Brock Doors & Windows Ltd.

My partner and I placed an order for 7 new triple glazed windows, one window cap and two door systems with Brock back in April 2018 at our home. We chose Brock based on our experience with the salesman and from reviewing customer feedback online. We made this order on the basis that we would be taking advantage of the Provincial rebate on offer at $500 per window. Given that we were expecting a second child in Mid-July, 2018, we were seeking to get these windows and doors installed in advance of that key milestone for our family.

What has transpired since then has just been a catalog of issues that no self respecting Company should ever want to put a customer through. We just felt helpless and completely frustrated throughout the process, which now, some 9 months after the original installation date, has finally been completed. The original order for windows was placed in April 2018, with the final visit to cap an existing window, completed in late March 2019.

A timeline of issues follows:

- 21 June 2018 – We receive a visit from Brock’s installation team. The installers are Ukrainian and only one of the two installers (the more junior of the two), speaks English to a decent level, so there are some communication challenges. They manage to install one window at the front of our house that day. We see the two installers working with the other windows that were on their van/truck, making measurements against the windows that they are due to replace.

- 22 June 2018 – The two installers work on the two door systems. The front door system is successfully installed, but is the wrong frame colour, has what we are told is a manufacturers defect inside and we discover (as detailed below) later that the lock does not turn. The rear door system is installed and has no issues.

Around 3pm on 22 June, we ask the installers if they are going to be able to install the other windows that day. They inform us then that our project lead should have told us that there was a measurement issue and they are unable to install the windows as delivered. We call the Brock office and are told that our project coordinator has left for the day and will be in touch next week. We received no such call from anyone at Brock.

As the team leave on June 22 around 5pm, we notice that the front door does not lock. We call Brock 4 times that evening to advise that we are unable to secure our house since the door lock that Brock have installed is faulty. We are told each time that the issue has been escalated and that someone will be out. No appearance from anyone that night.

- June 23, 2018 – I call Brock first thing in the morning and eventually speak to Jim. He looks at our file and arranges for a locksmith to come out before 2pm that day to rectify the lock situation.

- Between June 23 and July 24, 2018 – I make two calls to the main Brock contact number and leave voicemails under option 2 for current installations. We receive no response from Brock to either call.

- Over a month later, we finally receive a call from Brock!! We receive a call enquiring as to why we have not submitted our application for the Ontario government rebate. She is not responsible for our account/file, only the rebate piece, but has absolutely no idea that the majority of our windows were not installed as per the original installation dates of June 21 and 22, 2018. She does advise that she will escalate this internally though.

- Late July 2018 and early August 2018, after a couple of no shows from Brock to remeasure the windows that should have been installed in June 2018, we are remeasured and informed that the measurements were correct and that the original installation team should have installed the windows. We are rescheduled for a late August installation.

- We had partially finished installation of two ground floor windows for some five or six weeks on both the outside and inside of our property. These were installed on August 20, 2018 and August 27, 2018, but the external seal and internal moulding was not completed until the next visit on September 26, 2018.

- Three upstairs windows were not completed for internal installation of mouldings between August 27, 2018 and the next visit on September 26, 2018. One of these was our bathroom window, which was exposed to water from our shower in this timeframe and therefore potentially susceptible to water and mold in the foam insulation.

- Between the penultimate and last visit, they left the final bedroom window relatively unprotected at the foot of our garden, exposed to the elements. This seemed to be a bizarre practice (risk of theft, damage from elements etc).

- Majority of work completed on September 26, 2018, but a handful of issues remained in place:

1) A manufacturers defect on the inside of our front door frame;
2) The front door frame is the wrong colour;
3) Capping of a basement window to match the colour scheme of the other installed windows; and
4) Late delivery/installation of the windows has led to a delay in receiving the provincial energy rebate.

- We receive the full rebate from the provincial energy deal in November 2018.

- After writing a long letter to Brock to catalog these issues and make a partial payment on the outstanding balance (c20% retained), our file is transferred to someone at Brock to handle. Unfortunately, they are soon to be moving to another role and are unable to give it their full attention, so we are left in limbo, waiting for the issues to be resolved.

- February 2019 - we receive a call from someone at Brock to arrange for the basement window cap and to fix the manufacturers defect on the door. This visit is scheduled for March 21st, 2019 and is the first time that we think we have dealt with a Brock employee rather than a subcontractor (I could be mistaken here though). The basement cap and door issue (other than the colour of the frame) are resolved. The employee concerned even noticed that our door was sticking a little more than it should so rectified that issue while on site (great service at last!!).

- March 29th, 2019 - We receive an invoice for the balance outstanding, with a letter threatening to take us to a credit collector if payment not received within a week. Not wanting the hassle of this, I call and make payment by credit card over the phone.

Quite the timeline of events for what should have been a relatively simple installation! If you are happy to be bounced from person to person, with no one taking ownership of your account and where communication between team members is at a premium, maybe Brock are the Company to deal with. I suspect that a $22.5k job just isn't big enough to get real attention these days.

I would love to give Brock 0 stars, but on balance, the last installation team member, original salesman, rebate specialist and gentleman that I spoke with on the phone to make final payment today salvaged some credibility in my eyes. Also, the windows are a great quality, offering a great upgrade to our house. I hope that I don't need to be in the market for new windows any time soon, since this experience has really put me off!!