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I had (6) windows put in by Champion windows of Omaha nebrasaka 3 years ago and have had nothing but problems with them leaking air. The sevice techs have come out numerous times and tried all kinds of band-aid fixes that never work and have finally told me there is nothing more they can do to fix them. Their sales pitch is "we make the windows we install the windows and we stand behind the windows" their warranty states life-time warranty for as long as you own the home. I finally filed a claim with the BBB of Omaha ne, on my first writting to the BBB and Champion windows the BBB said that Champion had 30 days to respond to my claim. Well after the first 30 days and no response from Champion windows of Omaha Ne the BBB sent them a reminder and it took them another 30 days to respond by telling me that their windows are not aquriums and that all windows leak air. The salesman who sold me the windows never stated that all windows leak air (would anyone buy replacement windows if the company stated that they leak air) he stated that they would stand up to anything mother nature could throw at them. Well my windows leak and we have had to put plastic over them (imagine replacement windows with plastic over them) every winter while Champion windows of Omaha plays games trying to fix them with band-aids. Well we took video of the windows and how they balloon out when the wind blows and I even went as far as to buy smoke sticks to test for leaks in your home. We took video of the smoke test too, and have asked the owner Alan Freil of Champion windows of Omaha ne to look at the videos. We get no response from Alan Freil of Champion windows of Omaha ne accept to hear that windows are not aquariums " Well Alan if your windows were aquariums all my fish would be dead, there would be no water in them, and no aquarium installer to stand behind his product. Alan Freil did not have any problems cashing my check for $4000.00 but I sure get the run around when he sells windows and the grand warranty that is no better than the paper it is written on. I have also e-mailed their corporate office and you can guess what type of response I got from them (NONE). Consumer beware of Champion windows and check all the complaint internet sites you will be suprised by what you read about Champion windows, wished I would have checked before being taken by Champion windows of Omaha Ne and owner ALAN FREIL. Tim Tattersall Glenwood Iowa
Terry I'm sorry to make you go thru looking at more window companies. All I can say is that I have had a terrible time with Champion windows of Omaha. The windows leak around the window itself, I have the sliders because we had Pella buibers casement windows and the wind blows so hard out here in Glenwood that it had broken the hardware on the windows when you would crank them out. The windows sealed good when they were closed but looked terrible when we opened them. So I got quotes for windows and the salesman for Champion said I needed to get sliders so that the wind would not tear them up like the casements I had. They came with a price of $7000.00 and I showed them my quote from another window company ( i really do not remember who) and they drop them almost $3000.00 that should have been the first clang of the bell that made me realize what I was getting into. Why is it we always try to get the cheapest price for thing that you want the best quality out of. Well this company did try to put band aid fixes on these windows, they put sponges in the runners at the top of the windows. Then it was little plastic peices over the weep holes (drainage holes) in the bottom of the windows. They never did come out when the wind was blowing to see where the windows leak (they already cashed the check, bet they did not have a problem cashing it) :) But now I have went to the Mills county court house and I have sent them a registered letter for them to come to small claims court, but I do not expect them to answer next step will be the attorney generals office. I do not give up on things easily and this company will not get away with it. I could ask one thing of you Terry if you would please call champion and let Alan Freilich know that you did not buy windows from them because of my complaint on this site. And if you do call him tell him his old buddy Tim Tattersall is not done with him yet and I will be seeing him soon. Hope you find some good windows and if you are happy with them let me know who they are. Thanks for the comment Tim ttattersallk@q.com
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
If its any conselation Tim, my wife and I were so close to purchasing 8 windows from Champion. We were about to leave to sign a contract and my wife said, "did you google complaints about champion?" I of course had been busy educating myself about quality windows that I had forgoten about that. So we did, and came across yours and many other similar complaints that we said "no way were buying windows from those guys". So does air leak through the windows, or does the air come in around the frame? Thanks for your diligence in standing up and sounding out the warning!
if you did any kind of research about windows you would know that the NFRC who is the testing and rating arm of energy star has an acceptable air leakage rating of .30. basically what this means is you can have .3 cubic feet of air per minute, per square foot of glass come through your window and still have what they would call and "energy efficient" window. if you figure that formula out, it equates to 3 cubic feet of air in one minute coming through a 2x5 window. multiply it out further and thats enough air to fill a two car garage with an 8' ceiling in a 24 hour period.
champion windows has an air leakage rating on all of their windows of .2 or lower, however anything lower than a .2 is listed by the NFRC as a .2, regardless if its a .04 or .19.
if you think about it, how can you put a hole in a wall, then fill that hole with something you can see through, and that has a dozen or more moving parts, not to mention all the seams and seals where all of these parts connect, and stop %100 of the air infiltration? especially in an area where, "the wind blows so hard out here in Glenwood that it had broken the hardware on the windows when you would crank them out."
seriously? wow.
I used to work for Champion in another City. I warn anyone looking at Champion to try to find another alturnitive for source for your home improvement needs.
Champion as a whole has all types of management issues thoughout most of its offices. I would say its is an attidude or a culture within that has rolled down from its top management in Cini, OH. Most of Champion GM's just run from issues reather then to confront them and try get them before they blow up and get way out of control. I seen GM's just stick their heads in the sand not answer phone calls and just in hope that the problems will fade away. These actions really just amount to bad business and very poor customer service proformance within Champion. It is really hard the see a sale rep get stuck in middle and between a mad customer and the Champion management. The poor sale reps are just handcuffed because its a no win negitive position and guess who gets that negitive customer satifaction servey after its all done? Yep the saleman is always on the hook at Champion for everything
The management just tells the sale staff members to put all of the problems behind them and keep driving forward and maybe that is the real problem within Champion in general. The GM's are just are focused on driving new business forward they can't afford to take the time to take care of any existing business matters. Champion will hold its customer signed contracts hostage and will bind too that contact. Why does Champion have to bind its customer up like it does ? It simple its because the Champion selling model is flawed. Champion starts out trying to sell its products at an really over inflated retail price and then they start applying discounts up to 40% or even a 50% and that is jso used car lot sales crap. the Champion sale manual say WIIFM " (What in it for me) and how much commission can I make on this deal. The customer are tricked into thinking those deep discounts are such great deal then they are hit with a " today only high pressure deal" that they don;t want to pass up. It is a designed sales process get the customer involved that they will put down their guards pay too much for the products. That all make since doesn't it?
The only thing that matters within the Champion organization is getting the ink on its contract and then getting the consumer past any waiting period or the rights to cancal a contract and within my State uts is a 72 hour timeline . It is different if you purchase within the Champion showroom your all done as soon as you sign on the dotted line at Champion. In the Champion sales trainning manuals it advises the sales staff to ask for a larger down payments to prevent orders from being canceled. The larger the down payments the more leverage that Champion has to keep the customer from backing out of the deals.
Champion just wasn't a fit for me so I bounced out of their and I'm so thinkful I no longer have run that hard or work all those hours and the weekends I'm loving it all. At Champion your just on your own and you sink or you swim.
Tim please feel free to contact the office here in Omaha at [protected] and we will be more than happy to get a service call set up to fix your windows. Your windows have a lifetime warranty on the install and the window itself. While it is true all windows leak air, but shouldn't be anything of substantial amount to feel inside the room.