Don’t move, improve Garage doors, external doors, new windows; not very glamorous but if you own your home, at some point you will probably need to replace them. So who do you turn to? Mary talks to someone who knows
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NFORTUNATELY, SO CALLED double glazing ‘experts’ have historically had a reputation for ‘hard sell and awful customer service.’ How many remember horror stories about salesmen refusing to leave pensioners’ houses until they had signed up to spend thousands on replacement windows, sometimes that weren’t needed. Thankfully those days are mainly gone, or we are more aware of them so are more wary. As well as replacement doors and windows, as home owners we may need the more pleasant purchase such as a new kitchen, warm roof or extension. Any home improvement is a major investment so we need to know we are spending our money wisely. And we can turn to the same company for all home improvements. A company that has a really good reputation for customer service and which prides itself that most of its business - 75% - comes from customer recommendations. Now that is something to be extremely proud of. Classic Stamford arrived in the town in St Leonard’s Street in 2015. Spud and his wife Patricia set up Classic Stamford for their daughter and son-in-law. But it made sense for them both to be very heavily involved with the running of it day to day as they had had a large home improvement business in Cambridgeshire for over 28 years and Spud has been in the windows/doors industry since 1986; so you could say they know the home improvement market quite well. on in law Daniel originally fitted kitchens for them in the Cambridgeshire business and he runs the kitchen side of the business today. He is the design and installation expert.
Recently Classic Stamford has moved to large new premises on Gwash Way just o Ryhall Road and they are proud that they now have the largest showroom in the area. And it’s impressive, pop along and have a look. ou will see lots of di erent windows on display ranging from wood to UPVC to aluminium. Doors galore, warm roofs, lanterns and kitchens. A home improvements' (because that is what Classic’s business is) showroom at its best. Windows and doors are 60% of their business and this is where their reputation comes in. Every window, even if you buy just one, is guaranteed for 10 years. And the company take great pride in this guarantee
which they will always honour. ‘It can cost us, going out to someone after eight years for a single window but it doesn’t matter. We are an honest company and if we say we will do something, we will,’ says Spud. And the referrals from new customers back this up. In our area replacement windows can be contentious. Much of Stamford (and surrounding villages) are in a conservation area with many, many listed buildings. So you would think that replacing traditional wooden windows with UPVC would never be allowed. This is not always the case as some plastic windows don’t look plastic, they have greatly improved and it can
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