Complain about a product or service

Century Shower Doors

Turns out there is more than one company calling itself Century Shower Door. We have been advised that the complaints on this page are not directed at Century Shower Door Co., Inc. For more information, see the letter from Century's attorneys.

Roxanne of Las Vegas, Nv 89122 NV (01/01/08)
Skip, a salesman came to our house at our request so we could order new shower doors. After the order was decided and while he was writing out the contract he mentioned that Century Shower Door would take out the old doors but that if they do it they would charge over $100 for it. He said it is a 10 minute job and that when he found out when the new doors would be installed, he personally would come out the day before and remove the old doors himself at no charge. He said he put customer to remove old doors on the paperwork so the company wouldn't question the work.

The day before Thanksgiving we got a call that the doors would be installed the next Tuesday. We immediately called Skip to relay the message, got his voice mail and left a message. No return call. Called again on Saturday with the same results. On Sunday and Monday my husband and I removed the old doors and grouting. On Tuesday the new doors were installed on schedule. The towel bar on one of the doors has screws that match the almond frame. The other door has two towel bars and they have stainless steel screws. I wrote to the company and voiced my concerns. Mainly, I was concerned that the installers and the salesman had an agreement to remove the old doors off contract and split the additional money collected. Since we did the work ourselves, it didn't apply to us, but it might for other consumers and I basically wanted him to be aware. I also asked for almond head screws to replace the ones that were stainless steel. Mr. James Wood called and basically said he was unconcerned about the salesman's misrepresentations, and that they do not have almond head screws. He suggested we buy some paint and paint them (this even though the rest of the installation including the towel bar on the other shower door were installed with almond screws to match the installation.)

We are dealing more with frustration than any thing else. We will buy almond appliance paint and paint the screws. We do feel like this was less than acceptable response for a business and are very disappointed.

Joseph of Northridge CA (12/07/07)
I had a shower door ($460.10)installed by Century Shower on 08/29/06. I noticed , a few days after the installation, that the glazing plastic around the glass was unevenly installed. I thought it was a minor issue so I did not want to bother the company with what I thought was a minor and cosmetic issue.

On 11 19/07 I noticed that this was a big issue and the glass was about to fall out of the metal frame. I immediately placed a call to the company to have it fixed. A sales man visited my house and insisted that I pay $275.00 to have the unit repaired, since the warranty had expired only 2 months prior.

The sale rep. also pointed out that the shower door was wrongly installed by century shower door installer and that had contributed to the weakness/defect of the product. The sale rep. pointed out that company's decal which is always inside the frame was outside the frame which shows that it was improperly installed.

I placed a call to Adam Slotky to discuss the situation. Slotsky made me a deal,that he will charge me $100 to fix the defective door. In the future when I purchase new doors for the other showers, he will deduct the $100 from the sale of the new doors. I agreed and made a $50.00 deposit. The balance was payable upon the repair of the defective door.

On 12/3/07 I received a call at 4:56 PM, from the company to schedule the repair. A few minutes later I received a second call from Jim stating that they would only repair the defective unit for the $100 only if I purchase the 2 new doors that I was going to purchase in the future; which I have refused to do. There is no where in the contract that I signed for the repair and for the future purchase, that states that the $100 charge was only if I purchased the new doors now.

The glass is about to fall off its frame. Therefore I have abandoned the use of that shower/bathroom until it is repaired, to protect my children(6 and 8 years). I tried to talk to Adam Slotsky to explain the situation to him but he has refused to take my calls. Now I have decided to use another shower door company to remove and replace the whole unit with a new shower door. I will also purchase two more doors from the new company, for the two extra bathrooms in the house. I think Century Shower Door Inc is waiting for something catatrosphic to happen to my family, then Adam Slotsky and his company will spring into action- it would too late then. Remember product liability does not stop when the warranty expires !! I have talked to customer service personnel/phone operator at Century Shower Door to try to get this resolved. These people were so disrespectful and unhelpful. Century Shower Door promised to refund my $50 deposit, since 12/3/07 but that has not gone through. I have the company called several times to get my money and they refuse to do anything further to refund my money. I have called my Bank to inquire about the refund but the bank states there is no indication of any refund processed by the company. I want everyone who is dealing with this company to be aware of their practices. Century Shower Door does not care about their customers. They are only interested in the money. There are several good shower door companies out there, more professional and caring. If I new their history I would not have purchased the first 4 shower doors for my previous home and would never have recommended them to my friends and family.

Tangie of Garden Grove CA (11/21/07)
I had them to install a shower door. It was tacky from Caulking to the lining. They also had me to cut a 3/8 square of tile out of my wall when they had no need to do this at all. So now the completed project showed many faults including damaged tile tacky caulking, a nonlinear head rail, and bad conversation with the store owner. To make matters worse, they offer no compensation! To correct the job I would now have to lose two days of work. Customer Service is very bad and I would not ever endorse this company to anyone. I assure you this is the company in Torrance, Ca.

Damaged tile and to correct this problem would take two work days. So now I would lose 3 work days on a job that should only take 3 or 4 hours.

Jeff of Cleveland OH (08/08/07)
11:15 P.M. 8/3/07 one panel of my glass shower door exploded (no one was in the bathroom). When I went in from the bedroom to see what happened, not only had it shattered but the glass was in large pieces which continued to crackle and break up. The local installer has been excellent about replacing it and has completely taken care of the problem with no cost to me. According to what I have read on the website I found people have been injured and have not been so fortunate with the installers as I have been in getting the problem fixed. I send this only to let you know of another occurence.

Lawrence of Alexandria VA (07/12/07)
The swing side of a half inch glass frameless shower door enclosure of my recently renovated bathroom mysteriosly exploded. No one was a the bathrrom at the time, so there were no physical injuries.

The company that intalled it is taking full responsability and will replace along with the glass any damaged portion of the shower.

Arthetta of Riverside CA (06/02/06)
We requested a material saftey data sheet (MSDS)for their cleaning products used on their showers. We were told by Adam that they would not give out this information. Then we asked who manufactured their cleaning products and were told he didn't know and he just got them from a distributor. We then asked for the name of the distributor and Adam refused to give us their name.

We requested the MSDS forms because it is required by OSHA to be on file with the cleaning company that cleans our home.

Without this information the cleaning Co. cannot use these products and have to substitute with other products not approved for use on the Century Shower that we have. Another factor is the fumes from other products effect my lungs which are sensitive to fumes because of COPD-Emphysema. The Century Shower Door products that we have been using do not have a order that bothers me and we would like to continue using them.

When I shared this information with Adam he said clean the shower yourself then. I would love to do that but my medical condition won't allow me.

Monique of Mamaroneck NY (07/18/03)
Century Shower Door contacted us after posting the complaint on 2/6/03. They offered to reimburse us the installation charges and medical expenses relating to their product shattering on 12/9/02 and injuring our children IF we removed the original complaint from this Web site. We agreed to amend the posting if we received a satisfactory resolution (i.e. we received a full refund of the money we are out of pocket).

As requested, we submitted copies of the outstanding charges for their review. We NEVER heard anything from them. After several more phone calls, and a registered letter with copies of the charges, we finally got a response. Someone named Edie called on 7/18/03 to inform us that they would not honor their agreement because this complaint had damaged their reputation.

Apparently, they contact this Web site and were told the information is property of the Web site and cannot be rescinded. As a result, Century is no longer willing to refund our money since WE damaged them. All we ever wanted to for the company to refund the money we are out of pocket, but now after 7 months, they are no longer willing to do that for a number of reasons that are all ridiculous. As advised, we are now seeking legal counsel and have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Trenton.

They were never interested in doing the right thing for the right reason, only to avoid damage to their reputation. It's reprehensible the way they've treated our family. I might remind them that two small children were injured. If they stand by their products, not only would they have replaced the doors, but either piad for, or offered to have the new doors installed - neither of which they did. This is the worst example of customer service I have ever seen in my life.

Monique of Mamaroneck NY (02/06/03)
On December 9, 2002, I put my children, ages 4 and 2 into the bathtub for a bath. I slid the glass door from one side to the other to reach the water faucet to shut off the water. When the door came to a stop on the other side, it exploded into a million pieces.

As my children were sitting in the tub without clothes, they were showered with glass fragments and received multiple lacerations. The most severe of these cuts was to their feet, as they both stood up to try to escape the tub and stepped on the broken glass. I promptly removed them from the area and placed them outside the bathroom where there was no glass. I immediately called 911as they were both bleeding.

The police and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and after a brief evaluation, advised me to have them taken to the local emergency room to be thoroughly screened. As you might imagine, the children and I were quite scared from what had happened. They were both crying from fear and from the stinging of the cuts they received. Once at the emergency room, their eyes were checked for glass, their hair was vacuumed to remove glass fragments, their lacerations were cleaned and dressed, and after several hours, they were discharged.

The next day I called a glazier to come to the house and remove the remaining door and offer advice on an alternative solution. It was his opinion that the doors were Centec doors made by the Century Shower Door Company. This was later verified by the previous homeowner who had ordered them and had them installed. As such, I also called Century Shower Door the next day and spoke to Clint in customer service. He stated that if we could prove that the door was made by Century, the company would replace the door at no cost. I told him that we did not want to simply replace the broken door, because they are obviously not safe, rather find an alternate solution (i.e. a safer door).

After reviewing our options and on the advice of the glazier, we ordered a new set of Century doors (laminated Lucette doors) through Kuritsky Glass in Mt. Kisco, New York. We were told that unlike the Centec door that shattered, this type of glass spiderwebs like a car windshield in the event of an accident. The total estimate to replace the doors and have them installed was $965.

I followed up several times with Clint in customer service at Century Shower Door to confirm that the doors were made by Century Shower Door. He verified that there would be no cost for the replacement and that the matter would be handled between Century and Kuritsky Glass. In follow-up with Clint to determine the status, he informed me that the installation was not part of the replacement agreement.

In the normal course of use I cant imagine that this could happen so easily. The door is less than 3 years old. After everything we went through, I cant believe that we will be charged to have this door replaced. Clint did not return repeated calls to him to try to settle the matter. When I finally reached him live on the phone after many attempts, he curtly stated that he should not have been involved, that the new doors had been shipped, and that I would have to contact Kuritsky Glass to settle the matter of the installation charges.

Kuritsky Glass referred me to their Century Shower Door Sales Representative, Dick Dixon to resolve the matter. I left a message for Mr. Dixon on January 7, 2003. Mr. Dixon responded a few days later and stated that they felt they were being quite generous by replacing the door at no cost, but they would not cover the cost of the installation (over $300). I dont feel like we should have to pay anything for this fiasco. In addition to the installation charges, we have received additional bills from the emergency room visit in the amount of $54.00 (to date).

I have copies of the emergency room report, photos of the broken glass, as well as photos of several of the cuts on my 2-year old sons feet as evidence in this matter. My children have scars on their feet from this incident.

To date, I am out the cost of installing new doors (approximately $300-400), plus emergency room bills not covered under insurance (billed $54 to date), plus emotional distress.

Carol of Buffalo Grove IL (11/06/02)
My glass shower doors spontaneous imploded and shattered all over the bathroom floor. This happened at 4 AM when we were all sleeping. Thank goodness, no one was in the immediate area when this happened. The only thing left was the frame and the handle which was laying on the floor. I reordered a Euroview Door and spent $580.00. I did not budget for this expenses. This experience could have given a heart attack to anyone in frail condition. The smash and crash who horrible. Strange, I just read on your website another experience like mine with a mother and her children taking a bath.

Cindy of Bayonne NJ (08/19/01)
On 5/1/01 my two children entered the bathtub when it appeared that one of the glass shower doors was not on the tracking. As I instructed the boys to get out of the tub, I placed my hands in to help them out when all of a sudden the glass shower door exploded or popped directly on top of them. It did not fall onto anything and then break but instead exploded while the door was in place. There was glass and blood everywhere not just in the tub but the way it popped the glass flew everywhere in the bathroom. All that was left of that one glass door was the hinge and the towel bar.

My children were hysterical because there was blood everywhere and I didn't know where it was coming from, As they jumped up out of the tub they were sliced by the glass on their feet, legs, arms, everywhere. The more they ran the more their feet were being sliced because the glass was everywhere. As I screamed for my daughter to call 911 I attempted to dry them and asses where the damages were. My 8 year old son had laceratiions all over his legs and had an inch deep wound on his knee that required 10 stiches. His legs and knees and feet were glued from the glass slicing his body. All he kept saying was he was going to die.

The scarring on his knee will never go away nor will the other scars that were left from the gluing of his lacerations. Beacause he was sitting in the front part of the tub, he actually protected my 4 year old son from severe injuries.

My 4 year old son kept running and screaming and this caused numerous lacerations on the bottom of his feet since the more he ran the more the glass was cutting him. They were both treated at the Emergency Room and later released. Emotionally my 4 year old son has been affected by this incident. He is nervous and extremely hyper and I believe he needs to be desensitized.

My 8 year old has numerous scars that remind him everyday of the incident. He missed over a week of school and couldn't walk for days.

Monique of Mamaroneck NY writes (2/6/03):
On December 9, 2002, I put my children, ages 4 and 2 into the bathtub for a bath. I slid the glass door from one side to the other to reach the water faucet to shut off the water. When the door came to a stop on the other side, it exploded into a million pieces.

As my children were sitting in the tub without clothes, they were showered with glass fragments and received multiple lacerations. The most severe of these cuts was to their feet, as they both stood up to try to escape the tub and stepped on the broken glass. I promptly removed them from the area and placed them outside the bathroom where there was no glass. I immediately called 911 as they were both bleeding.

The police and paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and after a brief evaluation, advised me to have them taken to the local emergency room to be thoroughly screened. As you might imagine, the children and I were quite scared from what had happened. They were both crying from fear and from the stinging of the cuts they received. Once at the emergency room, their eyes were checked for glass, their hair was vacuumed to remove glass fragments, their lacerations were cleaned and dressed, and after several hours, they were discharged.

The next day I called a glazier to come to the house and remove the remaining door and offer advice on an alternative solution. It was his opinion that the doors were Centec doors made by the Century Shower Door Company. This was later verified by the previous homeowner who had ordered them and had them installed. As such, I also called Century Shower Door the next day and spoke to Clint in customer service. He stated that if we could prove that the door was made by Century, the company would replace the door at no cost. I told him that we did not want to simply replace the broken door, because they are obviously not safe, rather find an alternate solution (i.e. a safer door).

After reviewing our options and on the advice of the glazier, we ordered a new set of Century doors (laminated Lucette doors) through Kuritsky Glass in Mt. Kisco, New York. We were told that unlike the Centec door that shattered, this type of glass �spiderwebs� like a car windshield in the event of an accident. The total estimate to replace the doors and have them installed was $965. I followed up several times with Clint in customer service at Century Shower Door to confirm that the doors were made by Century Shower Door. He verified that there would be no cost for the replacement and that the matter would be handled between Century and Kuritsky Glass. In follow-up with Clint to determine the status, he informed me that the installation was not part of the replacement agreement.

In the normal course of use I can�t imagine that this could happen so easily. The door is less than 3 years old. After everything we went through, I can�t believe that we will be charged to have this door replaced. Clint did not return repeated calls to him to try to settle the matter. When I finally reached him �live� on the phone after many attempts, he curtly stated that he should not have been involved, that the new doors had been shipped, and that I would have to contact Kuritsky Glass to settle the matter of the installation charges.

Kuritsky Glass referred me to their Century Shower Door Sales Representative, Dick Dixon to resolve the matter. I left a message for Mr. Dixon on January 7, 2003. Mr. Dixon responded a few days later and stated that they felt they were being quite generous by replacing the door at no cost, but they would not cover the cost of the installation (over $300). I don�t feel like we should have to pay anything for this fiasco.

In addition to the installation charges, we have received additional bills from the emergency room visit in the amount of $54.00 (to date). I have copies of the emergency room report, photos of the broken glass, as well as photos of several of the cuts on my 2-year old son�s feet as evidence in this matter. My children have scars on their feet from this incident.

To date, I am out the cost of installing new doors (approximately $300-400), plus emergency room bills not covered under insurance (billed $54 to date), plus emotional distress.

If Monique wants to pursue the matter, she should immediately retain an experienced and aggressive personal injury lawyer. She will not get anywhere trying to negotiate the matter herself.

Update: Here is a follow-up from Monique (7/18/03):
Century Shower Door contacted us after posting the complaint on 2/6/03. They offered to reimburse us the installation charges and medical expenses relating to their product shattering on 12/9/02 and injuring our children IF we removed the original complaint from this Web site. We agreed to amend the posting if we received a satisfactory resolution (i.e. we received a full refund of the money we are out of pocket). As requested, we submitted copies of the outstanding charges for their review. We NEVER heard anything from them.

After several more phone calls, and a registered letter with copies of the charges, we finally got a response. Someone named Edie called on 7/18/03 to inform us that they would not honor their agreement because this complaint had damaged their reputation. Apparently, they contacted this Web site and were told the information is the property of the Web site and cannot be rescinded. As a result, Century is no longer willing to refund our money.

All we ever wanted was for the company to refund the money we are out of pocket, but now after 7 months, they are no longer willing to do that for a number of reasons that are all ridiculous. As advised, we are now seeking legal counsel and have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Trenton. They were never interested in doing the right thing for the right reason, only to avoid damage to their reputation. It's reprehensible the way they've treated our family.

I might remind them that two small children were injured. If they stand by their products, not only would they have replaced the doors, but either piad for, or offered to have the new doors installed - neither of which they did. This is the worst example of customer service I have ever seen in my life.

Carol of Buffalo Grove IL (11/6/02):
My glass shower doors spontaneously imploded and shattered all over the bathroom floor. This happened at 4 AM when we were all sleeping. Thank goodness, no one was in the immediate area when this happened. The only thing left was the frame and the handle which was laying on the floor.

I reordered a Euroview Door and spent $580.00. I did not budget for this expenses. This experience could have given a heart attack to anyone in frail condition. The smash and crash was horrible. Strange, I just read on your website another experience like mine with a mother and her children taking a bath.

Cindy of Bayonne NJ writes (8/19/01):
On 5/1/01 my two children entered the bathtub when it appeared that one of the glass shower doors was not on the tracking. As I instructed the boys to get out of the tub, I placed my hands in to help them out when all of a sudden the glass shower door exploded or popped directly on top of them. It did not fall onto anything and then break but instead exploded while the door was in place. There was glass and blood everywhere, not just in the tub but the way it popped the glass flew everywhere in the bathroom. All that was left of that one glass door was the hinge and the towel bar.

My children were hysterical because there was blood everywhere and I didn't know where it was coming from, As they jumped up out of the tub they were sliced by the glass on their feet, legs, arms, everywhere. The more they ran the more their feet were being sliced because the glass was everywhere. As I screamed for my daughter to call 911 I attempted to dry them and assess where the damages were.

My 8-year-old son had lacerations all over his legs and had an inch deep wound on his knee that required 10 stitches. His legs and knees and feet were glued from the glass slicing his body. All he kept saying was he was going to die. The scarring on his knee will never go away nor will the other scars that were left from the gluing of his lacerations. Because he was sitting in the front part of the tub, he actually protected my 4-year-old son from severe injuries. My 4-year-old son kept running and screaming and this caused numerous lacerations on the bottom of his feet since the more he ran the more the glass was cutting him.

They were both treated at the Emergency Room and later released. Emotionally my 4-year-old son has been affected by this incident. He is nervous and extremely hyper and I believe he needs to be desensitized. My 8-year-old has numerous scars that remind him everyday of the incident. He missed over a week of school and couldn't walk for days.

The company responds:

We at Century Shower Door, Inc. believe that the reason we are in business today is because of our philosphy of quality and customer satisfaction. We are constantly striving to reduce quality complaints by doing everything from demanding better quality control from our suppliers to bringing manufacturing decisions directly to our shop floor, empowering our shop labor to be better. Century Shower Door has been able to organize our manufacturing function to the point where any problem on any door that we manufacture can be traced directly to an individual ensuring quality accountability. While 100% perfect quality is our goal, in the event that we do receive customer complaints, we respond immediately to find a resolution by inspecting every claim.

The incident explained in the statement made by "Cindy of Bayonne" should not immediately serve as an indictment of the manufacturer without looking at the circumstances which surround the incident. As stated in our previous communication, we have no record of being notified by Cindy of Bayonne. In our many years of experience it is difficult to accurately ascertain where the liability lies when the breakage of a shower door occurs.

The most important aspect of a shower door is the glass used in the manufacturing process. Century Shower Door glazes all enclosures with safety tempered or safety laminated glass in accordance with all requirements mandated by law. Tempered glass is seven to ten times stronger than plate glass and is very difficult to break.

It is our opinion through many years of experience that in most breakage incidents the primary reason is improper installation. It is paramount to the functioning of a shower unit that all components are positioned correctly with everything being absolutely plumb and level so the door will operate freely. Cindy of Bayonne writes "that one of the glass shower doors was not on the tracking". That statement alone leads us to believe that some outside influence caused these doors to come off the tracking and not operate properly. Here again we have no proof that this was a Century product nor do we have knowledge of any misuse that may have occurred which also could have contributed to the incident.

We are regarded as one of the leading manufacturers in the industry because of the importance that we place on the value of our customers. We work very hard to provide our customers with the best service possible.

Thank you for this opportunity to respond, we hope that this will allay the concerns that the readers may have about Century Shower Door.

Peter Nigro
Rosa Jurewicz

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