Safestyle sales pitch not happy.

[raduv66]

Over the last two weeks we have been getting quotes for Windows + a door for the house and like anyone we got multiple quotes. All were really helpful and not pushy and gave a quote and left details if we wanted to go ahead . My last quote was with safestyle you know BOGOF and that was the first bit of false advertising as only the cheap windows have this offer ( cheap yeah we'll get to that later) . First off I know UPVC well as I have manufactured it in the past and a large number of these companies are owned by the Latium group and the proccess and formulations for their products are the same whatever they tell you . Anyway this is more about the aggressive sales of Safestyle as there quote came in at 2k more for the A rated and 1k more for the cheap ones !!! . Now in the sales pitch he told me that the only windows as good as theres were Anglian and Everest but as theres would be twice the price so when I told him he was 2k out on my best quote I had him. As my best quote was Anglian what could he do ( guess what ) on the phone and then quoted £100 cheaper than but only while he was there at which point I told him to BOGOF. When I told him I wasn't going to commit there and then he just left not giving me any paperwork or even a conttact number.

 

Cant stand this hard sell tactic .

Edited April 9, 2013 by raduv66

[ATTAK Z]

You've done it right by the sounds of it ... I would go with local every time

[raduv66]

You've done it right by the sounds of it ... I would go with local every time

 

When I told him I had quotes and would be getting more he said really ? I would never do it that way but always go for the best company. At that point I said to him wow you car and house insurance must be sky high then if you dont shop around. Thats different I was told and I think that's when he realised that no sale was to be made.

 

Be watchful of these guys as a good company should always give you there best qoate on a product. I had a phone call from them at head office a couple of days later to ask about how it went . I ripped into them good and proper up to the point that they hung up on me .

[rtbiscuit]

There advert put me off before I even want windows

[glrnet]

Use local everytime, we did, they are always price conscious and the quality in our experience is as good as anything out there. The best part of course is that if you do have a problem you are dealing with a local company who actually care about their reputation (if you choose the right one obviously) we spent quite a bit of time checking out 3 locals and the one we went with is first rate. I really don't understand this outdated sales technique regarding double glazing these days, don't these companies understand that there is something out there called the internet? Offering a price and then using the "oh let me phone my manager and see what we can do" is more transparent than the glass they use in their windows!!! This is what they used to do 20 plus years ago when there were only 3 or 4 major national companies to choose from. Local for me everytime.

[twobears]

I was window shopping (literally ) last year and although I was looking for hardwood windows I did contact Everest because a friend had used them a few years earlier and thought they were ok. What a mistake! The sales pitch was ridiculously long (or would have been had I not told the salesman that I didn't want to hear his life history and that he didn't need to know mine in order to sell me some windows ) and also inaccurate and completely overpriced. I finally found the company whom I used and they didn't try any hard sell tactics and did a very good job.

 

Shortly after I'd had my windows done my friend went back to Everest for a quote for more windows, despite me telling her that I hated their sales spiel, and they tied her up in knots so she had to come and ask me to make them go away! I'm not a monster, really I'm not, but my friend is widowed and I didn't want her being taken advantage of by some slimy salesman

Edited April 10, 2013 by twobears

[ioneabee]

ignore the A, B, C etc rating its a load of old baloney

 

instead ask them for the actual U value of the windows they are supplying - this is the thermal transmittance value (or heat loss) - the lower the number the better

 

The maximum at the moment is 1.6 - if they're higher than that ie 1.7, 1.8 etc then they are not conforming to the latest minimum standards

 

you will pay big bucks for windows around 1.1-1.2, but anything between 1.3-1.5 will be good

 

also check that the fitter is "FENSA" registered - its a scheme that syas they are "trained" and allowed to install without going through building regs

 

if they are not FENSA registered, then they must make an application to the Local Authority - there's usually a minimum charge of anywhere between £50 and £150 (depending on the LA

 

hope that helps

[JetSet]

There advert put me off before I even want windows

 

 

Probably the most annoying ad on TV. I hate ads where people shout at you .

 

 

Pete

[Ekona]

Not trying to be funny, but what did you expect? That's what salespeople do, that's what they've always done and that's what they'll do until the end of time. Car insurance is the one that usually crops up on here when they quote high first of all, and then magically drop their prices once you have a better quote, but that's how business works. Granted, it sounds like the bloke may have been a bit more abrupt that a good salesman should be, but in terms of his tactics he's done exactly the right thing. Quote a little high hoping you've got a sucker, then drop to under the lowest quote if you can but give a deadline so that the customer feels like they should go for it now, and hope you don't get booted out of the door.

 

You did the right thing booting, I'd have done the same.

 

Don't take it personally, the guy is probably under some very tight sales targets and this is how his company wants him to sell. He knows that if he leaves then he won't get the commission as it'll go back into the pot and the next guy out may well get it, so why bother leaving a card? It's a crappy way of doing things, I know, but it's how the world works and none of us should be surprised by that.

 

 

The companies that don't do that and actually offer their best price in the first place in a pleasant manner are the ones that get the repeat business, but usually only end up staying local. Sadly it's the guys that do do the above (or similarly harsh) tactics that get all the big money and end up at the top of the pile, but they're still considered cnuts by the majority of the public. See Ryanair, Tesco et al. It's a crap world, but unfortunately it's just how it works.

 

 

I'm with Rich, I would never have considered ringing them in the first place.

[Flex]

Where are you based?

 

I know a couple of FENSA registered fitters.

Edited April 10, 2013 by flexib

[rabbitstew]

Not trying to be funny, but what did you expect? That's what salespeople do, that's what they've always done and that's what they'll do until the end of time.

 

Yep, your right. Although double glazing salemen do seem to be a lot more pushier than others. I remember when I fitted new windows and doors in my old house, I had safestyle out and the guy was one of the most aggressive sales people ive ever dealt with. Quoted me double the price of anyone else, then tried to offer me £1000 less cos I was near a school (?!), then knocked off a bit more. He even did the "phone my manager" trick and the manager basically asked me what i wanted to pay. In the end I had to physically "help" the salesman out of the front door along with his bags and bags of sample products he`d carried into my house.

 

Next day the guys manager phoned me up and basically offered to match my cheapest price at which point I told him that even if he offered to do it for free I wouldnt due to the fact he had tried to rip me off by double the amount initially.

 

I went in the end to a local company who had fitted my neighbours windows - so i could check their quality first hand. They did a cracking job.

[raduv66]

We went with the same local company that built our conservatory but the point of the post was just how bad Safestyle were and the aggressive tactics that they employ.I had no problems at all with the rest of my quotes or the salesmen but these guys are something I thought was a thing of the past.