel had corrected his son and that he needed to be compensated for his time and mileage. Gabriel apparently also told Lisa (his receptionist) that we were already getting a break as the cost of the repair visits (two thirds of which were pointless) should come to well over $200.00. The ONLY glimmer of hope with this company are the two receptionists who repeatedly apologized for the shoddy organization, planning and communication of their repair crew (ie. Michael). I would NEVER do business with Excel Shades again and my advice would be to stay FAR away from this company. What a joke !!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Excel Shades
Ajax,Ontario,
Canada
Repair Service provided for 17year old shutters.
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, November 27, 2012
Please accept our sincere apologies for the misunderstanding with regards to the service call charge and time taken to complete your repair. We were in continual communication with Steve David in regards to this repair.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that Steve David was not the original purchaser of the products, he was not aware of the custom nature of the product and the standard operation of the CUSTOM window covering
industry when it comes to repairs.
Any repairs booked for orders over 17 years old do require time and patience for the handling of it. In this case, we no longer carry the brand of shutters and had to go through a process to order matching parts. If the expense required for a repair is an issue, an alternative option would be for Steve David to contact the manufacturer directly to order the necessary parts.
Also, our installers are booked in windows of time and are unable to provide a precise hour due to the nature of the job which includes travel, other installs and unexpected delays. Michael is a certified installer and does not handle any decision making in terms of costs or fees. He felt pressured by Steve David's reaction and we apologize for this miscommunication.
Steve David was initially quoted the standard charge of $90 which includes only one visit to the clients home and later charged $150 for a total of 3 visits to finalize the repair. A discount of $120 was applied as a
courtesy for the delay of time. This is a reasonable and fair charge for the industry.
When we were first contacted by Steve David, we understood there was one blind that required repair and adjustments were needed for the other shutters.
We cannot assess the repair by phone unless specific details of age and condition of product is reported.
Unfortunately this was not the case and since we were not aware of the age or details of the shutters this does require several visits. An investment of time was made to search for proper parts and many steps were taken to ensure the appropriate parts were ordered for a 17 year old product. It is impossible to have replacement parts in the company work van for products that are that old. However, our installer is equipped at all times with all necessary tools to install any type of window covering.
We made several attempts to book a time that would be suitable for both the customer as well as the installer. With Steve David's work restrictions during the day along with co-ordinating the arrival of the blind that was shipped out for repair and also waiting for parts for the shutters, this typically causes a delay in completing the repair.
Unfortunately, given the nature of this repair along with the significant amount of time invested, 3 separate visits, gas expense and installers fee.....a $150 charge is a significant discount that doesn't even cover business expenses. Offering this repair for FREE as the client misunderstood is extremely unreasonable given the nature of this repair.
We have been operating a professional family business for over 20 years. Most customers that require customer care of their products after 17 years are always very thankful and grateful that we make the
effort to take care of their needs...as was the case with your repair. We often only receive referrals of more business rather than an unwarranted unethical report.
After 17 years most companies have either moved, closed down or would not invest the time to handle this type of repair. At Excel Shades, we take pride in ensuring our customers satisfaction. Excel Shades takes every opportunity to take care of its clients' needs regardless of how old or how long. The fact that we were willing to go the extra mile and bring your 17 year old product back to new operating condition is great customer service that we are proud of!
Although we would love to be able to operate our business as a charity, unfortunately this is not possible. We have employees and expenses to pay. We however understand that an occupation as a principal would inevitably leave Steve David expecting the same operation of a non profit organization.
Although we have never done business with Steve David as he was not the original purchaser of the product, may we remind you that our service given to you demonstrates that we deeply value your relationship with Excel Shades and are committed to providing you with the highest level of service simply because our customers deserve the very best!