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Brian White
 
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Default Chantecler Windows and Doors

It's Spring time and some people are considering new windows and/or
doors for their home. I spent much of 2004 trying to get just that
done with a company called Chantecler here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

If you're considering them... don't! Below is my story.

I keep an up-to-date version of this on my website, though with any
luck there will not be anything more to add.

a href="http://bcwhite.dhs.org/chantecler.html"
http://bcwhite.dhs.org/chantecler.html
/a

or a href="http://pobox.com/~bcwhite/chantecler.html"
http://pobox.com/~bcwhite/chantecler.html
/a

================================================== =============================

This takes place in 2004:

Feb 15: Visited Chantecler showroom on Colonnade Road to look in to the "Not
as Crazy as You Think" sale they were having regarding 60% off
product
to have it installed during the winter months. We met with Eric
Peloquin and decided to take advantage of the sale to replace
both the
front and back doors of the 35-year old house we had purchased the
previous August. He said they were quite busy because of very high
response to their offer but should be able to have someone out
to the
house within a few weeks. Some relatives of ours made similar
arrangements.

Apr 20: Received visit from Keisha Green (613-791-9384). She took
unofficial
measurements of the doors. We also decided to replace the kitchen
window at the same time so she took measurements of that, too. We
selected the styles we wanted and she left saying that she
would get
back to use within a week or two (they were still very busy
catching
up with the overwhelming response of their sale) with an
install date.
Our relatives never did receive a visit from anyone. They were
lucky.

May ??: Had visit from Denis to take official measurements of the doors.
Though Keisha had stated that the official installers would be by a
few days before installation to make those measurements, that
was not
the case here. The installation date was still not set.

Jun 3: After numerous calls and no response from Keisha, we finally learned
that Chantecler was having real trouble. They had supposedly fired
numerous people from their factory/warehouse and were running very
behind schedule. We were told that management was discussing
options
including outsourcing to another manufacturer or giving money
back. A
decision would be made by Monday, June 21st. Either way, she
had been
told specifically by management to NOT return calls over the past
several weeks. She would call us on Monday, June 21st with
details.

Jun 22: No call from Keisha. Called her to learn install date; it is
scheduled for Monday, July 26th.

Jul 19: Called Keisha to confirm install date and learn time of date
when the
installers would be arriving. Time was unknown but date of
July 26th
was confirmed.

Jul 22: Called Keisha again. Install date of July 26th confirmed
(again), but
time still unknown. Keisha said she would call Friday, July
23rd with
the information.

Jul 23: No call from Keisha. Called her but no answer. Left message giving
home phone number and asking her to call on the weekend with an
install time.

Jul 26: No call received on the weekend. Called Keisha at 8:00am and 9:30am
but no answer; left messages asking her to call me. Received call
from Keisha at 11:00am: still no known time and now she says
that the
order may not even be ready. Called Marc Grandbois (president,
819-663-5301 x226); left message with personal info and
requested he
call me ASAP. Called Eric Peloquin at 11:50am (Keisha's boss and
General Manager, 613-213-2472); left message with personal info and
requested he call me ASAP. Received call from Eric at 3:50pm
and was
told that order was not ready and would not be for some time,
probably
late August at the earliest. Alternatives such as outsourcing the
request or getting our money back were mentioned.

Aug 3: Called Eric and requested Sept 27th as installation date. He agreed
that this was doable. I told him I wanted a penalty clause in case
this date was missed. He said, "If it's not installed on that
date,
then it won't be me you'll be talking to.", indicating that he
would
be out of a job if he could not get things organized by then. When
pushed, Eric said he would have to double-check the
installation date
but agreed to a penalty of "no charge beyond what had already been
paid" (about $800) for everything. Since the down-payment was
30% of
the final cost (including tax), this amounts to a 70% discount.

Aug 10: Called Eric and because he hadn't returned my call to confirm the
installation date. He said he had a meeting at the factory that
morning and would call me back that afternoon. Later he confirmed
delivery and install on Sept 27th and again agreed to "no charge
beyond what had already been paid" if the Sept 27th date was
not met.
Eric said he would put it in writing and mail it to the house.

Aug 26: No letter from Eric. Called him at 12:02pm and left message
reminding
him of our agreement and asking for the contract to be mailed
to the
house.

Sep 8: Still no letter from Eric. Called Marc at 1:38pm and left message
describing the agreed-upon install date (Sept 27th) and the penalty
clause, and asked for written contract of such to be mailed. Got
return message stating that the contract had already been mailed.

Sep 16: Still no letter from Eric or Marc. Called Marc at 9:47am and left
detailed message asking for contract with penalty clause to be
mailed
and faxed.

Sep 17: Fax arrives with Eric's letter and cover-sheet from Marc. The
original
never did come in the mail. Contents:

September 2nd, 2004

Dear Mr. White,

As per our telephone conversation, this is to confirm that
we will
be doing the installation of your two doors and one window on
September 27th, 2004. As agreed, if the project is not
ready on
that date and we cannot do the installation, you won't be
charge
[sic] anything more than the deposit you have already given in
order for us to complete the project.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the
delay
in getting your order produced and installed. I am confident
that once your window and doors are installed you will be very
satisfied with both the products and the installation.

Sincerely,

Eric Peloquin
General Manager-Renovation

Sep 27: Installers arrived around 9:30am. I was immediately told by one of
them (Sedric) that the front door was mis-measured and a different
size was needed. It turned out that the window in the front
door that
was brought (the "lite") was incorrect anyway. The kitchen
window was
installed fine. The back doors were installed but is not what was
ordered as it opens to the inside instead of the outside. Closer
inspection also revealed that, while the door is the same size
as the
door replaced, the actual opening in the wall is several inches
wider,
a fact that was never noticed by the person who did the original
measurements. Called Eric and left message asking him to call me.
The work done did not meet the requirements of the penalty clause.

Sep 28: Received message from Eric. Called Eric; no answer so left message
asking him to call me again.

Sep 29: Called Eric; again no answer so left another message asking him to
call me.

Sep 30: Called Eric. I explained about the wrong sizes and also that the
window insert in the front door was wrong. Eric said that
Denis would
come to the house on Friday, Oct 1st or Monday, Oct 4th to
re-measure
both doors. Denis would call that night to confirm which.

Oct 4: No show or call from anyone at Chantecler. Left two (2)
messages with
Eric about this.

Oct 6: Denis arrived at the house and measured both front and rear
doors. It
turns out that the original measurement of the front door was
correct
and that the installers were wrong. Left message with Eric
asking him
to call me back.

Oct 13: Called Eric (never received call from him). He said everything
was on
order and he would call back by the end of the day. He didn't.

Oct 14: Called Eric; left message asking him to call me.

Oct 15: Called Marc. Asked for information as to what is going on and
to call
me back. I stated that I was through being patient and, if I
didn't
have absolute information by Monday, October 18th, that I would
start
writing letters to the Ottawa Citizen, Better Business Bureau, and
small-claims court.

Oct 18: Received message from Eric: doors are on order, hopefully done that
week. New installation date would be known by that Thursday,
October
21st and he would call me on that day. Eric came to the house to
apologize it person and promise that it would be resolved soon.

Oct 21: Received evening call from Eric stating that the doors would be
installed on Wednesday, November 10th and that the installers
would be
arriving at about the same time as befo 9:30am.

Nov 10: Nobody from Chantecler came to the house. Called Scott
(installation
manager) and was told that we were not on his calendar and that he
didn't even have our file; he stated that Eric had not given
him the
information. Scott said it might be possible to do the install
that
coming Saturday, November 13th and would call me back and let me
know. I called Marc and left a message with this information and
expressing my displeasure with all this.

Nov 11: Received call from Eric; he said he would call Friday before
noon with
a new install date. Eric claims he did give the information to
Scott. No call from Scott was ever received on this matter.

Nov 12: Received call from Eric at 1:00pm (not before noon, as he had said).
A new install date (now the fourth install date I'd been given) was
set for morning of Friday, November 19th. Called Scott and left
message asking him to confirm this information.

Nov 18: No reply from Scott. Called him again and left another message
requesting confirmation of the November 19th install date. Called
Eric and left message requesting confirmation of install date.
Called
Marc and left message stating that I still had no confirmation of
tomorrow's install and that if I stayed home again (as I had on
November 10th) to wait for people that didn't show up, I would
go to
court requesting my wages for those two days.

Nov 19: Eric arrived at the house at 8:00am so he could tell me that the new
back door was also made opening inwards (the same mistake as
with the
existing back door). He came so early because he had been
forwarded
the message I left with Marc and didn't want me to miss a day
of work
for no reason. He said that they were building a new door that day
and promised installation on Monday, November 22nd by 9:30am.
He also
said he would be coming with the installers to make sure everything
went correctly. He also stated that today was Scott's last day
with
Chantecler. I didn't ask why.

Nov 22: Called Eric at 9:20am; left message asking where he was. Called Bob
Lafrance (819-663-5301 x243), the new installation manager, to ask
what was going on. He said that the installers were behind (but
avoided my question as to how people could be behind first thing
Monday morning) and would arrive sometime in the afternoon.
Installers (Emmet and Carl) did arrive around 2:00pm, but with only
the new back door -- our front door was nowhere to be seen even
though
Eric had told me it had been ready for weeks. Also, missing
from the
new back door is the screen. The installation went well and I was
happy enough with the job these two men did that I requested them
specifically for doing the front door. Interestingly, these
two men
had been called off another job in late morning to go get this door
and do my installation. The reason they didn't arrive at the house
until 2pm is because when they went to the warehouse, the door
was not
yet ready -- the same door that was promised to me by 9:30 that
morning. I called Eric and left a message telling him that the
back-door screen and front door were still missing. He didn't call
back. I filed my first report with the Better Business Bureau.

Nov 23: Called Eric and left message asking him to call me at work and
let me
know where to go from here. Called Bob; he said that as far as he
knew my front door was not yet ready but he would check and get
back
to me with a real installation date (that would not be missed). I
posted this report to several public housing newsgroups and copied
Marc. I got this message from him. Here was my reply.

Nov 24: Called Eric; he said he would verify the door personally and call me
back the next day. He would also check in to the missing back-door
screen.

Nov 25: Received call from Eric: door is ready for install any day next
week.
I asked for Wednesday. He would verify and call back that
afternoon.
He had yet to learn about the screen. Received another call.
Confirmed
for Wednesday; screen, too.

Nov 30: Received call from Eric: The door is a "go" for tomorrow,
9:30am, and
the slider for the screen door will be installed, though the
screen is
not yet ready and will be delivered on Friday (can just be
popped in
to place once the slider track is in place).

Dec 1: Received call from Bob at 10:00am. They're not coming.
Apparently the
installer called and said he wouldn't be "in" today but did not
give a
reason. Maybe tomorrow. When pressed as to why he was calling
to let
me know this at 10am when they were supposed to be at my house by
9:30am, Bob had no explanation. Eric came by the house to explain
that the bad weather (we were in the middle of a snow storm)
was the
reason Emmet had not come in to work today but he was pulling an
installer off another job to install my door that afternoon. We
were
having bad weather that day and would make a reasonable excuse
for not
showing up, but after so many delays (and accompanying excuses)
it's
difficult to be accepting of another missed installation. In
addition, two other appointments I had scheduled for the day
(since I
had taked then day off from work anyway) arrived at the house
promptly
at the time they said they would. Some installers from Chantecler
did arrive in the afternoon to install the screen track on the
back door and measure for the actual screen which would then
come in a
few days. They did their job fine, but when they left, I found
leftover cut pieces on my back stair; they didn't bother to
clean up.
As for the front door: now scheduled for install on Saturday,
Dec 4.

Dec 4: This installer (Luke and Bruce) arrived promptly at 9:30 to install
the front door. They did a great job, cleaned up nicely, and
even put
the little plugs that cover the screws in to the holes so we didn't
have to. There was some tape residue left on the window that I
had to
clean and the plate that the dead bolt slides in to is not
flush with
the door jam, so I had to fixed that myself. It seems that
even the
good people don't care about the final 10 minutes that makes a
great
job in to a perfect job.

Dec 7: Received a call from Eric to confirm that everything was now
complete.
I told him that we were still missing the screen for the back door,
but other than that, yes everything was complete. I suggested
to him
that he read this history (I had sent them the URL previously
as part
of a report to the Better Business Bureau) and he said, "I
don't think
I want to do that." I laughed with him at the time; after all,
it's
difficult to hear bad things about yourself. Thinking about it
afterwards, though, I think this accurately shows the general
thinking
at Chantecler. Most quality companies would kill to get detailed
feedback about what they do right and wrong. Though my experience
with Chantecler has been generally bad, there have been a
couple good
points that I've brought forward. I've also tried to provide
specific
ideas as to how they could improve. A quality company would
eat that
stuff up. Chantecler simply doesn't care.

Dec 13: Called Eric to tell him that we still didn't have the real screen
door. He said, "I'll take care of it."

Jan 5: (Yes, it's now 2005!) Still nothing from Eric. It seems that
they do
not care and do not learn. The only way to get anything from
them is
to cause trouble. I wrote to our local paper (the Ottawa
Citizen) and
reported Chantecler to "Action Line", a column on companies
that are
not meeting their commitments.

Jan 6: Received an email from Marc asking if everything had now been
completed
and if I was satisfied by the work. See, there's proof! You
get no
service from them until you cause some trouble. I told him
that I'm
still missing a screen door and that Eric said he'd "take care
of it"
way back on December 13th. Of course, he'd also said that on
Dec 7th,
Dec 1st, Nov 30th, Nov 25th, Nov 24th, and Nov 22nd. Seven
occasions,
and that was just just regarding the screen door! Somebody
should get
that man some pen and paper.

Jan 7: Received call from Chantecler administration asking if all my
work had
been completed. I told her no, I'm still waiting for a screen
door.
She said she'd get somebody to look in to that.

Jan 25: An installer from Chantecler arrived with the screen for the back
door. It was the wrong size. They took actual measurements
for the
door back on December 1st and they still get it wrong! Even the
guy doing the installation (who was, to his credit, quite
embarassed
as he had been to our place a couple times before) referred to the
company as "incompetent".

Feb 7: Somebody finally came with the correct screen door. Of course,
he had to move the bottom track because it had been installed
in the wrong place, but at least it's in. We'd found some air
coming in by the front door and even some frost on the casing
inside the house so I asked him to check the door and to
remove the casing and verify the insulation. He fixed some of
the air leak but didn't remove the casing. I guess that's
just something I'll have to do myself. For now, I'm just glad
to be rid of these people! (And just one week shy of a full year
since we originally went to see them, too.)


As for my satisfaction with the product and installation referred to in
Eric's letter... It's not good. Actually, the product seems quite well
built; it's the installation I have concerns with.

* Kitchen Window: Unfortunately, I was not at home when it and the
first try at a back door were installed so I can only see the finished
product. While everything looked nice, closer inspection showed that
they installers just didn't go the very last distance. Some of the nail
holes in the trim were not filled while others hadn't been sanded. There
was dirt and streaks on the windows because they hadn't been cleaned,
and attached to the glass were super-adhesive stickers that took about
an hour with "Goo Gone" to finally remove all the residue.

* Back Door: Because the first back door installed swung the wrong
way, I got to see how it was installed when it was removed. In addition
to the small things with the kitchen window, some bigger problems became
obvious. There were spots under that bottom sill that were devoid of
insulation (and hence drafty), and the entire thing was held in the wall
with a total of four 3" #8 screws. There weren't even any blocks in the
space between the door jab and the jack-studs leaving about 1" of that
3" screw supported by nothing but spray-foam insulation. Had both doors
been open and pulling down on the jam, there is little doubt that those
four small screws would have moved or bent causing the entire door to
lean inwards. This could explain why for several days after
installation, the door rubbed against its frame such that it took a lot
of effort to open or close it.

The second set of installers (Emmet & Carl) did a much better
job. My back door is now supported by six 4.5" #10 screws with blocks so
that there is little of the screw that is not biting in to something.
They even planned ahead for things I might want to do (such as building
a deck outside that door) by building the exterior casing such that I
could easily remove the bottom piece and let the deck boards go directly
under the door. That's a sign of experience and care! My only complaint
was that they also didn't go the very end of the distance. (Still, I
asked specifically for those two when installing my front door.)

The back door is a double door with a center post that swings
outward with the second door. The Chantecler factory had wrapped both
doors in plastic before mounting it in the frame. Unfortunately, since
the center post is permanently attached to the second door, the plastic
was caught in there and, after removing the plastic covering, you see
the ripped edge of the plastic caught in this space. Had I not pointed
it out and kept asking about it, I'm sure they would have gone home and
left it still there. Removing it involved popping some cover caps and
temporarily removing the screws that bound the center post to the second
door long enough to open the second door and remove the plastic -- about
a 5 minute job.

When the screen was installed, the installers left the cut pieces
of track just sitting on by back stairs.

* Front Door: This was installed very well and went smoothly. It
looks good and we're very happy with it except for a few small details.
First off, the hinges are gold and don't match the brushed-nickel finish
of the rest of the fixtures in the house. This isn't anyone's fault; or,
perhaps, it's more accurate to say that it's everyone's fault.
Chantecler never asked what finish they should have or mentioned it in
any way and we never thought to ask, concentrating only on the handle
and dead bolt. Live and learn.

As for the install, everything went well and was cleaned up
nicely except for a couple strips of tape residue on the glass insert.
Some "goo gone" took care of it, but I personally think that all the
work on the door should be finished when the install is finished. Also,
the strike plate for the the dead bolt was not properly counter-sunk. I
pointed this last item out to Luke before he left and his response was
"Oh, that's nothing. Don't worry about it." Then he left. Very
disappointing after such otherwise good work.

Anyway... That (almost) wraps up this adventure. Maybe Chantecler will
get their act together. I doubt it though. The idea of "Do what I say
I'm going to do" seems very foreign to them. I'm absolutely certain that
the only reason everything was completed when it was is not because of
my patience or attempted understanding of their problems. I'm sure that
the only reason I got results in under 12 months is because I made
threats of of action against them and began to follow through with those
actions.

Eric assured me that this was not typical of Chantecler. I find that
extremely hard to believe. I'm the only one that had slow delivery,
unreturned calls, and missed installation dates!?! What did I do to
warrant such special behavior? No, that's too unlikely for words. I'd
bet money that many others had or are having the same troubles. In fact,
I know that others have had installation dates canceled and rescheduled
because they told me that they were doing just that to accommodate
getting my product installed. I assume this was supposed to make me feel
better, knowing that they were going out of their way to help me, but it
just told me that they still don't get it: Do what you say you're going
to do.

If anybody reading this is waiting for service from Chantecler, write
the Better Business Bureau, write the local paper, and, if that still
doesn't work, start talking to small claims court. It's probably the
only way you're going to get things moving. Good luck!

================================================== =============================

Brian
( )

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leave it to the computer industry to shorten "Year 2000" to "Y2K".
It's that sort of thinking that led to the problem in the first
place.
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Default Chantecler Windows and Doors

replying to Brian White, KathrynRobertson wrote:
Sounds interesting.

--
posted from
http://www.homeownershub.com/mainten...oors-9023-.htm


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Default Chantecler Windows and Doors

On Monday, June 6, 2016 at 8:44:06 AM UTC-5, KathrynRobertson wrote:
replying to Brian White, KathrynRobertson wrote:
Sounds interesting.
--

Unfortunately, Brian passed away 5 years ago. It was a real tragedy. He had his head out a window when it fell crushing his larynx. He choked to death, it was really sad. 8-(

[8~{} Uncle Sad Monster
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Default Chantecler Windows and Doors

On Monday, June 6, 2016 at 9:49:39 AM UTC-5, Uncle Monster wrote:

On Monday, June 6, 2016 at 8:44:06 AM UTC-5, KathrynRobertson wrote:

replying to Brian White, KathrynRobertson wrote:
Sounds interesting.
--

Unfortunately, Brian passed away 5 years ago. It was a real tragedy. He had his head out a window when it fell crushing his larynx. He choked to death, it was really sad. 8-(

[8~{} Uncle Sad Monster


Yeah, ol' Kathy is replying to an 11 year old thread.

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