Why do I have to give my address even for a simple inquiry?
ALL of our paperwork, including simple notes, is filed electronically in a folder labelled with the street name of where the item will end up, or the project will be completed. Whether it be a simple purchase of a replacement shelf in the curio, to a whole house of windows. Days / months / years down the road - this is how we will reference any conversation or business we have handled. Your phone number may change, no need to remember whether it was under your name, your spouse, your room-mate, or contractor.... the address will most likely still be the same.
There's no such thing as a "average or "standard"
The glass business is flexible. We handle the small studio apartment as well as buildings with elevators that go to the double digits. The smallest window in one may be bigger than the largest in another.... "average" has no distinct value. I will need approximate measurements of each dimension in order to give you a price. width x height for windows & doors. Width x depth x height for bathrooms that need a side panel. IN INCHES. Industry standard does not recognize the metric system.
Why do I ask for a Picture?
There are multiple factors that go in to pricing a complete window or even simple glass replacement. A photo taken from the outside of the house can show me :
- whether the project will be quick, or if it will take a long time by showing me how easy it is to access the window (shrubs, flowerbeds, trees blocking access? will I have to straddle a water spigot? etc)
- I'll be able to see if you have stucco or siding - and how the window is "framed" into the house telling me whether your replacement will be retrofit, block frame, or if a new construction frame would be necessary.. even if only replacing the glass, it will often hint at the type of stops holding the glass in place.
- I can see the configuration of the window - does it slide from right to left? or is it 3 panels opening on either end?
- I would be able to see if there is a grid pattern in the window that needs to be matched... although purely cosmetic - rarely does one want one window to be cosmetically different from the rest in the house.
Scheduling is more complex than picking any open space in the calendar. In order to keep expenses down and your costs low, we organize projects based on where they are located. If we were in the east bay in the AM, then again in the PM with the south bay in between - we would be on the road longer, increasing our gas expense and reducing the number of customers we would be able to visit in the day, and in turn raising the prices we must charge to keep the same profit margin. Just because you are "right by us" does not mean that our schedule will match up to yours for everyones "convenient" timing. On the other end of the spectrum, we must schedule our appointments that are a distance from our location in a manner that allows for traffic to and from as well as our hours of operation, avoiding far distance stops at the late end of the day because after we are done at your place, we still have to pay the techs until they get back to the warehouse and sometimes that traffic can be harsh and overtime raises everyone's prices.
An appointment window is the best I can give. In a single day we could be making as many as 10-15 stops, without knowing if the homeowner before you will be late coming home from lunch, (slowing us down) or cancel completely (putting us ahead of timing expectations) and with building inspectors living in their own little world of timing, We are unable to give a specific time for your appointment. We will do our best to keep it close to predicted but the more stops we have and the later in the day it gets, the more of a "Grey area " our timing predictions can become. If you have scheduling restrictions it's best to let us know earlier rather than later to give us the ability to plan ahead, as last minute changes effect everyone on the day's route.