Donna, my wife, and I have discussed having our basement finished for two years. We own a modest three bedroom home in the Philadelphia Suburbs that has grown cramped with the addition of our third child. I was looking to reclaim my living room and have the finished basement serve as a playroom for the kids.
Searching the net, I found several options. I was attracted immediately to the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System. Almost every review agreed that the product was top notch and the installation was a breeze. However, I saw that not everyone agreed that the company’s sales practices were upfront and forthright.
I discovered an article on this site which had more than a handful of negative experiences especially concerning the sales tactics of Owens Corning salespeople. I wondered if the content of these testimonials spoke of experiences which are par for the course when entering into the Owens Corning buying experience or if these were the stories of a disgruntled few. I decided to do some of my own investigating.
First, I contacted the local Owens Corning Basement Finishing System sales office in Aston, PA and asked them to send a rep to my house. The salesman, “Bob”, showed up at about three o’clock in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Into the basement we went to take measurements and begin the question and answer piece to this appointment.
Bob took measurements and notes as he asked various questions:
How old is the home?
What are your plans for the space?
Have you ever experienced mold/flooding?
How did you hear about the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System?
After giving the basement a good once over, we sat in my kitchen to talk about the Owens Corning Basement Finishing System. He took me through the presentation, features and benefits and finally we got to the price. We did thoroughly discuss price. Indeed, the first price quoted was not the price I ended up paying. Bob used several sales tactics, called the boss and after about a half hour, we came to his final price.
In all I was able to save a few thousand dollars by haggling and negotiating with Bob, much in the same manner as I would when buying a car or anything with a similar price tag. I can see how some people might be turned off by this type of haggling, but to me, it was no different than when I bought my Chevy. Bob really wanted us to buy on the spot, but I didn’t.
After some discussion with my wife, we did choose to move forward with the project. I called Bob about two days later, got the price we had agreed to, and Bob came by the next day to sign the contracts.
It took the crew that OC sent out about six days to complete the job. They were subcontracted to complete the job, but they were professional, courteous and very informative as they transformed our basement.
I have to admit I am happy with the results. The basement is beautiful and now my family can start to use the space which had been unavailable to us beforehand. I give the product and service a ten. As far as the sales techniques are concerned, like I mentioned earlier, I found the buying experience to be no different than that of purchasing a car. I like knowing that there is room to negotiate when it comes to something that is going to cost me tens of thousands of dollars. It comforts me that a car salesperson does not say, “It’s 50 Grand. Take it or leave it.”
Ultimately, I can say that my experience from start to finish was more than acceptable and I would recommend this company to anyone looking to improve their home.