Lenbeth Weeping Tile

Short review:
Lenbeth window wells has over 100% markup on window wells from their supplier, and took seven and a half weeks to get me a product that their supplier can make in one day (I checked). They have terrible customer service, no accountability, and literally told me they’re “not window well experts.”
Long review:
I tried to order a custom window well with a 12” projection so that I could fit a wheelbarrow into my backyard. I called to get information and was quoted a price for the window well installed by Lenbeth, as well as a price to install it myself. As I’ve never done this before I wanted the experts to install it.
I called back and was told that they can’t install it because it’s not to code. It’s not going on a bedroom, so the minimum projection doesn’t apply, but ok. The manager said that since my basement is unfinished they don’t know that it won’t eventually be a bedroom. That’s fine – I ordered the window well and prepared to install it myself. They said it would take 2-3 weeks to arrive.
It’s important to note that Lenbeth installed the original window wells when I built my house a year ago, and so I asked them what size I needed. They quoted me a size, which I trusted since I assumed they knew what they were talking about. They asked me no further questions about the window well. I asked if it would fit on the existing bolts and was assured that it would.
Three weeks later – no window well. I called back and they had forgotten to place the order. They were courteous about it, and I can understand with COVID that things can be forgotten about. They said they’d try to get it expedited.
Four weeks later still no window well, so I called back to follow up. I was assured that it would be there soon. Eventually it arrived on July 20, 2020 – almost seven and a half weeks after I had first placed my order on May 29.
I brought the window well home and it didn’t fit on the original bolts. It was about 4 inches shy and not nearly flexible enough for me to bend it. At this point, recall that I was assured that it would fit and was never asked to provide bolt spacing. I called Lenbeth to sort this out and was met with a wide range of excuses, including:
- The previous owner might have changed out the window wells (I am the original owner)
- Your window is wider than normal (I got the window well sizing from Lenbeth)
- We couldn’t know that the installers needed to stretch out the other window wells (Fine – then ask me the bolt spacing. I’m not the expert in window wells – you are)
- We’re not experts in window wells (Sigh…)
After a 30 minute conversation the manager said they would check with their installers to see if there were any way to bend the window well, or if the supplier could do anything. As expected, nothing came of it. Not even an offer to provide a slight discount on a replacement window well.
My mistake, I guess, was in trusting Lenbeth to help me figure out what I needed for a window well. If you do call them after reading this review, make sure to know exactly what you need before attempting to make an order. As their manager literally said to me, they are “not window well experts” and can clearly not be trusted to provide guidance to other non-experts. At the end of my experience with Lenbeth, all I got was a window well that didn’t fit and a $130 bill.
Update: I went straight to their supplier and got my window well the next day for $65. Now I’m even more annoyed because Lenbeth has more than 100% markup and didn’t even offer a 10% discount on a replacement window well. Their supplier, Superior Steel, confirmed all of my measurements, offered recommendations on sizing, offered to loan me a Hilti gun to install new anchor bolts, and stayed open a few extra minutes when I got stuck in traffic. I would highly highly recommend going through Superior instead of Lenbeth.