Safelite AutoGlass

Come outside, he put the machine on and made a huge crack in my windshield. Told me that it is now compromised, I cannot drive and now I have to pay for a new windshield due to the damage he caused. I asked why I have to pay for something he did and he said well you signed the contract. I asked for the "contract" he stated and he would not let me see the clipboard.

When he finally gave it to me I was about 2 sentences in from reading and he ripped it out of my hands getting loud saying "are you getting a new windshield or what." I said I would like to read that and asked for a copy. He threw the paper and my keys at me, said I'm not dealing with this got in his car and drove off. Called the customer service who proceeded to tell me that it's not their problem that their technician damaged my windshield beyond repair, they didn't charge me for the repair and there is nothing they are going to do. The woman on the phone was extremely snippy, and got the manager on the line.

Manager was nicer, but still proceeded to tell me even though his tech made significant damage to my windshield that should've been a repair and now I have to replace it, that he didn't charge me so they are not going to do anything. The whole team is extremely unprofessional, did not apologize when they messed up and treat you poorly. If you are looking for good customer service do not go here. I am now left with a huge crack in my windshield that will cost me thousands to fix.

The rude lady gave back only the blades. I asked if the wiper arms were replaced, she said only the blades were replaced. I came back home and realized that they changed the wiper arms, and my original wiper blades don't fit. I need to get my original wiper arms back. I'll complain this to BBB and other venues as well if they ignore my request. Please suggest where else is good for complaint.

Tuesday rolls around and the tech comes out and addresses the crack windshield. However when trying to reassemble my SUV, he was left with an extra screw and 2 panels in the interior. He could not figure out how to put them back and a missing rain sensor, that the other tech kept and forgot to give it to him. After 2 hours being on the phone with his techs in the store, he explained I would need to bring the car into the shop to fix. So I drove the hour to the store and met with the manager. He was sorry for the trouble and agreed to refund me 150.00 dollars for the recalibration fee they charged me 250.00 dollars for.

Note: Ford only charges 100.00 for the same recalibration. Well it has been 2 months and many phone calls of unkept promises from the manager. And still no refund for the worst SafeLite experience ever. I would not recommend this store, except for a girl tech named Anne, who was able to figure out the 2 interior panels and install the forgotten sensor in about 20mins.

When I got there I thought I would just have to pay the difference from my $250 insurance co-pay and the $123.83 that I already paid. But they told me I had to pay my full insurance co-pay ($250) so there would be no issue with the insurance company complaining as to why I didn’t pay the full co-pay and then I would get $123.83 refunded back to me. Will I waited for weeks and never got any refund. So I called Safelite to ask why I haven’t received my refund yet. 

Let me say, trying to get through Safelite’s automated phone system to speak to a person is ridiculous. When I finally got through to a person, I was told they don’t do that and I will not be getting a refund.

Will, I wasn’t happy and told her that “Safelite just ripped me off then and it seemed like they scammed me like a shady sales company would do to get an extra $123.83 out of me.” 

I would have never agreed to get the chip repaired with my new truck had I known this would have happened. I had it less than a month and would have just gotten the window replaced from the beginning. 

 The person I talked to on the phone was flippant with me and said she would have the site Manager where I had the repair done call me and I never received nothing. 

I’ve used Safelite many times over the years and even when my insurance company ask me to use another company I told them I wanted Safelite but now, how could I ever recommend or use Safelite again? They just ripped me off! We all see the Safelite commercials and to be honest if they can rip me off they can rip you off as well. Beware!!!

Upon returning the van, the technician told my wife that the door was STILL unfunctional, gave her a receipt and left. When I got home from work (10min after the tech left), she tried to explain what the tech explained. The next day (on a Sat.), I went to the location to question the details, but nobody was there that knew the details. Went back there on Mon (after work) and spoke with the Assist. Mngr. He explained that the "story" that they are sticking to and he ended it by saying, "There's nothing we can do about it. It's mechanical. We only replace windows." He suggested I take it to the dealership to get the door fixed. The first incident of them denying responsibility for damaging my rear door. Now at this time, there was no paperwork or report detailing anything that was being said that documented what happened with my van.

After going to the dealership (and an additional $160 later), the dealership diagnosed the door issue (in 30min) and showed me that the door will not function because it was misaligned. They gave me documentation of the diagnosed findings. I returned to the Cherry Hill location, with the documentation, explained what was discovered. I was told that the manager would give me a call on Mon. I received no call on Mon. I called Tues-Thurs with the same result; automated voice service that leads to an ended call never speaking to any person.

The following Tues, I appeared back at the location and reluctantly spoke to the same Assist. Mngr. that I had spoken to before. Now that I have proven this responsibility falls on them, he asked me what am I looking forward to resolve this. I said that I want my door fixed and reimbursement of the $160 spent for the dealership diagnosis. This begins 2nd incident of them denying responsibility. He continuously attempts apologizing but still "sticking to the story" and tells me that he will have the manager call me. When the manager called, I explained to him all of the facts:

4. Following the advice of Safelite, I took the van to the dealership and the dealership was able to determine the door is misaligned and provided documentation of their findings.

I then asked the manager where is the documentation of his tech's findings. The manager admitted that there is none, but began "back-peddling" by saying, "The receipt is documentation." From this point on, the manager refused to admit responsibility. I then demanded that he present every document that the office has on file in reference to the service of my van ready for me to pickup after I get out of work. All that was provided, was a computer version of the receipt of payment. No report or documentation, of any kind, has been presented as evidence that there was no fault on their behalf.

I used the Safelite website to order the replacement glass, ordered it for $425.67 (incl. FL tax) and was provided a date for installation - cool. The date arrives, the tech comes at ~8:15AM looks for rust around the windshield, sees none, then proceeds to pull the windshield out. Awesome, I'm going to have new glass today!

After about 10 minutes I go out to see how things were going and the tech tells me he's glad I came out, he found some rust under the molding and should be able to sand it out and prime it for the seal to take. Perfect. Can't wait for it to be done. Another 20 mins goes by and I go back outside to see where things are at and the tech informs me that there is a small hole where the rust was and he cannot install the windshield. I said "I can fix that in no time. A little body filler and primer/paint and we’ll be good.” And the installer tells me they will not install the windshield with body filler used. Instead the tech informs me I should have the vehicle towed to a local body shop (~$120.00), have them cut out the metal, weld in new metal (~$300.00+), then they'll come back out to install the glass (for a total of ~$850).

OK, so what if I don't have the money to pay another ~$500.00 to have this done? Oh I'll tell you what... They expect you to be without a vehicle until you do. I was left with a vehicle with no windshield and some sticky plastic to cover the hole. So Safelite comes out, rips my windshield out, leaves me with no vehicle, and expects that I’m going to have the vehicle towed so someone else can repair the frame? OK, who's going to pay for all that?! Well you are of course.

I get it, they want to avoid any liability in the future. OK fair enough. However, they left my van with a giant hole in it NOW, far bigger than the hole the size go a 5-penny nail. I live in FL where it pours at the drop of a hat and they're going to leave me with NO windshield? What in the actual... Low and behold, it pours that night. I was up at 3AM because I heard it raining, I go outside to check if water is leaking in… it was. I had to pull the van halfway into the garage because it won't fit with the exhaust fan that was recently installed. Now I have to leave the garage door open while I'm sleeping so the inside of the van won't get wet by leaking through the plastic put over the gigantic hole they left to leak and were so afraid of happening in the future.

This is absolutely unacceptable and I do not blame the tech, they’re following Safelite policy. I blame Safelite for their terrible policy of leaving people without a vehicle, a giant hole where the windshield sits, in a state where it pours daily, and expect the customer to fork over money for a tow before they finish what they started. I called the local Safelite office and immediately asked for a refund. They cancelled the order, which when pre-paid issues a refund. I’ve not seen the refund come through yet but apparently from what I’ve read, when a refund is issued you do not get the entire payment back — yeah, let that happen.

I called the corporate office to speak with someone about how to proceed and was informed because there’s a small amount rust, nothing can be done until it’s “professionally” fixed. I asked to speak with a manager, was put on hold for about 10 minutes and was told they were on the line with someone else and I would get a call back. 2 hours went by and I called again and was put through to the district manager (DM). I informed the DM how dissatisfied I was for being left in this position: stranded to my home with no windshield to get anywhere. It could be weeks before someone got to my van. I went to a mechanic to have some things looked at and it was 2 weeks before they could get me in.

The DM said they would call the local shop to see what they could do for me and stated they didn’t answer so they left them a VM; I should hear from someone soon, they said. It’s now been 5 hours since that conversation and I’ve heard nothing from anyone. I’m so beside myself with this. As a former business owner and contractor, I would NEVER put a paying customer in such a position and, to me, it’s absolutely unacceptable. The lifetime warranty is already void because of the issue, therefore, let them fix it and sign a waiver of liability. You do not leave them stranded and force them to pay hundreds more.

What if someone didn’t have the money? Money is not the issue here for me, it’s principle. I’ve done plenty of body work in my days and I know that Butyl sticks to pretty much EVERYTHING, not just factory painted metal. I will never use this company again and I won’t ever recommend them to anyone. Great customer service, Safelite. Absolutely horrendous.

I thought that was the end of it. But now when it rains my floorboards fill with water. I noticed the trim/molding near the glass was not seated properly. A month later I had the car in for other service and pointed out my concerns. They informed me that many of the clips on the trim, should and cowl are broken and all that will need replacement, $1200. I do not trust Safelite to ever touch my car again, warranty or no warranty. After disassembly of the area to gain access, they discovered additional amateur attempts with the black window sealant caked up and spewed everywhere. While they were attempting to razor knife away all the excess sealant, they ended cracking the cheap aftermarket windshield.

They are replacing that with genuine BMW glass at their expense. They use the same installer for glass that the local BMW dealers use. I called my insurance company for help, but they said all warranty issues must go through Safelite and there was no recourse from them. Safelite is dead to me. They will never touch my car again.

All I asked them to do was glue down the rubber that they damaged & instead they tried to show a blurry photo in his phone, saying he took it of my van (after he tore it up & new he damaged it, to give himself an excuse). Customers don't want shoddy excuses & playing a blame game. They want professional work when you are paying a THOUSAND DOLLARS to replace a windshield. Their manager came outside & stood there while this tech was mouthing off at me & did nothing. I pointed out to her the sign in their shop stating the customer satisfaction & delight was their number 1 goal! Lol. I am far from delighted. At Safelite the customer is always wrong, & gets blamed for damaging their own car. Go anywhere else to get your windshield replaced. A kid with a butter knife would do a better job.

Upon scheduling the warranty repair and taking my vehicle in on the Dec. 20th, the technician commented "Oh, this is a warranty repair. Let me look at the crack." Sure, no problem. The technician looked at the crack, felt it with his hand several times, looked at it from several angles, then removed a pen from his pocket, and traced it along the length of the crack, back and forth, until he stated he could "feel something" that indicated an object struck the windshield, causing the crack and voiding the warranty. Whatever the technician "felt" could not be observed by the naked eye. I told the technician I couldn't see what he was referring to, and he stated it was extremely faint, and "wouldn't take much" to crack one of their windshields.

I've spent at least three weeks going back and forth with Safelite and the Better Business Bureau, to no avail. After contacting the BBB, a customer service agent contacted me, promised I would receive additional calls from regional management to conduct a second inspection, etc... Of course, none of that happened, and after reaching out to the BBB again, I was told by Safelite a second inspection was not necessary, as their technician "clearly" found an impact point, though they refused to reveal what evidence suggested such. I strongly feel Safelite advertises a false warranty, and upon reading other complaints and reviews, it is clear they regularly use similar "mystery" impacts to deny many other customers, as well. I deeply regret conducting any business with Safelite, and will continue to share my experience with others given any opportunity to do so.

3. When I used my car in a couple of days I realized the new installed window would not close. A new technician was sent to fix the issue after a few weeks. 4. The new technician told me that the window does not close due to poor glass installation which caused damage to molding and he will get a new molding installed. We also discussed the installed glass low quality and he said he will have a new high quality glass installed.

5. After he left, I made multiple attempts over several weeks via phone to get the next appointment scheduled, stating that the window does not close and it gets cold inside the car. The response I got over the phone was things like "this is not our problem" and often they did hang up the phone without addressing my questions or helping to make an appointment. 6. After several weeks a Customer Advocate reached out via email and made an appointment for a technician to come fix it on 12/28 but no one actually showed up that day. This whole thing has been going on for ~3 months!

The technician called yesterday morning and said he was on his way there, but failed to update me at all throughout the day. I finally called the technician on his number at the end of the day. He said he was just waiting for the body shop to finish but he wouldn't have time to do it that day so he would be back the this morning. I have had no update from the technician all day. I called his number and got no answer. His voice mailbox was full. I tried calling the company. Everyone I spoke with was completely unhelpful, and some were just outright rude. I asked for a supervisor and someone from the office named Steph called back (and I don't know where this was since there are a lot of different locations and numbers and no one seems to know what is going on). I asked if they had an update on my car and she said no, that someone just told her to call. She was absolutely unhelpful.

I tried the website, and my appointment could not be found, so I tried webchat. I was provided a different number online which connects to a different auto glass place (Champion auto glass??), and the voicemail just says: "I can't pick up now, please call back." No info about who I was calling or where they were. Everyone I talk with tells me something different. They were all extremely rude and unhelpful. I ended up screaming at them in frustration, which I know is not productive, but I am not sorry. They are horrible. They don't seem to have any way to contact their technician.

The Safelite people told me it was my responsibility to coordinate with the body shop, even though the technician had told the body shop yesterday that he was coming back. I spoke with the body shop again, who said they were done and were just waiting on him to come by and finish, since that is what he told him he would do. I called the company again to let them know that I had spoken again with the body shop, and that they were just waiting on the technician.

Now, Safelite said that the body shop would have to be the one to call them, even though I just told them that I had just spoken to the body shop and they were just waiting on the technician. The body shop is calling them now, but they are equally frustrated and says that someone has screwed up. I am still waiting on my car to be finished, and I not only did I have to take time out of work to try and contact these people, but I have not had access to my car so my family could get things done today. I really wish I could use a different company to finish this because I really don't want them to get any money for this. I will never use them again.

I called the store manager in Dothan Al. and explained to him that the molding was missing. He acted like he could care less and said several times that the molding is just for Cosmetics but if I had a problem with it the glass and install had a warranty and to just get with a branch in New York to do a warranty issue to get it fixed. I set up a warranty appointment with the Latham New York branch. A technician called me asking what exactly was the issue? I told him that the molding was missing and with the snow and ice being up north I’d like to have it put in plus the car came with it so it’s only right that it be replaced, it should be covered. He said to let him check to see if he had the parts to do it and he would call me back. Never heard another word from him.

My appointment to go to that office was for 12/4/2021 at 1:00pm. Since I never heard back from anyone I called the office on the 4th to see if there was any use in even bringing the car for the appointment. A guy asked me for my number and looked at the system notes. He says no. The parts show on order but no ETA. He said someone will call me soon as it comes in. Here it is now the 9th and still no word from anyone about anything. I took it upon myself to just order the molding from the manufacturer myself because I don’t want to keep waiting on Safelite to not call again like they’ve already been doing and meanwhile salt and ice works its way around the glass and seal. The molding will be at my address on the 13th. How can I get the part so fast but a company that specializes in this field can’t? I stress to anyone to STAY AWAY FROM SAFELITE! They are crooks and do not care about your vehicle or you as a customer. They do crappy work and lie.

Their unbelievable unprofessionalism and non-stop lying just made me wonder what makes them capable of obtaining and retaining the license of the AutoGlass technicians working for such a huge company/chain in the first place. Took the car to the private mechanic just down the road, who did not throw any promises, but did an excellent job on replacing the glass and fixing whatever damage was already done by Safelite.