Replace all windows and doors
I hesitated to write this review, because my first few dealings with Jim went well, and I thought we had built a friendly rapport...however, I rely on reviews to decide whether or not to do business with someone, and I feel like it is only fair to others that I share my strange experience with Jim, who is the owner of A1. I called Jim and several other window companies at the beginning of April to give me estimates to replace all of my window and doors with hurricane resistant ones. Although Jim's estimate was higher than the others, he did a good job on selling me on the quality of his products and expertise on the installation. In early May I told him that I wanted to have him come out to finalize the order. He came out a second time toward the end of May and we spent several hours confirming all the details. There was some uncertainty about the best option to replace the front door and he was going to get back to me on that. This is when the problem started. Although he said he would get back to me the following day, it took 3-4 days and several follow up emails from me before he responded. I told him that I was anxious to get my order in because it takes 8-12 weeks before everything can be installed. He assured me the order could be completed that week. And then he stopped responding. I emailed him multiple times over the next week, and he did not respond at all. At this point we had been communicating via email for approximately two months, and he had been very prompt and responsive up until then. I could not understand why, when I was ready to submit a very large order, that we both had invested a lot of time in, he would completely stop communicating. I sent him one last email and and left a voicemail for him asking him to please contact me or I would assume he did not want our business. When I still did not hear from him, I called his office to be sure he was okay, because up until this point all of our interactions had been pleasant and friendly and I could not understand what would cause this sudden change. I spoke with his office staff who assured me that he was fine. When I explained what happened, she asked if I would like for him to call me. I said I would like to hear from him as to what happened...several minutes later she called me back, but Jim was unwilling to call me and offer any kind of explanation. I have no idea what happened; his extraordinary lack of professionalism is baffling. If he felt the job was too big, or for some other reason he did not want our business, it would have been nice to know that earlier on, rather than him needlessly wasting two months of my time. Fortunately I was able to find a very good alternative, who is able to provide the same product and level of expertise at a significantly lower price than what Jim quoted, and they are able to install my doors and windows in 5 weeks instead of 8-12 weeks. I am thankful I found out how Jim conducts business before I had given him a very large deposit. I would caution anyone that is considering using A1 to think twice. There are companies out there with a much better price for the exact same product, that do want your business.
