Vimm
United States of America#2Consumer Comment
Fri, July 16, 2010
I will second this account. The Long people that I met for an estimate refused to take no for an answer.
I was curious what it might cost to upgrade the seven builder quality windows in my townhouse and decided to invite Long in for a free estimate. The sales people were very friendly and one of them seemed genuinely interested in my hobbies, often getting off track. When it got down to business he went through their window spiel showing why Long windows are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and the longer it went the more I began to suspect I was in for some sticker shock.
After roughly two or three hours they finally pulled out a calculator and presented a $13,000 figure for seven of their highest quality windows. Not being an impulse buyer and having done no research, I don't know if this quote was generous or ridiculous and had no desire to make a purchase. When they asked me to commit to a down payment I flatly refused until I would be able to research and compare their product to determine if I wanted to buy it. I also have a neighbor with the same house who recently replaced their windows (possibly with Long) and I wanted to get their input too. Unfortunately Long refused to accept any answer that didn't involve a cash commitment. After an hour of this I also got to wondering why they were so insistent on a commitment. If their product is so superior, shouldn't my research support that? They've already impressed me with their product, so why won't they give me a competitive quote and leave?
After nearly four hours I grew tired of their pointless haggling and went broken record, answering every question with either "No" or "I will not make a commitment today". One of them commented to his boss over the phone that I was so calm and cool that I didn't look interested. I'm not sure if that was a complement or an insult (implying I was wasting his time). Either way, they finally grew frustrated and left shoulders slumped at 11:00 pm.
So overall I feel like Long has a solid product which would make a good investment, but their adamant refusal to let me speak with other customers and research their product leaves me suspicious. If I do decide to purchase Long windows it will be because I feel that their product offers the best value for it's price, not because of their salespeople.