I cannot think of a home improvement project I hate more than buying replacement windows. If I can take care of a home repair project with my hammer and cordless drill, so much the better. But window installation is a difficult task that requires the intercession of professionals. The professionals, though, often make the work harder than it should be. Here is a replacement windows horror story, and how I turned it into a fairytale.

It began in 2000, when my wife and I were renovating a 100 year-old house near Washington D.C. The house was in bad disrepair and almost every of its 25-30 windows needed to be replaced. Because of the high costs that we faced, my wife and I called at least 5 windows companies to come over and give us an estimate. Remember, we were pretty much home improvement naifs at that point.

One salesman for a large, local window company visited, along with the protege he was training. It took several trips for him to move all of his sales aids into our house: a sample window, lightbulbs, light meters, literature, etc.

After one hour, he was still demonstrating how window coatings could help reduce our energy consumption. We did not need to be convinced of this. We knew the basics of replacement windows. All we wanted was an estimate on our windows. Despite our polite throat-clearings, the salesman plowed on ahead into the second hour.

By the third hour, he finally gave us an estimate. It was outrageous. We began to shoo him out. "Wait," he said, "let me check with my sales manager and see if I can give you a special deal." The window salesman got on the cell phone and called his manager, who graciously agreed to cut a special deal. Miraculously, the price dripped 30 percent. However, we would have to sign on the dotted line by 5pm today.

Hour three turned into hour four, and we were hungry and anxious to get back to the floor sander that we were renting by the hour. The salesman would not take the hint. Finally, we said, "Okay, we don't want your windows. Go away. Leave. Now." It took several statements like that for the guy to finally leave. We had just wasted four hours of our lives, $45 worth of floor sander rental time, and our patience on this window company guy.

What did we learn from this? Plenty. First, the customer is in control. Especially when you are hosting the sales call in your house. You can control the length, nature, and tone of every single aspect of the replacement window salescall--but gather up your strength and do it, and certainly don't ask the saleman for permission. Second, since you are gathering estimates from many window companies, you do not have time for these 4 hour salescalls. One hour is the max. Third, because much of this terrible salescall was devoted to cross-selling us on other products such as gutters and siding, make it clear from the start that you are interested only in windows. Not only will that reduce the salescall's time, you are asserting your rights to the saleman and taking the reins. It is important to show early on that you are in charge, not the salesman.

For more great advice on dealing with window companies, visit Replacement Windows 123