On their website, the Herb Lodde/Quality Exterior Systems claim that they believe in highest level of service, respect, integrity, professionalism, and honesty. I found them lacking on all those fronts. They provided me a quote for full roof/eavestrough replacement on Feb 24, 2022. The salesperson (Rob) appeared to be professional at first and responded to my questions at the time of the visit. He quoted me for GAF shingles with full 50-year non-prorated warranty (which I wanted).
After looking into a few shingle/color options, I decided to go with Certainteed shingles instead. So, I asked Rob on Mar 3 for an updated quote for Certainteed shingles. He said to add $900+HST to the quote he provided earlier. One would assume the updated quote would include the best Certainteed warranty (as it was included in the quote for GAF shingles). However, I asked to confirm if the additional $900+HST included the best Certainteed warranty i.e., 5 Star warranty. I also asked him about the gauge of aluminum the company would use for my eaves.
I got a partial response stating, “to get the full warranty with Certainteed as you mentioned would be additional $1,275+HST (they require additional steps to qualify)”. That is, he mentioned the 5 Star warranty is additional dollars but did not confirm what level of warranty (4 Star, 3 Star, etc.) was included in the Certainteed quote of $900+HST extra.
With respect to the aluminum eaves gauge/thickness, he mentioned the company uses 0.28 gauge. That did not make sense as I learnt the aluminum gauges are usually whole numbers like 24, 25, etc. and the higher the gauge less thick it is. Also, aluminum may be identified by thickness e.g., 0.024”, 0.025”, etc. and the higher the number the thicker it is. There seemed to be a typo in Rob’s response (i.e., 0.28) and it was unclear if he meant 28 gauge or 0.028” thickness, as they mean two different things. It is confusing but note that a 28-gauge aluminum is less thick than a 0.028” thick aluminum.
To be able to compare quotes, I called Rob on Monday morning (March 7) to confirm. He called back Tuesday morning, but I missed his call. I called him right away and requested him to call back. When I did not hear back until next business day, I went to the company showroom in St. Catharines on Wednesday (March 9) afternoon. Rob was not present, but I requested Kaila to clarify the warranty and thickness questions for me. She said she will talk to Rob and get back. I did not hear back for another two days so I called the office on Friday (March 11) and spoke to the receptionist. I requested her to connect me with Kaila as she had noted my questions and was going to get the answers. The receptionist put me on hold for a minute and then mentioned she has spoken to Kaila and Rob and that they had already responded to my warranty/thickness clarification questions. I told her that I have not heard back from either of them, but she did not listen and insisted that they have already responded, and that I should go somewhere else. As she got a bit rude, I politely asked for her name and that’s when she hung up the phone.
I am glad they are not doing my roof. I can’t imagine how they would treat their customers if there were an issue in a few years. I guess when a there is sufficient work, a business can simply refuse service for any reason e.g., for asking relevant questions.
