Milgard Windows & Doors — Attraction in Sacramento

Milgard sold me 11 windows about 2 months ago. The ordering process was straightforward. However, the delivery was delayed by over 3 weeks beyond their promised time frame. What made it worse was when I reached out to their Salesperson Monica Riojas was really rude and unhelpful when I followed up on their delivery promise.

I guess, Milgard Saleswoman was nice only when she wanted my money, and her commission on it!

I am in the Bay Area, California so everything is expensive and I did get their Summer promotion rebate which lowered the total overall cost.

However, the quality of glass is sub-par. A small hole in the bedroom window grew and gradually cracked the interior glass. I am glad I paid for tempered glass, otherwise it could had caused physical harm. Under Tuscany V400 (the highest and most expensive Milgard series), lifetime warranty is included, and therefore, I had gone for their top of the line windows series to have that peace of mind - good decision? May be...

I called the Milgard warranty department and was yanked around from one associate to another. Finally, one kind person was able to schedule the replacement. However, after waiting for nearly a month, when the replacement tech finally showed up late on the day of the appointment, he mentioned that he was provided wrong specs and he does NOT have the replacement window for me and "I" not him should contact Milgard again to request warranty service.

So I called Milgard 800 number again dreading to go through the same painful process but finally got an associate who was ready to make me wait another month and a half in the future, to which I related to her the whole nightmare experience that I had already gone through. She promised to call me back.

Later that afternoon, another agent called me and confirmed with me what had transpired and showed her willingness to help by offering me a 2-week wait instead of month and a half for the replacement window. She was a kind person so * 5 stars for her human kindness and assistance.

The day of the replacement (today 08/19/24), technician showed up late, asked for my help with removing the window, taking the damaged window out to his car and holding the rubber spacers - pretty much thinking of me as his co-technician. A small piece of window had cut my left index finger so I told him that I am sorry but I do not have insurance for this kind of work and may not be able to help him any further. That kind of expectation of help from homeowner was unjustified, and I was not informed of this beforehard by Milgard. He also refused to clean up after replacing a single window glass - talking of bad customer service and lack of professionalism!

I have taken copious notes of all the events, names of Milgard members, times that these events transpired, along with pictures and video so that if Milgard ever comes back to dispute the facts with their own made-up version.

In conclusion, there are some good people working at Milgards however, the product, service and warranty is not worth the high price I paid for their 11 windows.

Mind you, after going through this ordeal, I would not be too disappointed if Milgards were to reach out to me to make...

October 2024 update: Another weatherstripping problem presented with the same Essence sliding door; this time a vinyl weatherstripping trim-piece, that affixes to the door jamb, "scorched" in this summer's (July 2024) heatwave and pulled out of the channel (see photos). Milgard again informed us that there was no replacement piece available, as they were no longer making the door. They would, however, schedule a warranty tech to come out and see if he could fix the existing piece. The earliest appointment was 3 months out.

The service tech, Oleg, arrived today. He was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the door, but reiterated that there were no parts available and we could glue or screw the piece, in order to reattach it, and possibly paint it to eliminate the discoloration. He did provide some Milgard spraypaint that matched our door finish. We were concerned that, over time, it may become brittle and crack, due to heat damage, but he assured us that, once reattached, it should remain stable. I hope he is right, as there is no replacement option.

Regarding my October 2023 post pertaining to the weatherstripping at the bottom of the Essence door, in January 2024 our third-party salesman worked with Milgard and found a "stray" piece of weatherstripping to replace the ones that warped. It was not a complete/exact match to the original, but it was the best they could do. We brought it home and Winter/Spring rains prevented installation (fortunately no leaks were present), then the new issue presented in the Summer, so we waited for today's service appt to deal with installation. At today's appt, we were told that the door panel would need to be removed from the frame in order to install the bottom weatherstripping, which was a two person process. Since only one service tech was present, it was obvious that Milgard could not complete the repair today.

Oleg, the warranty tech, was great and he gave us information that will be helpful in our completion of the repairs, as well in the management of these issues going forward, but we still remain completely disappointed in Milgard, as a company. We invested in a product that had a full lifetime warranty, including parts and labor. Not only have they failed to provide that, they have placed the entire burden of their product failure on their customer. To reiterate my October 2023 position, we will not purchase Milgard products...

The actual service was great once we got it. I had a warranty repair scheduled for Monday, but Milgard called me at 8am the morning of my 8:45am appointment and told me that it would have to be delayed due to one of the installers being sick. The next appointment would be the following Saturday. The next appointment after that would be in a month. I had taken the day off. I had pulled off all the window coverings and moved all our stuff out of the way of the windows affected (six of them) and so I could not wait a month unless I wanted to do it all over again. I chose the Saturday and missed an event I was supposed to be at to be able to get it done. This is not great. People get sick but companies can usually have a decent backup plan, but Milgard apparently keeps such a tight schedule this is not possible. Glad they ran their business well enough to be able to be here to honor the lifetime warranty, but this was disappointing.

That said, the actual service and the techs who showed up were great. They appeared at the end of the two hour arrival window I was given and worked super hard, neatly and quickly. I completely missed the event I had hoped to catch part of, but the guys themselves were great, and I don't blame them, just the company, which is why I'm giving them a four vs. a one. I don't want the techs to be downgraded.

Another reason I am giving them a four is because even though Milgard messed up my Monday, they did honor and service the warranty on my windows. They were originally installed almost 30 years ago and had developed a problem in the seal of the double pane low-e glass panes. After a couple of techs visited and verified the issues and measurements, the service happened a couple months later, presumably to allow for manufacture of the custom sized panes. IT's something to consider when buying things for your home - will the company be around to service your goods later? So, maybe being cheap with the staff on hand and schedules helps Milgard stay in business?

Anyways, really good result in the end - just had to give grace and be patient. Good folks once you can get...