Guttershutter

First, ask yourself if you really need a $10,000 gutter system on your home. If yes, what I can tell you is the finished product is excellent. What I can also tell you is your ability to understand the sales process, negotiate and take control can save you thousands of dollars. In some cases 50-70%.

Like all construction estimates, they utilize PAR pricing, which is the floor price a company sets before paying a commission to the sales weenie. Naturally, they will start exceedingly high and when you balk at the outrageous figure, the phone call game begins. The phone call is totally script coded. If the sales person says to the manager, "these gutters need a whole lot of help", that is code to the manager for we are far apart on price. If the sales person says, "their gutters could use a little help", it means the customer is a laydown and a small reduction in price will get the sale today.

If price is still a problem, the sales manager will then ask what color did they want and when the salesman tells him, he will say they're out of that color anyway and to hold on. He doesn't get up from his chair, doesn't check anything, but just goes back to what he was doing for a couple of minutes then returns to the phone call and says, hey I looked and we have just enough left in the color they wanted and if they do it today, I can knock off another $500.

Typical tin men sales practices that is driven from the top down. Rather amusing to me but like I said earlier, it's a solid product regardless of who developed it. If you don't mind working the sales people instead of letting them work you, you'll get a quality product and save money.

Some don't like the process which is understandable but in the end what you want is the best product for the least amount out of pocket. Do your research, have at least three different companies give you product demonstrations and estimates, have a firm figure in your mind and don't let anyone bully you with their take it now or else ultimatums.

And, yes, Gutter Shutter and Queen City Gutters are the same company.

Posted 12/30/09 | Report Abuse

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Are you considering Gutter Shutter as a no clog gutter product for your home?
Gutter Shutter was a dealer at one time of Gutter Wizards. Go to www.gutterwizards.com to see for yourself how similar the 2 companies products look surprising similar CAUSE IT IS!!!!
What's with the name change to Queen City Gutters? Bad installs? Poor customer service? Dissatified homeowners? Bad better business reports? All of the above?
Lots of high pressure home improvement companies rehash leads under different company names to get the sale. It is done all the time in this home improvement business.
Gutter Shutter took the Gutter Wizard no clog system, which was prefected over 8 years here in Michigan thru its tough conditons & ravages of our extreme seasons, to end up with the best no clog business in our opinion. We released our Gutter Wizards no clog system out to the world & this became available for sale to dealers across the USA in 1999. There is an approved Gutter Wizard dealer in the Cinci area. Call Gutter Wizards national office at 800-727-2747

Posted 12/27/09 | Report Abuse

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As a former employee of the company, and after reading these comments I feel you all need to understand a few things. When they ask what shift you or your spouse work it is because the person is trying to fit YOUR schedule for a time when they can set an appointment with you and to qualify you as a viable purchaser. Do you think they want to try and sell you gutters if you are unemployeed? Its a way to NOT try and put you in a financial bind even though the product is a very good one. As a FORMER appoinment setter for the company, much of what they ask is so that they can make sure that you are someone who might purchase the product, have an income that would make the purchase viable, and they are not trying to be nosey. The people who try to set appoinments are doing a difficult job. The PRODUCT is HIGH QUALITY and honestly, if I owned a home, I would want their product.

Posted 12/23/09 | Report Abuse

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We allowed Gutter Shutter to come to our home and give us an estimate. I refused to buy them, they were extremely overpriced and had high pressure sales tactics, like out of the 1980's. This was over the summer.

Yesterday, someone called from "Queen City Gutters" claiming to be a different company and wanted to set an appointment with me and my husband. Like others stated, they were very sexist, making remarks about my husband working, what time would be good for him, etc. I brushed it off, and then when the manager got on the phone, he was asking if he worked second shift. I told him it was none of their business when we were both home if he were calling about gutter estimates. These people are jerks! They are Gutter Shutter. They set the appointment with me, I went home to make sure I was there, they never showed up. It WAS Gutter Shutter. I called the number they gave me and they said "Gutter Shutter" when they answered. I told them I wanted off their call list and so the receptionist sent me to the same manager (Kevin) that I had spoken with yesterday. He insisted they were "Queen City Gutters" and when I told him they lied, he was all "Have a nice day, ma'am." I hung up while he kept talking. I agree with all of the people who have stated negative reviews.

I am sure the positive ratings are by people who work there as this place is a scam. Totally overpriced and disrespectful to women. By the way, I am the breadwinner.

Posted 12/10/09 | Report Abuse

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Today, I had your company come out to my home for an estimate of removing and replacing my gutters with your product. It the time of the appointment I was told that the sales person was only coming out to my house to give me a price for the system good for one year. And just as a bonus I would receive a $50 gift card to Krogers as a courtesy. After I was told the price for the gutter system I told the salesman(from the Tri-County office) I had no intent on getting the gutters replaced until the first of the year. He made a phone call to see it he could get me a lower price on the gutter.
The manager he was on the phone with told the salesman while on speaker phone or voice push phone that if I did the gutters today he could save me about $2800 but as I told the saleman in the beginning, I had to wait until after the New Year. The salesman asked me why and I told him with Christmas coming up I didnt want to short my kids and its not a huge rush right now. The manager wanted to know why I wanted to wait until after the beginning for the year and the salesman told him the reason. The manager began to say, OK, the kids would have to do without a few more toys, what getting gutters has to do with her kids Christmas, Im saving her money just purchase less for Christmas.
I really dont know if the manager knew that every nasty and rude word that came out of that mans mouth I heard because the salesman was holding the phone in front of his face and when I would respond to his rude comitts the salesman would over talk me and let the manager tell the salesman just to end the meeting and thanks for my time.
When this all began, I was under the impression that all I was getting was an estimate to replace my gutters not being harassed and talked down to by a manger of your company. This was the worst experience I have ever had with any company working to get business. This was for your Tri-County Office in Cincinnati, Ohio. And I will find somebody else to do my gutters.

Posted 10/29/09 | Report Abuse

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The sales rep from Louisville was really nice and was able to get me a reasonable price considering the high quality of their product compared to the competition. Gutter Magiciian is a spin off from the Gutter Shutter folks and offer a simililar system, but they haven't been around for 16 years like Gutter Shutter, so I wasn't sure about their suppossed lifetime warranties (and GS gave me a better price). Their prices are a little higher than stuff like Gutter Helmet, but it is obviously much higher quality and looks great!

Posted 10/24/09 | Report Abuse

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This business is one of the biggest scams I have ever come across. I was in the St. Matthews Mall in Louisville at one of the Kiosks getting hired. They told me about the product and that was it. My friend got me the job. The pay was great. Too good to be true. I was trained for one day and then got my schedule for the whole month of July. My friend got fired for low performance. I called my boss to go over things but she never called me back. I even left messages. I showed up on my first day and an employee who talked to the boss told me they do not need me, that it wasn't a busy day. I show up the next day (which I am scheduled for) and I work for 5 hours and did a decent job getting people to sign up for a free gutter system. The next morning my boss called me and said there was a misunderstanding, I was never hired. I then told her I was never informed this, she never returned my calls or told me what all was going on. It turns out I was fired because my friend was fired. Which I had nothing to be apart of. I then tell her the 5 hours I did work, I should be payed for. All the said was "Honey, you were NEVER on the payroll. U NEVER worked for me." I need my money that I earned. I then go on to defend myself and she hangs up on me. They stole my time and money.
And when people signed up for a free gutter system, the times people check mark that they want to be called all got checked in by my co-worker that day. They scam you. They want to make sure they do get in touch with you and you will NEVER be left alone.

The system may be good, but the service isn't worth it. It is rude, unorganized, demanding, threatening, and unprofessional.
They won't give me the money that I worked for. It may only be $50, but its the principal that matters. I am 19 years old, and have done nothing wrong in this situation but follow my schedule and was nothing but polite and worked hard. My father is a big shot with the Better Business Bureau, and he will call first thing in the morning and report this. I don't see Gutter Shutter staying in business for much longer...

Working someone and not paying them, is illegal.

Posted 07/13/09 | Report Abuse

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I saw gutter shutter at a county fair that ended up being over an hour away from the actual business and from my house. We had just bought a house and thought gutters may be a good idea and with two maples and a giant pine right next to the house the covered gutters were a good idea, I thought. We filled out a card and I have regretted it ever since. I hate HATE HATE being sold to and I have been getting calls over a year later wanting to know if I wanted a free estimate. I had one guy call and I agreed and he also pressured me to bring my significant other so we could make the decision. I scheduled something with him and hung up. About fifteen minutes later his "manager" calls and asks me again if my significant other would be there because he would know more about gutters than I would. Nothing pisses me off more than stereotypical gender bias. I was furious and when I told my boyfriend what this guy said he called and asked for this manager and canceled the appointment. The manager tried to say it was a misunderstanding but I know what he said and I know what he meant. Lesson is don't sign up for a free estimate because you will be hounded and harassed for years. I don't even want the product now after they have called and called like this. To the guy who sells gutters don't act like you aren't doing anything wrong buy advertising "free estimates" and then being relentless and not giving the homeowners time to think. You don't get one estimate and buy as soon as the pitch is done. You get several and call the lowest bidder. Get off your high horse and don't go dis sin' your bread and butter jerk.

Posted 06/18/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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We decided to have gutters put on our house and this was the worst thing we ever did. We have noticed that they get very dirty, in the winter we have huge, long icicles hanging from them (we never had that before) and when it rains the water runs off the roof and floods our back porch. We are also very upset that they did not live up to their agreement. We were promised specific financing terms and they did not live up to their agreement.
After 12 months, the Gutter Shutter Company did not live up to the terms and we have been receiving phone calls form the financing company. We have called Gutter Shutter several times and left messages but nobody has returned our calls.
This is not a good way to do business.

Posted 03/08/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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As a sales rep for a high end gutter. NOT Gutter Shutter, I think you home owners need to understand a few things:1. Most often, YOU, the homeowner calls in or sees our products at home shows and request an estimate.2. Most often, YOU, the homeowner wants 3 quotes. 3. Some of the time, YOU the homeowner LIES. Multiple times.IE, Well, I might move, so why do anything, or, NOW is not a good time, maybe next year. Total BS. Why don't YOU come over to my place, waste your gas, time and energy, when you are not ready to buy. When you have done NO research for yourself.4. My complaint with you homeowners is that a lot of you have absolutely no consideration for estimators time. You put no value on it. Funny since you wouldn't drive all over the place, with no base salary, meeting with people who feed you lies, often don't show up for appointments or want to review a quote when there spouse is not home, while the phone is ringing, dog barking and baby, in arm, screaming and crying.Don't get me wrong, I agree that high pressure selling, dramatic price drops and trying to instill fear is poor attributes from a desperate salesman. I am also very thankful to all the home owners who have bought from me. They have put bread on my table.Here is the win-win:Do a little home work before asking every gutter company for a quote.Have an idea of how much gutter you need. If you are cheap or a pain in the ass, it allows guys like me to throw you a price over the phone, and save BOTH of our time. Win-win.EXPECT to be asked to BUY, the first time at your home. IF YOU CALLED ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEM, AND YOU AGREE MY PRODUCT IS GREAT, WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM, WHY WOULDN'T YOU BUY???? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT??? THIS IS INSANE!! If you have done your research and find the suitable product and negotiate a price that can be agreed on, what are you waiting for.The next time you want to test drive a car, look at jewellery, inquire your travel agent.... put yourself in their position. I bet you will think twice of wasting someones time.Thank you,Seasoned, gutter salesman

Posted 02/28/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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I'm in the Indianapolis area. A Gutter Shutter canvasser knocked on my door asking if I wanted to set up an appointment for a free estimate for new "zero maintenance" gutters (this after noticing the icicles hanging from my gutters because I didn't get the gutters cleaned out last fall). I agreed. I've been through these in-house estimates with other companies before so I am aware of the tactics...and the fact that the product would, no doubt, be high-priced. I live in a tiny house with simple gutter runs; thus, I was shocked that the price came in at over $5,000...and they required a $2,000 down payment on work that wouldn't be done until spring. I had no intention of buying that day, and told the salesman that...probably a dozen times...and I certainly wasn't going to put money down on work that hadn't been completed. The next thing I knew, he was talking to someone on a cell phone walkie-talkie. They managed to get the price down to under $3,000 IF I bought that day and gave him almost $300 in a "good faith" down payment. Every offer I refused was met with still another call to the walkie-talkie man. The 2-hour meeting was going on and on. The guy on the other end of the phone kept demanding what it would take to get my business. I finally told him the conversation was over, and the guy on the other end said, "No, it's not over until she says what it would take to get her business." I advised the salesman that he might just as well shut off the cell phone because his partner was getting obnoxious. In fact, as the salesman was packing to leave, the walkie-talkie guy was still blabbering on about how I would fall off a ladder and get hurt cleaning out gutters, sounding annoyed with me! I'm sure theirs is a quality product, although I'm not sure there can ever be a "zero maintenance" product where things exposed to the elements are concerned. The salesman was polite and personable, but the whole "I have to ask my manager" via walkie-talkie was a set-up that went afoul. The salesman apologized on his way out: "I don't know why he is acting that way." But I was already soured by the whole approach, and there is NO WAY I would hand over my hard-earned money in advance of work being done!

Posted 02/08/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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I have the Gutter Shutter product and it is great! I don't understand the negative reports. I was not pressured to buy. Of course they want to sell you the first time at your house, who wouldn't ? If you had to go back two three times then you wouldn't be able to see as many people. They offered me a price to buy the first evening and it was substantial in savings. The product looks great on my house and they don't use subcontractors. this is a good company.

Posted 01/17/09 | Report Abuse

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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I looked at product at a demo at a motor home rally. Looked good and I agreed to an estimate. the called for an appointment when they had a salesman in my "neighborhood". Turns out he was dispatched from over 60 miles away. Arrived over 2 hours late. After a brief presentation I cut it short because "I know your product" just get me a price. He went out to measure the house. Upon return told me what bad shape my gutters were in and how they were causing damage to soffits and possibly side walls. I may be old but I'm not senile and I know a bit about construction and home maintenance. Need gutters but there is no damage! Requested estimate and was advised that he must go by their procedures. Full demonstration, then measure, then price. Since I did not want full demo (30-40 minutes) he left.Two month later received call from "new office manager"in Indianapolis. Believe he was a telephone solicitor not manager. (i have employed solicitors in the past). He set an appointment; however no-one showed up to keep appointment. Called Indy office and receptionist did not even know Bill Norman the alleged manager.I absolutely believe every negative review!! This company shows every indication of being a High Pressure, over priced operation who will do anything to make a sale.

Posted 11/16/08 | Report Abuse

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Although the product is great, they have disgusting high pressure sales tactics. It's a shame because they offer one of the best products on the market. I won't do business with anyone that won't give me time to review an estimate, and they did just that. They give you a high one year price, and a "buy it now" price. When I told them I won't buy anything without at least 24 hours to review the estimate, they just left me cold (after trying to convince me that the price of aluminum could go up in the next day, and that's why the estimate won't stand for more than 10 minutes). Ridiculous BS. They also didn't respond to the complaint I emailed to corporate about their sales practices - that tells me this is indeed a company wide sales tactic.

PS - Even though I am in Indianapolis, the people here are affiliated with the Cincinnati, OH branch directly. They told me they transferred a bunch of their best people out here to expand the business.

Posted 07/29/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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I am not sure why some of these reviews are so negative, the only thing I can figure is that maybe some of these consumers are confusing the GutterShutter with other gutter companies??? I am a single female homeowner, the factory rep came to my home was polite & courteous and made my experience with the company positive & educational! I have complete confidence in this company, am satisfied with their crew and would recommend them to anyone. Great Job GutterShutter! A + ! GutterShutter was installed on my home May 2008 & looks fantastic.

Posted 07/24/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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They came to my house and asked me about 7 times if there was someone else I wanted to be there with me to help me understand and make a decision - about my own house! They played all kinds of games with the price trying to get me to buy that day when all I had agreed to is a "FREE ESTIMATE". The guy seemed seriously mad that I refused to buy that day.

Posted 06/21/08 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I bought the gutters from an independent owner who sells the products from Cincinnati Ohio to consumers. The only problems is The independent location I bought my gutters from went out of business. Actually he went bankrupt. So who is responsible when you have a problem like I am having? Not the manufacture in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have to go to his new company. I get icicles during the winter and I am told because I am having heat loss through my roof. I didn't before I had these gutters put on. I also have a downspout that needs fixed. I also need to know how to open the shutters so I can clean out a bees nest. Also when it rains the rain does not go through the gutters it goes over the shutter of the gutter. I wish I never had these gutters put on my house. No one stands by the work done. I probably when I can afford it take these off and send them back to Cincinnati and get regular gutters and put up with the hassle of cleaning out the gutters. This is nothing by a headache. Check with these gutters people to see if the parent company stands behind their product. I checked out gutters that do the same thing as Gutter Shutter and they are all independently owned. Maybe I am missing one but I don't care I will stick with regular gutters from now on.

Posted 11/26/07 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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I received a call from these bozos today in blatant violation of the 'National Do Not Call Registry', which I register on every year. I cut the guy off almost immediately and asked him if he was "telemarketing" me, to which he replied 'no' and proceeded to try to sell me their services anyway. After chewing him out, I informed him that they WILL be reported as violators before hanging up the phone. Typically, I don't bother reporting violators, but the guy LIED to me and essentially acted like I have too low an IQ to know that I was receiving a sales pitch. DO NOT HIRE THESE PEOPLE! Look at their others reviews and this one. They are dishonest and will cheat you in any way they can.

Posted 11/01/07 | Report Abuse

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Salesman was professional. He showed my wife and I their product and it is a very high quality system. It cost a little more than other systems we looked at but looked nicer and sturdier adn has a better warranty. We are very happy with the installation. They did exactly what they said and I would buy again. Well worth the extra few $$$

Posted 09/21/07 | Report Abuse

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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They called me..I agreed to a "free" estimate...I told them on the phone that my wife was out of the country..it would just be me...they were weird about it, but said it was ok. I'm a big boy, and can handle an estimate on my own. Well, a guy showed up and wasn't happy that it was just me...and he wouldn't continue the estimate! Again, weird!! He left. The next day, another sales guy calls. He was good..maybe salesman of the year...he told me I had a nice voice..man to man...again, weird. He became my best friend in 2 minutes. I finally got a word in and told him the their own guy told me that my roof pitch was too steep for their system...well he stopped his pitch immediately and said, "Have a nice year!"...and hung up! I just couldn't believe it...weird, and rude. If the estimate is so complicated..I wonder how complicated the installation is. Beware of these guys...just a bunch of money hungry salesman types.

Posted 11/03/06 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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HIGH PRESHER sales tatices they started off at 3500 dollars got down to 2300 and I ended up haveing to ask the sales man to please leave (after 2 1/2 hours). Then a week later I got a call saying they would do it for 1300 dollars I wouldn't let these people put gutters on my house for FREE... Please stay away ... P.s. if it maters my home is TINY 1000 sq ft ranch so that not a lot of gutter.

PROS:
CONS: over pirced / sales tatics

Posted 06/24/05 | Report Abuse

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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