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Comments:
Not a company to invite into your home!
They use at least 3 people to make a sales call, a doorstep canvasser to book an appointment, a home sales man to browbeat you into accepting a quote, they start out saying they will leave a quote valid for 12 months , but want you to sign up to the product on the night. The visit will be a minimum of 2 hours and they insist on both patners being present or they just go away a again, a sure sign something is not kosher with the process.
They also have an appointment manager who rings to check appts are ok and people were polite, It is funny that this person actually hung up on me when I said all I wanted was a rough quote not a binding price, he said no one would give such a thing and if they did they were mad!, and then hung up...whilst I was still talking to him
That for me says it all for this company dont invite them into your home it is only asking for pressure selling of the worst kind
I called them round to give us a free no obligation quote yesterday for an elderly member of my family. Rep turns up, on time very nicey nicey and took his time. Measures the windows up, quotes us £9000 then says it is buy one get one free and then quotes £4500. Then his mood changed i said thanks for the quote, we have other quotes to get so will be in touch. He didn't want to know about other quotes, said if we signed there and then on the dotted line we could get as many quotes as we wanted in the mean time. Now my mother in law was going to sign on the dotted line until i told him no it was the daughter and son who make the financial decisions. He told me that if he had known the decision makers weren't there he wouldnt have even quoted us! He was annoyed we didn't sign and started going on about this £60.00 survey fee. Mother in law thought that she owed him £60 for coming out and didnt understand that fee is standard if you order the windows for a survey fee. She was upset and it took me a while to calm her down but she still believes she owes them £60.00. Bully boy tactics in my eyes, they can get lost now, their sales rep failed on this occasion. Member from HO rang me and asked how the sales pitch went on, i told him exactly what was said and he apologised, said he was new from another window company would reduce the price for our convenience. Now the price quoted was only a few hundred more than what a friend quoted so guess it wasn't too bad, if they want my business, they will keep that price for a while instead of telling me that it was a managers offer for that day only! Poor service from the people trying to drum up business for them, not impressed!
I had someone cold calling from safestyle he left a leaflet and later i decided to contact them for a quote, I was told that they had someone in my area the same evening (as if). I explained that i only wanted them to measure up and give me a quote as per their website advertising, "free quote left with you for up to 12months), The chap came round that evening, first thing he said was, "I've just come over from Manchester and its foggy over the top", I live in Leeds! Hardly "someone in my area" is it?? I re explained that i only wanted a quote and that he would not be getting an order today, then asked him to measure up. He made an excuse that he had to ring his wife and went out to his car, then drove off!!!! my advice: Stay away from these people!!!
hey, im a canvasser for safestyle.
ive read through all the comments on the forst page and was sad to hear that people have had bad experiences with safestyle, but when i had training with them they were VERY good and explained exactly how we are supposed to be on the door and talk to customers. the company IS THE BIGGEST IN THE UK for windows and doors and have sucessfully fitted windows for years. as with any company its bound to have a few idiots working for them but they DO get rid of them briskly! as for the reps selling the product, they are doing what ya ask them to do... sell you a product. shops do the exact same, invite you in with a good offer (for example coffee) and then put products you want on a daily basis out in places you can miss them! ITS CALLED SELLING AND PROMOTING!
in my mind, if you want something get a price if ya dont then dont bother!
all safestyle salesmen and reps are fully trained and told exactly what to say to make you buy the product.
i hope you all had the windows sorted asap and in my mind safestyle is a good company with many many good people working for them.
dont throw a whole company away for the bad apples we already thrown away!
We were thinking of having new windows so when safestyles scouts knocked on the door saying a rep could pop round this evening we thought why not.
we googled safestyle to find out about them and found most of the comments are true,they said;the rep would come round and tell you about the company and measure the windows and show you the windows.they would work out a price then a price for half of the windows,then a sign up today price.then they would register the quote with their office(8.30pm!)AMAZING all of a sudden after speaking to their office they had a cancellation for a fitting date and they could offer the top quality windows for half the price of the premium windows if WE SIGNED UP TODAY.
£8000 premium windows to £4000 top quality windows???????????the rep was shown the door.
as an ex sales person i'd like to tell people how safestyle sale windows buy one get one free they say but 70% to 75% is what you should be looking for anymore is for the sales rep on a 50% sale the rep makes 14% so on £5000 he makes £700 at 60% off he makes 5% and NEVER sign on the night the deal WILL still be there next week one ploy to get you to sign on the night is to tell you they have a cancelled job in your area and to keep that low price you have to sign now or the discount will be offered to someone else , thats just a ploy the price will be the same next week . the other con is offering you a free upgrade from the preium style window to the diamond style which is much better and the show both windows but in truth they only make the diamond window , the preium window is just there to make you think you are getting something for nothing and the diamond window is graded as a c not a b like most reps say , but saying all this all windows companies use sale ploys like this so good luck with finding a good deal and hope you don't mind a 3 hour sales pitch
I am very disatisfied with Safestyle UK. I have had a long running problem with trying to get them to resolve problems with our windows. Basically, they have fitted windows that are draftier, noisier and colder than our old windows. Now after 14 months of complaining they are not prepared to resolve the issue. I have found them very unprofessional in all aspects from the actuall installation to their complaints process. They promise to ring back with an update but never do. My experience with them is completely unsatisfactory and I would NEVER use them again and would strong deter other potential customers from doing so.
i have just read the comments in this website and strongly disagree, i needed my windows replacing and chose safestyle, i am very happy with everything and would use them again if needed!!!!!
Hi, I had my windows installed in February 2008. Since then i have had 15 replacement panes of glass, two replacement units for the kitchen and bedroom and 5 replacement french doors. The frames are always damaged but they seem willing to just make some more and replace them. I am now wanting to speak to a manager about this because it is getting a joke, guess what no manager will call me back. So if there is anyone in the wakefield area please get a copy of the next addition of the wakefield express, because i have had them come out and take a story with pictures. It should be in this friday 22 oct.
I'm not happy with Safestyle either... The salesman came to our house to measured up and quote double glazing. He told my wife that we could apply for a 5 year credit agreement. She signed up but when we got the paperwork it said we were on a 10 year fixed credit agreement. Apparently we can't pay the debt off earlier because that will mean that the credit agreement is void and will incur penalties.Its going to cost us thousands more in interest and the windows are not even a good quality. We've only had them 2 months and already the white PVC has started to discolour and steam gets in the middle of the two panels of glass.
I'm currently being helped by trading standards. I will let you all know the outcome of my complaints.
Robert
After a visit from safestyle I was given a quote which was a bit too high (I'd also had 3 other quotes from other double glazing companies so I knew the area I was looking for). The rep left and the next day I had a call from the local safestyle manager offering me a better deal than the one that was given by his rep the night before. I arranged for him to come back so that we could do the deal. I took a day off so that I could be here and we spent another couple of hours again going through the neasurements and paperwork. I signed on the dotted line, he then called his manager to say that he had finished and was told that they could no longer offer that price. The rep left saying that he was sorry but not his fault. I'm now waiting for their customer services dept to call me back to explain why they wont honor their quotes and want more money. They are complete time wasters and not at all reliable. I will be looking elsewhere now.
have worked for all the major double-glazing firms in England as a sales rep all are ruled by one motive “get the money”. On each sale you can earn 5%-15%(if I every earned 15% on a job I would not be able to sleep at night) of the payment you receive from a customer. If you sold finance on any job you can earn another 5% if you have sold the windows for less than your 5% rate on windows, which would still be about 20% more than the product is worth, then if you sell finance you can still earn your money.
I am out of double-glazing now and there is only 1 large company I would recommend from all the firms I worked for. Or use a small family firm in your area with 1 or 2 fitting teams.
Rules for buying double-glazing
1 Find out what is the best profile to use, all should be reinforced with ali or galvanised steel. Euro cell is about as good as you need
2 Make sure its internal beaded (glass is put in from the inside)
3 The locking system should be shoot bolts on all windows now and the doors have claw locks 2 is about right
4 All double glazing should last 20-30 years the glass units 15 years with or without a guarantee if fitted properly
5 A guarantee will only last as long as a firm is still in business so a guarantee is about use less, most small firms will come out if there is a problem with the frames handles or glass, because its their reputation on the line.
6 Double-glazing is all down to manufacture and fitting. Get this right and there should be no problems
7 There are no hidden areas within double-glazing. Plastic, Glass, Fitting and price that’s all you need to know get this right and you will have no problems.
8 Don’t be forced into buying windows, you do not need a rep in you house for 4 hours trying to get the money for their next holiday or car. They will try to tie you in to a 120month finance that’s 10 years and if you spend about £5000
This would include 2 bays 1 box window and a door with side panels and a panel of choice in the door, at the end of the 10 years you could end up paying £12000 back.
oh my god we just had a rep knock our door to see if we were interested in windows and doors we wasn't actually looking but thought we would have the quote and look into it in the next couple of months ther was a very fast service for someone to come and do the quote (tooo fast 20 mins later) anyway this bloke came round no id didn't even know what we had asked for the quote for, as soon as he walked into our house he was looking around a bit too much and didn't bring any paperwork or samples or anythin we was on edge straight away and were reluctant to show him round so i just asked him to quote on the porch he managed a quote of 2800 and that was without measurments or anythin magic or what we told him we wouldn't sign anythin but we would like him to leave the quote he told us that he would get it in the post but wouldn't leave us a copy and we probably wouldn't see the post copy either as we wouldn't sign his contract there and then if we wasn't prepared to make him some money he wouldn't do anythin for us. what sort of service is that t***er came to mindx.
we were that unsure that this bloke was actually working for safestle that we phoned the company and checked as we could not believe someone that unprofessional was actually linked with a company as well known as safestyle but all we got off head office was 'yeh there our reps but we dont have any control over the regional branches how pathetic of a company.
PLEASE I WOULD ADVISE NO-ONE TO LET A SAFESTYLE REP OR ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE COMPANY INTO YOUR HOMES THEY ARE WORSE THAN COWBOYS THEY ARE ARROGANT RUDE INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN !!!!!!!!!
I just had a rep in for a quote, and then read this blog. Although only at the quote stage, the experience was terrible! We want to replace one bay window only, and as a rep knocked on the door made appointment. When the first rep turned up, my girlfriend hadn't yet got in from work - he told us that 'because we advertise on tv, both residents must be present'. What? So, next day a different one turned up. He seemed friendly enough but not at all chatty. He went through the patter, came up with a price of over £3k, then reduced this to £1,700. I told him we'd had a quote of £1,200 from a (well renowned) local firm to replace casings with wooden, working sash windows. He offered to call Paul, his 'manager' to get a better price but we'd have to accept there and then. We said no thanks, his patter disappeared and he left with barely a goodbye.
Spending money with Safestyle was the worst purchasing decision of my life. All goes well up until you realise they have been installed with very little or no care for quality. Windows leaked, locks on patio didn't work properly, marks on the inside of windows, massive drafts... you name it. Tried to get them to come and rectify it and they simply didn't want to know. And they still phone up and ask if i want windows now.
we thought this year we wood finish the house off by having all the windows and doors done so we decided to go with safestyle.very bad idea the new windows and doors are moor drafty and noisey than the ones that we had taken out.the front door does not shut right the patio doors are terrible the windows catch when you open and shut them .i dont think the advertisment on tv is for the same company and i bet the celebraties that advertise for them havent had their windows done???
I was one of four people to enrol on a course at Reading with a view to becoming one of their reps. We were promised £50-00 each at the end of the week when we reported for duty. Monday involved assembling our packs for working. We then shadowed someone for a couple of hours in the afternoon. No food provided or breaks. Shot up to Hayes at double speed. When we got back we were just left in reception. This was very nice of the "management". We were thoroughly fed up and went home after waiting around two hours or more.
If this is how they treat their potential employees then be warned, is this a company that you really wish to deal with.
The products look good. The training lasts a week. After the training comes nothing. Reading the forum the same seems so for the after sales service.
So for me it is a bad company. No money was paid to us as was promised despite recorded delivery letters being sent.
I would never go near this company ever again
First of all i would like to comment on the great installation and service in which i receieved from Safestlye, i had my windows fitted a while back and not only did i find the quote very reasonable i also recieved a service that was second to none.
All the frames were measured accurately and trimmed correctly on the inside and sealed correctly on the outside! Trickle vents and fire escape hinges were installed as agreed.
I also decided to change the french doors at that back (as i was having a conservatory planned at the time) and safestlye removed the order of the doors at little less than 2 weeks before they were installed. I can see where SOME of the people on this forum are coming from but even i have to say that that is great customer service!
The woman below me, whilst it may be very upsetting about the rep and safestlye's comments/actions, I cannot understand that if you knew you wouldn't be able to afford the frames, then why ever let them into your house in the first place. Safestyle is a big company and its obvious they were going to chase you right from the word go!
I dont mean to seem like i have no heart but i seriously disagree with the comment you made, after all its not their fault YOU let them into ur house knowing full well you couldnt afford the frames!!!!
Advice for next time - dont deal with a big company if you can't handle the hassle :D
Best of luck with the dogs operation ( hope it goes/went well)
Just had a call from a safestyle salesman. I told him we were not interested but he continued to go through his script. In the end I had to close the door and leave him on the doorstep as he just wouldn't stop talking.
A few minutes later he rang the bell again and when I opened the door I received a lot of abuse. All shouted very loudly. Four letter words, abusive gestures - the lot.
All in front of my teenage daughter.
Companies normally send their best people out to get new customers. If he is the best they have got I wouldn't give this firm any of my time or money.
Sorry about the length of this one, but if you want a true picture of Safestyle's shocking service, this really is worth reading...
I have found Safestyle's customer service (or lack thereof) to be absolutely shocking. Towards the end of last year, we were looking to do some home improvements, so when some guys were canvassing my neighbourhood asking people if they wanted a no obligation quote from Safestyle, I agreed and gave them my details so somebody could call me to make an appointment.
Later that evening, I got a phone call from someone at head office. I explained to her that I was interested but also that my dog was waiting for an operation so, financially, I could not commit to anything at that moment in time as I was not yet sure how much the peration would cost. She told me that, as it was coming up to Christmas, nothing could be done yet anyway and that the quote would be purely for illustration purposes. Reassured by this, I agreed for someone to come to my home that Saturday.
When the sales rep arrived at my home, I again explained the situation with the dog and how, because his operation could be expensive, I could not agree to anything until I knew what was happening with that. Again, he assured me that he was only there for a quote and would not expect me to agree to anything right away.
When they guy was done with the mesauring up, he gave us a quote which was sky high. He then gave me another price (about half of his first quote) which i could have the windows for if i were to sign up there and then. I again explained about my financial uncertainty in the light of my dog's impending operation. Of course, he took this as an opportunity to sell me the ridiculous finance deal. When me & my fiance still weren't taking the bait, he decided he had to go out to his car to 'make a personal phone call'. Had i known what would happen next, I would have locked him out of my house and not let him back in....
...When the rep came back in having made his imaginary phone call (my fiance was upstairs making his own phone call at the time and had a clear view of the rep sitting in his car and definitely not on the phone), he told me that he had been on the phone to his friend (at this point my fiance was still on the phone so was not in the room). His friend had apparently told him that, due to the illness my dog had, the vet would "probably put him down anyway", so I "won't need to worry about that anymore". Needless to say, I was a little bit lost for words! It didn't take long after that for me to decide I was DEFINITELY not interested in buying anything from him. When I pointed out to the rep that the girl on the phone had told me that this would me a 'no obligation' quote and that nothing could be done until after Christmas anyway, all the could say in response was, "You've got to appreciate that she has a job to do, getting me appointments".
Once the rep had left, I sent an e-mail to the customer service team complaining about this upsetting comment.
A couple of days later, I received a phone call from head office, asking how the visit went. I was a little shocked they should need to ask me that, given the e-mail I had sent, although when I asked, I was told that the e-mail had not been received (what - was it lost on the ether somewhere?!?!?!). I explained the whole upsetting situation to the guy on the phone. At no point did he apologise to me, but he did go on to say that the reason he had REALLY called was because they had received complaints previously about the rep who had been to my home and therefore wanted to check up on him (in that case, why even send him out to people's homes in the first place????) and what he would really like to do, to make it up to me, would be to send a manager out to do another quote. Obviously, I saw straight through that one, and told them in no uncertain terms that I did not want to buy windows from them. Imagine my surprise then, when shortly after Christmas I received a phone call from the same guy asking if I still wanted a manager to come out & do another quote for me. Again, I told him in no uncertain terms that I did not want anything further to do with Safestyle and that I would like to be left alone. He agreed that that would be the end of the matter.
However, a couple of weeks later I was working late when I received a phone call from my fiance telling me that there was a man from Safestyle at the from door and asking if I had forgotten that I had made an appointment!!!!!
At this point, i made a complaint to the company (by post tis time, not e-mail, and I made sure I sent it recorded delivery!!). I received a respose saying they were 'disappointed' to hear of the manner in which their reps have been acting and assuring me that they will make sure the IT department blocks the telephone lines from being able to call my number. This was about 6 months ago, and it all seemed to be sorted. But guess who I got a phone call from this afternoon............!!
The best advice I could offer anyone is this: DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH SAFESTYLE.
Having arranged an appointment to have my windows measured for a quotation I then received a phone call asking whether my partner would be available aswell. I advised not as he was at work and we required a quote only as ofcourse I am shopping around. They then decided that as they could either rearrange the appointment or cancel. I cancelled ofcourse. They just wanted to get us to sign something. Things havent changed where sales are concerned. I am still getting other quotes from people no problem.
Had one of these people round for a quote and he seemed like he was in a comedy sketch. I'm not offering you the list price, not the discounted price but..... etc. etc.
He did tell me straight up that the finance scheme was expensive. I am an accountant so he probably decided to save his breath.
He was the first quote and we wouldn't use them and then he was exceptionally rude. Started accusing us of being timewasters and implied we had done it to him before. If I had met him I wouldn't have called again.
warning to all, after having the 3 hour consultaton I came accross what would seem very misleading sales tatics, so to help others I've posted this guide to "not getting ripped off".
a) Don't take there finance, it's about as attractive as shooting yourself. The APR is above credit cards so that's got to be bad.
b) If you do take their finance option for whatever reason, do not accept the "10 year agreement" this is forced on you without you even knowning. Take a max 5yr or better still dont take it go through a bank.
c) You have the right to cancel, 14 days are standard terms.
There buy one get one three offer is simply a con.
d) You will be told that if you do take out the finance option that you cannot pay off the balance until 12 months has lapsed or you will incur high penalty charges. This is a lie, you can pay off the balance at any time without penalties. This tactic is used as the Sales person will not receive commission on the finance if the balance is paid up before 12 months has lapsed.
e) The sales reps are commission based so they will sell you your soul back if they could so be prepared to get the heavy sell. Dont give in remember these guys also get added commission on selling you that weird finance deal.
f) The product is as good as any window company, meaning you can pay £1000 or £3000 and you'll probably not tell the difference. Safestyle has no unique selling features, its just a big company with millions of hardcore sales people talking rubbish with the hope you'll give in and fall victim to GM Finance from hell.
Finally if in doubt say "I would like to get another quote before i sign your fantastic offer" then open the door and boot him out. If they contact you later by phone just say "Ive decided to give all my money to the devil, however he is looking for a good deal on some windows
Add a comment about this blagger
Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
They use at least 3 people to make a sales call, a doorstep canvasser to book an appointment, a home sales man to browbeat you into accepting a quote, they start out saying they will leave a quote valid for 12 months , but want you to sign up to the product on the night. The visit will be a minimum of 2 hours and they insist on both patners being present or they just go away a again, a sure sign something is not kosher with the process.
They also have an appointment manager who rings to check appts are ok and people were polite, It is funny that this person actually hung up on me when I said all I wanted was a rough quote not a binding price, he said no one would give such a thing and if they did they were mad!, and then hung up...whilst I was still talking to him
That for me says it all for this company dont invite them into your home it is only asking for pressure selling of the worst kind
15 mins later a saleman turned up and admitted that he usually stays for around an hour or more before quoting.
When I said I worked from home and couldn't ever spare that amount of time he phoned his office and they told him not to quote me at all!
Proof if it were needed that it is their company policy to string out their sales pitch as long as possible.
ive read through all the comments on the forst page and was sad to hear that people have had bad experiences with safestyle, but when i had training with them they were VERY good and explained exactly how we are supposed to be on the door and talk to customers. the company IS THE BIGGEST IN THE UK for windows and doors and have sucessfully fitted windows for years. as with any company its bound to have a few idiots working for them but they DO get rid of them briskly! as for the reps selling the product, they are doing what ya ask them to do... sell you a product. shops do the exact same, invite you in with a good offer (for example coffee) and then put products you want on a daily basis out in places you can miss them! ITS CALLED SELLING AND PROMOTING!
in my mind, if you want something get a price if ya dont then dont bother!
all safestyle salesmen and reps are fully trained and told exactly what to say to make you buy the product.
i hope you all had the windows sorted asap and in my mind safestyle is a good company with many many good people working for them.
dont throw a whole company away for the bad apples we already thrown away!
we googled safestyle to find out about them and found most of the comments are true,they said;the rep would come round and tell you about the company and measure the windows and show you the windows.they would work out a price then a price for half of the windows,then a sign up today price.then they would register the quote with their office(8.30pm!)AMAZING all of a sudden after speaking to their office they had a cancellation for a fitting date and they could offer the top quality windows for half the price of the premium windows if WE SIGNED UP TODAY.
£8000 premium windows to £4000 top quality windows???????????the rep was shown the door.
I'm currently being helped by trading standards. I will let you all know the outcome of my complaints.
Robert
I am out of double-glazing now and there is only 1 large company I would recommend from all the firms I worked for. Or use a small family firm in your area with 1 or 2 fitting teams.
Rules for buying double-glazing
1 Find out what is the best profile to use, all should be reinforced with ali or galvanised steel. Euro cell is about as good as you need
2 Make sure its internal beaded (glass is put in from the inside)
3 The locking system should be shoot bolts on all windows now and the doors have claw locks 2 is about right
4 All double glazing should last 20-30 years the glass units 15 years with or without a guarantee if fitted properly
5 A guarantee will only last as long as a firm is still in business so a guarantee is about use less, most small firms will come out if there is a problem with the frames handles or glass, because its their reputation on the line.
6 Double-glazing is all down to manufacture and fitting. Get this right and there should be no problems
7 There are no hidden areas within double-glazing. Plastic, Glass, Fitting and price that’s all you need to know get this right and you will have no problems.
8 Don’t be forced into buying windows, you do not need a rep in you house for 4 hours trying to get the money for their next holiday or car. They will try to tie you in to a 120month finance that’s 10 years and if you spend about £5000
This would include 2 bays 1 box window and a door with side panels and a panel of choice in the door, at the end of the 10 years you could end up paying £12000 back.
The truth is out there! at 23rd Aug 2008, 10:13AM
we were that unsure that this bloke was actually working for safestle that we phoned the company and checked as we could not believe someone that unprofessional was actually linked with a company as well known as safestyle but all we got off head office was 'yeh there our reps but we dont have any control over the regional branches how pathetic of a company.
PLEASE I WOULD ADVISE NO-ONE TO LET A SAFESTYLE REP OR ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE COMPANY INTO YOUR HOMES THEY ARE WORSE THAN COWBOYS THEY ARE ARROGANT RUDE INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN !!!!!!!!!
Spend your money on anyone but these people.
If this is how they treat their potential employees then be warned, is this a company that you really wish to deal with.
The products look good. The training lasts a week. After the training comes nothing. Reading the forum the same seems so for the after sales service.
So for me it is a bad company. No money was paid to us as was promised despite recorded delivery letters being sent.
I would never go near this company ever again
All the frames were measured accurately and trimmed correctly on the inside and sealed correctly on the outside! Trickle vents and fire escape hinges were installed as agreed.
I also decided to change the french doors at that back (as i was having a conservatory planned at the time) and safestlye removed the order of the doors at little less than 2 weeks before they were installed. I can see where SOME of the people on this forum are coming from but even i have to say that that is great customer service!
The woman below me, whilst it may be very upsetting about the rep and safestlye's comments/actions, I cannot understand that if you knew you wouldn't be able to afford the frames, then why ever let them into your house in the first place. Safestyle is a big company and its obvious they were going to chase you right from the word go!
I dont mean to seem like i have no heart but i seriously disagree with the comment you made, after all its not their fault YOU let them into ur house knowing full well you couldnt afford the frames!!!!
Advice for next time - dont deal with a big company if you can't handle the hassle :D
Best of luck with the dogs operation ( hope it goes/went well)
A few minutes later he rang the bell again and when I opened the door I received a lot of abuse. All shouted very loudly. Four letter words, abusive gestures - the lot.
All in front of my teenage daughter.
Companies normally send their best people out to get new customers. If he is the best they have got I wouldn't give this firm any of my time or money.
I have found Safestyle's customer service (or lack thereof) to be absolutely shocking. Towards the end of last year, we were looking to do some home improvements, so when some guys were canvassing my neighbourhood asking people if they wanted a no obligation quote from Safestyle, I agreed and gave them my details so somebody could call me to make an appointment.
Later that evening, I got a phone call from someone at head office. I explained to her that I was interested but also that my dog was waiting for an operation so, financially, I could not commit to anything at that moment in time as I was not yet sure how much the peration would cost. She told me that, as it was coming up to Christmas, nothing could be done yet anyway and that the quote would be purely for illustration purposes. Reassured by this, I agreed for someone to come to my home that Saturday.
When the sales rep arrived at my home, I again explained the situation with the dog and how, because his operation could be expensive, I could not agree to anything until I knew what was happening with that. Again, he assured me that he was only there for a quote and would not expect me to agree to anything right away.
When they guy was done with the mesauring up, he gave us a quote which was sky high. He then gave me another price (about half of his first quote) which i could have the windows for if i were to sign up there and then. I again explained about my financial uncertainty in the light of my dog's impending operation. Of course, he took this as an opportunity to sell me the ridiculous finance deal. When me & my fiance still weren't taking the bait, he decided he had to go out to his car to 'make a personal phone call'. Had i known what would happen next, I would have locked him out of my house and not let him back in....
...When the rep came back in having made his imaginary phone call (my fiance was upstairs making his own phone call at the time and had a clear view of the rep sitting in his car and definitely not on the phone), he told me that he had been on the phone to his friend (at this point my fiance was still on the phone so was not in the room). His friend had apparently told him that, due to the illness my dog had, the vet would "probably put him down anyway", so I "won't need to worry about that anymore". Needless to say, I was a little bit lost for words! It didn't take long after that for me to decide I was DEFINITELY not interested in buying anything from him. When I pointed out to the rep that the girl on the phone had told me that this would me a 'no obligation' quote and that nothing could be done until after Christmas anyway, all the could say in response was, "You've got to appreciate that she has a job to do, getting me appointments".
Once the rep had left, I sent an e-mail to the customer service team complaining about this upsetting comment.
A couple of days later, I received a phone call from head office, asking how the visit went. I was a little shocked they should need to ask me that, given the e-mail I had sent, although when I asked, I was told that the e-mail had not been received (what - was it lost on the ether somewhere?!?!?!). I explained the whole upsetting situation to the guy on the phone. At no point did he apologise to me, but he did go on to say that the reason he had REALLY called was because they had received complaints previously about the rep who had been to my home and therefore wanted to check up on him (in that case, why even send him out to people's homes in the first place????) and what he would really like to do, to make it up to me, would be to send a manager out to do another quote. Obviously, I saw straight through that one, and told them in no uncertain terms that I did not want to buy windows from them. Imagine my surprise then, when shortly after Christmas I received a phone call from the same guy asking if I still wanted a manager to come out & do another quote for me. Again, I told him in no uncertain terms that I did not want anything further to do with Safestyle and that I would like to be left alone. He agreed that that would be the end of the matter.
However, a couple of weeks later I was working late when I received a phone call from my fiance telling me that there was a man from Safestyle at the from door and asking if I had forgotten that I had made an appointment!!!!!
At this point, i made a complaint to the company (by post tis time, not e-mail, and I made sure I sent it recorded delivery!!). I received a respose saying they were 'disappointed' to hear of the manner in which their reps have been acting and assuring me that they will make sure the IT department blocks the telephone lines from being able to call my number. This was about 6 months ago, and it all seemed to be sorted. But guess who I got a phone call from this afternoon............!!
The best advice I could offer anyone is this: DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH SAFESTYLE.
He did tell me straight up that the finance scheme was expensive. I am an accountant so he probably decided to save his breath.
He was the first quote and we wouldn't use them and then he was exceptionally rude. Started accusing us of being timewasters and implied we had done it to him before. If I had met him I wouldn't have called again.
normallynotannoyed at 29th Mar 2007, 08:36PM
a) Don't take there finance, it's about as attractive as shooting yourself. The APR is above credit cards so that's got to be bad.
b) If you do take their finance option for whatever reason, do not accept the "10 year agreement" this is forced on you without you even knowning. Take a max 5yr or better still dont take it go through a bank.
c) You have the right to cancel, 14 days are standard terms.
There buy one get one three offer is simply a con.
d) You will be told that if you do take out the finance option that you cannot pay off the balance until 12 months has lapsed or you will incur high penalty charges. This is a lie, you can pay off the balance at any time without penalties. This tactic is used as the Sales person will not receive commission on the finance if the balance is paid up before 12 months has lapsed.
e) The sales reps are commission based so they will sell you your soul back if they could so be prepared to get the heavy sell. Dont give in remember these guys also get added commission on selling you that weird finance deal.
f) The product is as good as any window company, meaning you can pay £1000 or £3000 and you'll probably not tell the difference. Safestyle has no unique selling features, its just a big company with millions of hardcore sales people talking rubbish with the hope you'll give in and fall victim to GM Finance from hell.
Finally if in doubt say "I would like to get another quote before i sign your fantastic offer" then open the door and boot him out. If they contact you later by phone just say "Ive decided to give all my money to the devil, however he is looking for a good deal on some windows
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