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Two months ago we ordered a Marvin Ultimate Sliding French Door, supposedly the best of the best on the market. In fact, 10 years ago we ordered the same door for a different house and were thrilled with it. Unfortunately it seems that Marvin has gone downhill in a big way. The first time the door arrived it was bowed, the primed side (inner) was not left to properly cure and had raised grain from wetness, along with numerous other problems. As an architectural designer, my company handles design work down to the blueprints for both residential and commercial structures. We work with one of the top contractors in Austin, TX to build our designs and that is who we hired to install our new door. When the owner of the contracting company arrived he took one look at the door and said there was no way he would feel comfortable installing it as it would fail within a few months (paint peeling, seals not working properly, etc.). As we treat our workers with the greatest respect, we paid the guys $600 for their time that day, even though they were not able to do any work.

We called Marvin corporate and explained everything and they put me in contact with their regional sale manager who handles these types of situations. He came over later that same day and at first tried to tell us things were within their tolerances. However, when he sent in the photos to Marvin corporate, he was told that it was not nearly up to Marvinโ€™s standards and the door would in fact be replaced. He also agreed to have it painted on the interior side in order to avoid the raised grain issues.

Our kitchen, where the door was to be installed, was torn apart and prepped for the door to be installed, but it would be another 3 weeks until the new door would arrive. We tried to be reasonable as problems with manufacturing do occur, and agreed to wait. The Marvin rep assured us that not only would the replacement door be perfect but he would personally keep an eye on things throughout the manufacturing process as well as lay eyes on it when it arrived at the local dealer and before the next delivery was scheduled in order to avoid any further issues.

Last week we received a call from the dealer saying our new door was going to be arriving the following day and they wanted to schedule a delivery time. I explained that the Marvin rep was supposed to be personally involved and was going to inspect it prior to setting up the delivery day/time. No one ever told the local dealer that (big surprise) but later that day I received a call from the Marvin rep who told me he was at the Marvin factory in MN and would be able to personally inspect the door on Friday. Following that, and if everything was perfect, we would receive a call to schedule the delivery. The Marvin rep assured me that he would be present during the delivery and we agreed to have our GC and the team onsite as well so everyone could inspect and move forward accordingly. We received a call on Friday afternoon and were told the door was flawless. Delivery was then scheduled, and coordinated with all parties, for the following Wednesday (yesterday) at 9am.

My team arrived at 8:45am and the delivery people arrived at 9am. No sign of the Marvin rep but we figured he was probably just running a bit late. The door had never been unwrapped from the factory so we knew right away that the Marvin rep lied to us about inspecting anything and simply caused further delays in our door arriving. My guys unwrapped the door and within 20 seconds (I kid you not) we found so many issues that, with the exception of this new door not being bowed, it was worse than the first one. There were cracks, dents in the wood, the sliding rail support was bent out of shape, there were chips (big chuncks) out of the wood in multiple places including on almost every dividing light, sawdust under their paint that would have to be completely sanded off and repainted, and there was an obvious paint touchup that looked like it was done by a 3 yr old. The owner of the GC company (our guys) was really upset at his time being wasted and said not only would he never install this door, he no longer had any patience to deal with Marvin products. We were still holding out hope that the Marvin rep would arrive (it was 9:30am at this point) but my phone rang and it was the local dealer saying there was a scheduling mixup and the rep was in Houston that day. Scheduling mixup??? It was the Marvin rep who scheduled this delivery. Obviously this was simply another way to avoid dealing with the situation.

We took a bunch of photos, refused the delivery and helped the delivery guys put the door back on the truck. Another $600 paid to our guys for their wasted time (now weโ€™re down $1200 for labor that never took place due to two bad doors being delivered).

I told the local dealer that we were tired of waiting and dealing with this as they obviously arenโ€™t worried about selling damaged products that arrive. Instead, just refund our money and weโ€™ll source a door from another manufacturer. I was told the message would be relayed and we would hear back soon. A few hours later I received a call from a woman at Marvin corporate who asked what the problems were with this new door. I took the time to go over everything again and she told me that we would have to wait until Friday for the Marvin rep to personally look at the door and report back. I told her that was unacceptable and informed her that we have plenty of photos to back up everything. We e-mailed her those photos while we were on the phone and went over them together. She told us she would get back with us.

Later that day (around 3pm) I received a call from that same woman who said Marvin was โ€œwillingโ€ to give us our money back. She also condescendingly implied that it was us who were being picky by saying โ€œI just donโ€™t think weโ€™ll be able to deliver a product up to your standards". I jumped on that and she backtracked pretty quickly. I responded by saying the refund was fine but Iโ€™m a little disappointed that Marvin was not willing to stand behind their products and make the customer whole. Right now Iโ€™m not just out the $4k I paid for the door itself but two months of my kitchen being torn apart, the stress and time dealing with this situation, and the $1200 I have had to pay to my contractors for their time when damaged products keep arriving. I suggested that perhaps Marvin would like to do the right thing and refund us at least half of what we paid for the door, and additionally with the $1200 we had to spend on our contractors, and provide a flawless product as they should have in the first place. She put me on hold for almost 10 minutes, then came back on the line, apologized for the wait, and said she would call me back in a little while. The call never came but we did notice later that evening that she sent an e-mail saying she didnโ€™t have an answer yet and would call the following morning.

This morning (Thursday) I received a call from her around 10am saying that she spoke to the QC guy at the factory (the same one who promised it was perfect the last time around) and he assured her that if we gave them another chance he would actually watch the door being made and ensure it was perfect. Kind of laughable that the same guy who promised this last time around is now assuring her that he will actually do his job this time around. I asked what Marvin was willing to do for us compensation-wise and her response was โ€œnothingโ€. Our two choices were to wait another 3 weeks and hope the next door they make will be good or receive a refund. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

I told her that I would rather purchase a product from another company than work with one that has no interest in taking care of its customers. I told her we would like a refund and weโ€™ll move on. I also explained that itโ€™s pretty short-sighted for a company, especially one that makes such expensive products, to have a GC with 30 yrs in the business and an architectural design firm who will both remember to never recommend nor use Marvin products in any of their designs/builds again. She couldnโ€™t have cared less and reiterated my two choices. As I was responding the phone cut off (and no, I wasnโ€™t being rude nor yelling). I waited a few minutes thinking she would call back but she did not. I tried calling her and got her voicemail. About 20 minutes later I tried calling her again and she answered as if nothing had ever happened. I told her that we would like a refund in full and weโ€™ll move on. This is where it gets even more interesting.

She told me that we would have to sign a โ€œsettlement offerโ€ and then they would process that, return the money to the local dealer, and the local dealer would refund us. ?????????????? When I asked what this โ€œsettlement offerโ€ said, she told me that she had no idea because Marvin โ€œnever gives money backโ€. I asked her if we would receive this today and she couldnโ€™t give me an answer on that either.

As of right now we are awaiting this so called โ€œsettlement offerโ€ so we can finally begin the process of getting our $4k back. Iโ€™ll apparently never see the $1200 I had to spend with my contractors. This is definitely not the Marvin I used to know and respect and I would strongly urge others to find another company to deal with. Unfortunately I do not have any recommendations as to who that would be as we are now forced to begin evaluating other manufacturers ourselves.

Reason of review: Poor customer service.

Monetary Loss: $1200.

Preferred solution: In a perfect world I would like $2k back as a refund for the door itself, $1200 back for money I had to spend on my contractors, and the door I ordered in flawless condition.

Marvin Windows And Doors Cons: Poor product quality, Being lied to and poor quality, Poor customer support, Customer service.

Location: Round Rock, Texas

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kittonian

After posting this review and filing a BBB claim I received a call from Marvin saying that if I gave them another chance to make the door properly they would offer to reimburse me $1800 ($1200 I was already out from my contractors and an additional $600 to cover the next install costs). At first this might seem like a nice offer but the guy that called was very curt and standoffish stating that we wouldn't receive any compensation until we waited another 3 weeks for the new door and accepted it.

When I questioned why if we had to wait and were already out the $1200 we couldn't receive that refund up front, I was told that they believed if they gave me anything now it would encourage me to refuse the new door and get a full refund (basically saying I had intentions of defrauding them).

This company's attitude towards their customers is a joke. They are the ones making shoddy products and trying to pass them off for high prices, but to accuse that same customer of trying to steal money from them is simply inexcusable.

Guest

I am having similar issues in Santa Fe New Mexico area.

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