Tri-State Window Factory

It took another few days to get the appointment for the repair. They gave me an install date a few weeks out. On the day the repair was scheduled, I took a day off work. I am self employed so a day off means no pay. The morning the repair was scheduled they called me just after 9am to say the parts were not in stock and they cancelled. Why no one checks to see if they have the parts prior to the install day makes no sense. I am in the building trades and would never wait until the morning of a job to see if I had the parts. Poor management. Maybe they would like to pay me for the day I lost? The next day they got in touch with me to reschedule. They said the parts would take 2 to 2.5 weeks to come in. They scheduled the repair for 2 weeks later. That concerned me since 2 weeks is sooner than the possible 2.5 weeks they estimated for the parts to arrive.

They were supposed to come today, Wednesday 1/25. I decided to call them this past Monday, 1/23 to check that the parts were in stock. The person I spoke to couldn’t figure out if the parts were in. She told me she would get back to me. When she finally did she said the service tech had the parts but would not be coming since it was possibly going to rain.

At that point she said she would get back to me the next day once the service tech determined what day he could come. The next day was yesterday and I have not heard from them. When I looked at the window with the tech I had to point out some details to him. My impression was that he hadn’t noticed the same details. I can’t fault someone for not seeing every detail, it happens. But that, coupled with the poor installation, lack of attention to scheduling gives me pause. I will install the brackets myself. I will never use Tri-State Window Factory again.

What really got me was when I asked what could be done, I was told that only one person in the office handles that paperwork and she was not in. She starts at 11 or 11:30 AM. So I called around 1 PM. I was told that she never came in that day. After several phone calls over the next two days with answers like "It's not my job" I finally had to request to speak to a manager. (Who was not in the office.) He told me that they do not know what happened. Well, if only one person in the office is responsible for moving that paperwork, I have a pretty good idea of what happened. The thing that really bothers me is Tri-State's lack of compassion for us living for who knows how long with no window coverings and the house upside down. Today is the 18th of January and have not heard from them since the manager called several days ago telling us that "they are working on it". Very disappointed so far, still no windows and they were ready for install on the 12th.

The new installation date was 9/11/21, I was told the 21 windows were there complete and taking up space. They just needed the final touches (crank and capping). On Friday 9/10/21 I called the office at 9:00am to confirm for the next day. "Yes, we are all ready to go, remove air conditioners, blinds and curtains. They will arrive anywhere between 8-10 am." At 4:15, I received a call from Andrew telling me the windows were not complete and they needed to put the pain in and seal it. However, what ever material they were to use, it was back ordered because of Covid....

We are still awaiting a call back to reschedule. I feel lied to. Unhappy with the protocol for confirming installation - I called and got a green light....and received a phone call at 4:15 pm to tell me my 21 windows were not ready. When they were ready on August 16, 2021. I have standard window sizing. They say they are built to size custom.... They must have given my windows away to someone else. Or someone is lying. BAD BUSINESS. I have two friends awaiting my review before they chose their window company. Needless to say, I picked the wrong company. A very unhappy customer. Esther

All seemed pretty clear and our initial decision was to go with Tri-State Windows, because the salesman, Bill **, repeatedly explained that he had been doing this, for 48 years, was a thorough windows professional and knew everything there was to know, about his windows and every one of his competitor’s products. He made a convincing presentation.

Later that day, on Saturday, 6/27, I called Bill **, to come back to our house, then complete the paperwork. He said he would be there, the next day, Sunday, 6/28 at 11am. My husband couldn’t be there, at the time, due to a prior commitment and neither of us expected a problem. Bill ** did show up, a bit earlier than scheduled but that was not an issue.

The problem arose when he advised me that, because the original windows were Andersen, there would be an additional cost, of $150, per window, because, allegedly, Andersen does not use standard window frames and they would have to build custom frames, to match the openings created by the existing, Andersen Windows. When I asked why he didn’t mention this, during the original sales pitch, his only answer was “I forgot.” “I forgot,” from someone, who, at THREE different times, during the sales pitch, claimed to know everything about everyone’s windows? He also pressured me, to give him a deposit check, which I did, because he claimed that, on the afternoon of Monday, 6/29, he was leaving town, on vacation and, if I didn’t complete the contract, then and there, everything would be postponed, for a minimum of several weeks, until he returned.

When my husband arrived home, that evening, I explained what happened and, after realizing that we had become the victim of a bait and switch tactic, we decided to cancel the purchase. My husband phoned Bill **, the next morning, from his office, only to get Mr. ** voice mail, then left a message, telling him we didn’t like the bait and switch tactics, to cancel the purchase not to contact us, again, in any way.

Guess what? Less than an hour after being told not to make any more contact, Bill ** phoned me, on my cell phone, to tell me how much we’re hurting him, by cancelling the order and tried to get me to reverse the decision. I told him the decision was not going to be reversed and I did not appreciate what he did and did not want any more contact, from anyone, at Tri-State Windows, after which I hung up.

About two hours later, after now TWICE being told not to call again, someone, who claimed to be Bill ** manager, phoned my husband, at his office, insisting that my husband listen to him. My husband told him there was nothing to discuss, then hung up on him. Within two minutes of that, that same “manager” phoned me, on my cell, again trying to get me to change my mind. I told him to stop harassing us and that there was no chance of changing our minds.

We called our 2nd choice window company, then gave them the order. That company had no problem, with the original windows and window openings being Anderson and did not have any “surcharge,” for that or anything else. I phoned our bank, then placed a stop payment order, on the deposit check, expecting Tri-State to ignore our cancellation, then deposit the check. We also returned their contract, via this morning’s mail, marked cancelled.

Based on this, we will not only avoid Tri-State Windows, like the plague but make sure that our family and friends learn about their dishonesty and high-pressure tactics. Finally, we filed fraudulent practices complaints, against Tri-State Window Factory, with the Suffolk County Dept. of Consumer Affairs and then with the NYS Dept of State’s Division of Consumer Protection, suggesting that both licensing agencies closely examine this company’s practices.

Last week a worker came by and took measurements as the job was to start this week. Ralph called that same night, belittled my wife and said we lied to him about the work necessary. It would cost an additional $700.00 over the contract price. My wife then read the contract word for word over the phone in which Ralph stated, "you know nothing." My wife then requested to speak to someone higher up in the company. Andrew called the next day and stated that the company screwed up and that he would do it for an additional $500.00 over the contract price or he would refund our down payment. My wife refused and told him to honor the contract. He told us he would have to speak to someone and get back to us. We are still waiting. This is the first stage in a remodel. This is causing a headache and a nightmare as I hope I do not lose my other contractor who is doing the sheetrock and floor installation work.

Original Review: I purchased a condo last October and decided to have two bedroom windows, the bathroom window, and sliding patio door replaced this past July. The condo was completely gutted and renovated, minus the windows and door. I went with Tri-State based on a recommendation from a neighbor about how great the service is. The products were ready very quickly and the windows and door themselves look beautiful and work very nicely. What I am unhappy with is the manner in which the work was done. For the sliding door, a tarp was placed over my living room furniture, which I appreciated.

However, upon installation, they broke the molding around the door on the inside and ripped it all down. (It was new and nicely painted.) To remedy this, they put up new wood molding, which really does look just fine, but I do need to have it painted now. Also, the beam on the top of the door frame on the outside is falling off so birds and other critters can get in there, and this was not addressed or fixed by the company when they replaced the door. Secondly, for the replacement of the windows in two separate bedrooms, they did not place a tarp over my furniture. The master bedroom was not an issue as the debris just went on the floor, but in the second bedroom/office, there was a significant amount of dust/debris covering the bed, desk (papers all over the desk), and books on my bookshelf. It took about 2 hours for me to get this room clean, which could have simply been avoided with a tarp.

Lastly, the bathroom window caused issues as well. While removing and replacing the window, they hit the ceiling, so there is now a small black nick in my shower ceiling. The worst part was that they broke off a bunch of shower tile around the window, which they replaced in pieces with some spackle. This was a brand new bathroom, and the tile around the window looks like garbage now. Though the windows and door are actually beautiful and function very well, all of these little things that I now have to take care of/paint/repair are enough to make me not recommend or use this company again in the future.