The most common question Fenster Components gets is not about price. It is not about lead time. It is four words.
Will it actually work?
It is a fair question. You are standing in front of a failing sash on a window nobody makes anymore. The brand plate says Caradco, or Norco, or Pozzi, and a search tells you the company stopped making parts years ago. Now some outfit in Indiana says it can build you a new sash for it.
So here is the honest answer, and it is not a sales pitch. It is what happens after the box shows up.
The Trial Order Is the Answer
Most homeowners do not take Fenster’s word for it. They test.
They buy one sash. Just one. The worst one in the house.
That is not a problem. That is the smartest thing a cautious homeowner can do, and it happens constantly. A first order is one sash. The second order, a year later, is three. The order after that is four more.
Five years in, the same driver is pulling into the same driveway. The sashes from the first order are still working. That is not a testimonial anybody wrote. That is a repeat delivery schedule.
Just replace the part that’s broken. Then wait a year and decide whether you want to do it again.
Why Your Brand Being Discontinued Is Not the Problem You Think
Here is the part that trips people up.
Every legacy wood window brand walked away from replacement parts. Caradco. Norco. Pozzi. Around fifty others. The parent companies consolidated, the tooling went away, and the supply chain that supported those windows disappeared.
The insurance and construction world has a phrase for what is supposed to replace them: same, like kind and quality. It sounds reasonable until you notice the obvious problem. If the original manufacturer is out of business, there is no “same” left to match.
That gap is the entire reason Fenster exists.
The engineering question is not “can we find an original Caradco part.” It is “how do we build a sash of the same kind and quality using materials that exist today.” Different weather stripping, serving the same purpose. Different aluminum cladding, serving the same purpose. Same wood. Same glass.
Same glass is worth sitting with. A repair product does not mean substandard material. Fenster buys glass from the same suppliers the large manufacturers buy from. It is wood and glass either way.
Three Things Homeowners Get Wrong
1. They think one bad sash means one bad sash
In 25 years of this work, almost nobody has exactly one failing window. They have one failing window they are paying attention to.
Look at a three-wide. The left and right operate, the center is fixed. The two that open are visibly falling apart, so those are the ones you notice. The fixed center pane never moves, so it never gets inspected. It is usually in the same shape as its neighbors.
If you have one, Fenster will sell you one. Just know that a second order is likely, and there is nothing wrong with that.
2. They think repair means an ongoing repair problem
Going back to the same house year after year is not a product failure. It is a budget.
Homeowners plan for two or three sashes a year. That is the whole advantage. You address only the ones that need attention. Full replacement quotes come in for the entire house because that is how the job is sold, and plenty of replacement contractors will not touch a one-off at all.
3. They think a heavy sash is a problem
It is not. It is solid lumber.
Solid lengths of wood, not pieced together filler. Customers notice it after installation in a way they do not expect. The most common report back is not about looks. It is that they cannot hear the road anymore.
The Math Nobody Runs for You
A full replacement quote can run over $1,200 per window. In most homes, the frame in the wall is fine. It is the sash that failed.
A replacement sash typically costs 50 to 70 percent less than full replacement, ships to your door, and most homeowners install it themselves using tools they already own.
That is not a smaller version of a replacement project. It is a different project.
Why It Ships to Your Door in a Van
There is one detail that surprises people more than anything else on this list.
Fenster does not ship freight. An employee loads the sashes into a Fenster van in Noblesville, Indiana, drives them to the address, and hands them over.
That van covered 100,000 miles in twelve months. The driver spent 125 nights on the road last year. Individually shrink wrapped, cardboard on the corners, carried from the van into your garage.
The reason is not marketing. Older neighborhoods in the Northeast will not take a semi down the street. If you are selling direct to homeowners, you have to arrive in something that can back into a driveway.
Windows is all we do. Turns out that includes getting them to you.
What to Do Next
If you are on the fence, do what most Fenster customers did.
Order the worst one. Install it. Live with it through a winter. Then decide about the rest.
Measure carefully, send it in, and Fenster will build the sash for it. Your name goes on the inside of it, because it was made for your opening and nobody else’s.
Start a quote at fensterusa.com.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Ryan: Yes, they work. Yes, they fit. Yes, they come with weather stripping. In this episode we’re going to share some real life examples of customers who trusted the Fenster process and saved time, money and hassle by choosing window repair over replacement.
Ryan: Hi, it’s Ryan the Sash Guy with Fenster Components. I’m here with my trusty sidekick Jason, the world’s greatest delivery driver.
Jason: Sir, yes sir.
Ryan: Sharing some stories from the road today. We’re going to give you examples of customers who really trusted the process and ended up saving a bunch of time and money and hassle by going with a repair instead of a replacement. The big question is always, how do you know it’s going to work?
Ryan: We get that question a lot. So we thought we’d share some of those stories. We’re just going to let Jason roll here for a while on some examples, conversations you’ve had with customers out on the road who maybe were hesitant, and then a lot of folks try a test, or start with a small batch, and end up coming back around. You’re really the boots on the ground. They may talk to Ellie or me in the office on the front end during the purchasing process, but a lot of times you’re the only face of the company they see in person.
Jason: Right. Face only a mother could love.
Ryan: Face for radio, brother.
Jason: Definitely.
Ryan: So I’m just going to let you jump in, if you can think of some stories.
Jason: In previous careers I was always in a sales capacity. I used to tell my friends and my coworkers that my best customers were the ones who were as educated as I could help them be about something they didn’t know about. So I always took great pleasure, before I’d say sign this contract or whatever it was, in wanting them to really understand what they were buying, why they were buying it, why they felt good about it.
Jason: Never a woo, high five, slam dunk, I just hit my bonus club. Really wanting people to feel good about what they’d trusted us with, and what they’d trusted me with as their sales representative. So it’s always a pleasure when I go on a delivery and meet somebody and they’re excited. They’re excited to try.
Jason: And like you said, oftentimes people don’t know Fenster. Fenster from Noblesville, Indiana. They probably couldn’t find Indiana on a map. Some of these people live far away, up in New England, some have never left the city of New York.
Ryan: When Al Roker won’t use the city of Indianapolis in any of his forecasts.
Jason: Right. They just don’t know, and I understand, it’s a familiarity thing. They’re cautious. They want to make sure they’re making a decision and not getting scammed. So if they step over the edge a little bit and they buy one sash from us, fantastic. I love those.
Jason: It’s a great opportunity for me as your representative to take the extra time with those folks, make their experience good, be very respectful of them. Appreciate their neighborhood, appreciate their trust in us, and walk them through it. Hey, do you have any questions? And to probe a little, is this just one window that your kid broke with his golf club, or is this something you’re considering as a trial to maybe do more?
Jason: So they’ll open up and say, yeah, we’ve had some guys out here. I love hearing those, when they say they’ve had a window company out, a competitor if you will. But we’re not in the same arena, because they’re cutting them out and we’re repairing them.
Jason: So hearing those, it’s like, they were quoted an enormous number to replace all these windows. And I said, well, I’m glad you found us, because this is going to be a great alternative for you. Then walking them through the process. Do you have any questions about installation? Do you know how to do it? We’ve got videos. If you want me to walk you through it, I’d be happy to.
Jason: Pet their dog, say their neighborhood is nice. And it’s fantastic to leave those interactions being very confident that our product is going to be a great fit for them. And to know I’m going to be back in eight or ten weeks.
Ryan: I’ll jump in and share with our viewers that so many of our five-star reviews are about you. When I get that kind of feedback, it’s comforting to me that I’ve got good representation out there. You’re doing your job well.
Ryan: But from the stories I get on the front end, people ask, are you going to ship it common carrier, how are they packaged? And I’m like, no. Our employee is driving our van to your driveway and handing them to you. And they’re like, what? That’s just unheard of.
Ryan: I don’t want to jump topics, we’re going to talk about this later in the conversation, but that’s one of those little details. We’re just a different kind of company. I didn’t mean to interrupt you, I just wanted to say what great feedback I get from customers after meeting you. So thank you.
Jason: Thank you for the appreciation. But it’s fun to do it. It’s fun to be nice. It’s fun to knock people’s socks off. And like you said, people are gobsmacked. Wait a second, you drove all the way here from Indiana? Yeah. When did you leave, this morning? Yeah, eight hours ago. And you work for the company? Yes sir, yes ma’am. Here’s my hat, here’s my shirt. This is what we do.
Jason: And they’re like, how can you do that? Well, because we tried other ways and nobody cares for windows like we will. These have been in my possession, they’ve been on my van since they left the shop. So if there are any problems, you know.
Ryan: And I’m so appreciative that you enjoy your job, because I go on work trips, I’m gone overnight, and I’m like, I can’t wait to get back. You’re a true road warrior out there for us. Last year was what, 125 nights out?
Jason: 125, yeah. 125 nights out.
Ryan: And we got you a nice new truck last fall. Where are you at on that?
Jason: We got the Mercedes Sprinter van. I think it’s the longest one that is buyable on the market before going to a semi or something. We got it last August, and as of today we’re crossing 100,000 miles. So since August of last year I’ve rolled 100,000 miles on Fenster’s behalf.
Ryan: And we still owe a year’s worth of payments on it.
Jason: Great. That’s all right. Second set of tires, second set of windshield wipers, no new brakes, because I’m going straight and fast most of the time.
Ryan: I share this with folks too. You’ve got to realize, we’re selling retail direct to the consumer. You’re in and out of neighborhoods. Back in the day when I was the delivery driver, I’ve been up in older neighborhoods in New England, in the Northeast, where you’re not getting a semi through. We have to deliver in a vehicle that’s going in and out of residential neighborhoods and backing into people’s driveways.
Jason: It’s not a semi coming to you. At least once a week, when I make my courtesy thirty-minutes-out call, people say, oh, how big is your truck? I say, it’s just a van. Pretty maneuverable. They’re like, oh, I thought these were going to be on a semi or something. I say no. All individually shrink wrapped with cardboard on the corners. I’ll walk them from my van into your garage or wherever you want them.
Ryan: Sure. Well, I’ll let you get back to stories from the road.
Jason: Stories from the road. You mentioned South Boston. I remember one, probably last fall. I’d never personally been into South Boston before, either on my own or for work. So I went into South Boston. It was so cool, tiny little streets and row houses. And this awesome couple. I was there pretty late, probably after seven o’clock, so it was dark, and I had to double park out in front of their flat.
Jason: They both came out. She comes out with a little thing and she’s like, here’s some dinner for you. We had meatloaf. So I’m like, oh my gosh, you guys are fantastic. Some meatloaf and I think a banana. Fantastic.
Ryan: Warren, our friend in Connecticut. I think Ben delivered to him a year or two ago. And he asks about the family all the time.
Jason: Yeah, our growing family.
Ryan: With Ben’s story, I think Ben got there pretty late in the evening, and Warren was the nicest man in the world. He said, have you eaten any dinner? And Ben says, no, not yet. And he says, well, come on in. So he brought him to his table, cooked him up some salmon.
Jason: Full spread. So Warren was the kind of guy who just loved interacting with you, with the company, with the employees. When I delivered to him the first time this year it was lunchtime, and I didn’t have much time to waste. It always seems like you’re running behind schedule when you get out on the East Coast.
Jason: So Warren invites me in. I kind of declined at first, I was like, no, I can’t. And I just saw his face get sad, and I was like, you know what, this is really going to mean a lot if I let him make me lunch. He didn’t even join me. He didn’t even make food for himself.
Ryan: Really?
Jason: He just sat across the table while I ate, and we had a conversation. Learned about his family and his kids. One was out in Texas, another one was graduating this year, he and his wife were both in finance. It was just, and that’s kind of a sidetrack about how nice people are.
Ryan: It’s a different level of connection that we have with our customers. You don’t have all of that corporate feel. We’re people working with people. I doubt Warren has invited the Amazon guy in for lunch.
Jason: Probably not.
Ryan: It’s rewarding for me that a lot of our customers have that kind of trust in us. They’ve made the decision to trust a small company, which has always been one of my things. We’re the ones with something to lose. This isn’t just my business. My sons work for the company. We’re supporting families with this business. So we have everything to gain or lose by not taking care of our customers. When I get that kind of feedback, it just makes me want to keep doing good and doing better.
Jason: And sometimes we’re talking about people I’ve been to multiple times. A lot of times the hesitancy at first is that they don’t know us from Adam. So they go through that. Once they know us, I’ll go back to the same house year after year, because they budget for themselves that they’re going to replace two or three sashes a year, or four a year. So it’s nice that we’ve continued to earn their trust. Our products are standing up for them five years after their first order. And they’re still saying, yeah, these guys are great.
Ryan: I don’t know that we’ve touched on this in other episodes, but another advantage to the repair route is if you have budget restraints, or hesitancy on the dollar amount. One of the great advantages of repairing is you only have to address the ones that need attention.
Ryan: The replacement guys are going to come in and quote you the whole house. And a lot of them won’t even mess with the onesy twosies. They’re not going to give you the time of day.
Jason: I didn’t know that.
Ryan: I’m like, oh, I just got this one that’s bad. And they won’t even address it. So when you talk about folks who misunderstand, we’re not going back multiple times because they’re repairing the same windows. They’re doing it in small batches, as they go bad.
Ryan: This has always been one of my pet peeves, back earlier in my career when I was actually a window repair guy. People who just buy one. And I don’t mean the people who are testing the waters, right, I want to make sure it works, I want to make sure it’s going to fit, whatever the case. I mean the people who just have one. Jason, never in my first ten years of being a window guy has anyone had just one bad window. They’re only paying attention to one bad window.
Ryan: So to that point, if you just have one, we’ll sell you one. But you probably have more, or you’re going to have more. You’ve got a three-wide, the left and right open and the center one’s fixed. The left and right are falling apart, but you can’t see that the middle one’s probably bad too.
Jason: I don’t have to move that one.
Ryan: Right, just because you can’t open it up. Probably should do all three.
Jason: Probably should do all three.
Ryan: So, anything else you can think of?
Jason: Not related to customers, but the parts of the country I’ve been able to see working for Fenster is unbelievable.
Ryan: And now the West Coast.
Jason: Now the West Coast.
Ryan: As we’re filming this we’re what, two or three years into being able to service the West Coast. So that’s really opened up a lot more opportunity. We’re not just a small Midwestern company anymore. We’ve got nationwide distribution.
Jason: People are even more gobsmacked when I arrive in San Francisco and they’re like, where did you come from? Well, from Indiana.
Ryan: I’ve made that trip a couple of times. My wife and I have made that trip, and it’s a little more fun to rent a truck one way and then hang out in Napa for a couple of days before we fly back.
Jason: The coolest one from last week. Kansas. There was an area of Kansas that looked like Dances with Wolves, except it was green. All springtime or early summer green. Just green as far as you could see. Just hills. I did not know that Kansas is, I think, third in cattle production. I think it’s six million cows in Kansas.
Ryan: Right behind Texas.
Jason: Somewhere else. It’s awesome. Beautiful. Rolling up and down as far as you can see. A lot of flat. The Tatanka. Buffalo.
Ryan: Did you see Kevin Costner?
Jason: No.
Ryan: Well, coming back from Colorado next month you’ll get to drive through Kansas again.
Jason: Oh yes. That’s scheduled first week of August, I think.
Ryan: Excellent. Next trip out there.
Jason: Well, enough about me and my travels and how many miles I drive a year. Bringing it back. I can only do so much. Somebody’s already decided to work with us by the time I get involved. How do you push somebody over the edge when they’re teetering? What do you say to the naysayers who can’t bring themselves to do it?
Ryan: There’s a handful of folks who don’t trust the technology. Like I said, maybe last episode when we talked about this, Ellie, our receptionist, had been on vacation recently and I was filling in. I was holding down two desk chairs that week.
Jason: Looks like you picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
Ryan: It was. It’s interesting, the volume of folks who will bypass the whole process and just dial the phone. And it’s so hard to turn those folks around, because they’ve skipped all the learning. They’ve skipped all the good stuff. They’re skipping to the end, and trying to get them to backtrack over it. I want to help you, but when I start talking window geek to you and you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Ryan: The point I’m making is, a lot of those folks we never see convert. They jumped so far ahead, skipped over what we were trying to teach them, or casually walk them through, that they’ve skipped over it.
Ryan: There’s a part of the industry that I really wish we could tap into, and we just haven’t been able to get in the right place or find our connection point. That’s the insurance industry. I’ve put effort into this in years past. I think we can be such a huge service to that industry as a whole, and to the homeowners they’re representing for hail damage. We can be a solution for hail damage.
Ryan: But it’s not so much that the insurance industry is the naysayer. It’s the stories I could tell you about getting thrown to the wolves, where the insurance company has, for lack of a better term, hired me as a consultant to go out, do an inspection, put an order together. But then somehow there’s already another replacement contractor in the mix who conveniently shows up the same time I’m there, to literally dispel and discredit 25 years of my career, because no, you can’t fix windows, that’s not possible.
Jason: So he wants the whole construction project.
Ryan: They’ve already entered in, they’re inflated, a Swiss cheese project where they’re going to tear your house apart. He doesn’t want to lose that job. I kind of got over the disrespect part of it after it clicked with me. Oh, he’s trying not to lose the job he’s bidding on. He doesn’t care about what I’m doing.
Jason: And he doesn’t care about the homeowner either. Doesn’t care about why you’re there, what you’re trying to do.
Ryan: But that has been a hurdle to overcome, just from a competition standpoint.
Jason: In a scenario like that, whose ultimate call is it? The insurer or the homeowner? Or does the third party who wants to do a construction project rather than a repair project?
Ryan: A lot of times it does come down to the homeowner. They can choose to hire who they want. Where the insurance industry comes into it is they can’t get out of their own way. It’s the red tape and the rules and regulations, where they use terms like “same, like kind and quality.”
Jason: Which, if they knew any better, they’d be blown away. How many times do people tell you our windows are better than the originals?
Ryan: Oh, absolutely.
Jason: And some of the people I’ve been to and come back and delivered to again, they’re like, oh my goodness, we put those first ones in and we can’t even hear the road anymore.
Ryan: They’re heavy. That’s called using solid lumber. Not pieced together balsa wood. We’re using solid lengths of lumber. It’s a heavy sash. You can feel the quality of construction of what we’re putting out there.
Ryan: But they use these terms like “same, like kind and quality,” and they don’t put any consideration into, okay, well that Brand A window is out of business. They’re out of business. Their parts went away. Their supply chain went away.
Ryan: You’ve got a lot of stuff in the industry where it’s like, well, they were our customer and we pay allegiance to them. But they’re out of business. I’m standing here with my checkbook trying to buy stuff from you. It’s kind of that good old boy network, where they were all tied together, and a lot of that supply chain has gone away.
Ryan: Part of the engineering we’ve had to go through is, how do we make a window of same, like kind and quality using the materials available to us today? And that can be very different. Different kind of weather stripping, but still serving the same purpose. Different kind of aluminum cladding, still serving the same purpose. The wood.
Ryan: I fielded this question actually earlier today. How do I know I’m getting the same energy efficiency? And I’m like, okay, well, just because we’re offering a repair product doesn’t mean we’re using substandard materials. We’re buying the same glass all the big boys are buying. Wood and glass. It’s still all the same stuff.
Ryan: So it’s all the same stuff, but the insurance industry has so many guidelines and protections and red tape that if it’s an XYZ window, and you’re not putting in an XYZ window, then it doesn’t meet their criteria. We know that’s not the case. So many of our customers know that’s not the case. But until those regulations are eased, or adapted to our type of product, which is new and different and interesting and scary.
Jason: After 25 years.
Ryan: Scary to some people. 25 years later, it’s still scary to some people. But it is a new idea. It’s a different idea.
Ryan: So that’s a naysayer example. Something I want to speak to that’s becoming more and more difficult in our world, in our society. People’s expectations. You used to be able to, if you provided a customer a quality product at a fair price in a reasonable amount of time, that made you good at what you did. And now there’s so much more outside influence on what people perceive as customer service. Customers’ expectations are so focused on themselves and their own situation. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to offer a broad.
Jason: Break that down. I’m not sure I’m following you. Put that in another context, specifically our business.
Ryan: Okay. It’s something that’s very thought provoking for me, near and dear, and possibly contributes to my blood pressure. It’s the reviews. It’s a necessary evil in any service related industry, any retail. Some customers have reasonable expectations.
Jason: Gone are the days of celebrity endorsements, right?
Ryan: Well, we rely on reviews now.
Jason: Mike Rowe, if you’re listening, we need you, pal. I’ll do your first dirty job, buddy.
Ryan: Right. So this is what I said, and this is a legitimate statement from me as the owner of this company. You look at the five-star review customers and you look at the one-star review customers. The one-star review customers got the same level of service, got the same attention, had the same experience as the five-star. And I stand behind that unequivocally. You tell me what the difference is.
Ryan: But what I can say is, the five stars are obviously happy with us. And they were an actual customer. I can count, and I’m very pleased to say this, I can count on one hand the number of one-star reviews. But Jason, literally all those people never bought anything from us.
Jason: And they just decide to be grumpy pants for grumpy pants reasons?
Ryan: Well, yeah. Most of them read some policy they didn’t agree with. Or the return thing is always. Or we couldn’t send them a catalog. Something like that. But look at all of these happy people. And you look at it, I don’t even think we have any in the middle. It’s all fives and some ones. Nobody’s kind of happy with us. They’re all like, you guys are awesome, or worst company ever, don’t do business with them.
Jason: What’s the one guy? Make sure you read every word on their website.
Ryan: Please. Would you read every word? You’re going to be the most informed, pleasant customer. You’re going to be happy. We’re going to be happy. Please. Read everything you can on our website. It will help you. Help us help you.
Ryan (ad read): Quick myth to bust. A lot of homeowners believe a failing window means a full replacement. That’s not true. Here’s the math. A contractor quote for full replacement can run over $1,200 a window. Most of the time the frame in your wall is fine. It’s the sash that failed. And that’s the only thing Fenster Components builds. It costs 50 to 70 percent less, ships to your door, and most people install it themselves with tools they already own. And if you’re thinking your window brand is too old or too discontinued for anyone to match, that’s not true. Fenster has built replacement sashes for discontinued brands for 25 years. So if you’re ready, start your quote today at fensterusa.com.
Ryan: We work so hard at our level of company, and we care so much. People say, well, it’s just business, you shouldn’t care. But we wouldn’t be doing the business we’re doing if we didn’t care. The five-star people wouldn’t have had the experience they got if we didn’t care. So to turn around and say, oh, we’re not supposed to take it personally. You have no idea how personally we’re taking it.
Ryan: It’s a big frustration for me, how something that was completely inadvertent, or is actually probably a policy put in place to protect the customer, and you’ve got such a small handful of people who disagree.
Ryan: We’re human. We’ve made mistakes before with a window product. When it’s brought to our attention, we remedy it. So nobody’s given us a bad review because of the quality of our product, or because of damage, or because we mis-made it. Most of the handful of people who give bad reviews are just being bad customers.
Jason: And a lot of times you can see that they’re used to giving one-star reviews.
Ryan: Back in the day we used to call them the two percenters. There’s two percent of people you’re just never going to make happy.
Jason: Grumpy McGrumpertons.
Ryan: I think it’s more like ninety-ten now. But that aside, let’s focus on who’s happy and why they’re happy. Just like the stories you started with. We’re going to maintain that level of performance, that experience our customer is getting, whether it was picking up the phone or ordering right off our website or going through the quoting process for more of a custom order, all the way through.
Ryan: We get questions about lead time. I’m like, well, it only takes about two weeks to make your order. But sir, there are six weeks of orders in front of you. You’re just waiting your turn. It doesn’t take that long to make them. We’re not standing around.
Jason: We’re not taking them off the shelf and putting them on the truck.
Ryan: That’s true too. A lot of folks think we’ve got fifty different windows in ten different colors and ten different sizes all sitting on a shelf. No sir. Your name is written on the inside of this sash, because it was made just for you.
Ryan: I don’t want to focus on the negative stuff. I want to communicate how important what we’re doing is for our team and the work we’re putting in. Not just making the product, but a lot of those policies we put in place. Granted, a lot of it is to protect the customer. Some of it, I will admit, is there to protect us. Because like we just said, they’re not in stock. It’s not, oh sure, we’ll take that back and throw it on the shelf and sell it to somebody else. No. We’re out the time, we’re out the materials. Our suppliers won’t take the materials back. We can’t take the sash back. A lot of times when you’ve got custom features on specific orders, good luck ever selling that to somebody else.
Ryan: So if the issue arises of trying to return something, that has to go in the dumpster. It literally goes in the dumpster and we’re out. So that customer or two who didn’t like the return policy or the restocking fee, we’re a small family owned business, and that’s an expense. It’s a huge hit that we have to take as a business, as a family. We can’t return our mortgage payment or the electric bill.
Ryan: But that just kind of takes me to why I feel we’re a different kind of company. We’re doing things a lot different. And I want to look at it not just from the homeowner perspective. I want to bring contractors into the mix, and the remodeling industry. Because that’s a big gap we’re trying to bridge.
Ryan: We’re literally 99 percent direct retail to the homeowner, because the homeowner will take the time to educate themselves. They’re more apt to make online purchases. What I’ll say, and not necessarily a bad thing, but when it comes to what we’re trying to do, the remodeling industry is incredibly antiquated.
Ryan: We’re always laughing about flip phones. There are plenty of contractors running their business off a flip phone and a notepad on the dashboard. That’s how they know, that’s how they’re used to doing business. If that’s working for them, great. But in the year 2026, if you can’t use a computer or a smartphone and pull up a website and fill out a form, Skynet’s coming for you.
Jason: Where’s John Connor?
Ryan: Robots are supposed to be about to wipe out humanity, and we’ve got a guy that.
Jason: I can’t believe you threw in Terminator. That’s fantastic.
Ryan: Just in case you’re dating us.
Jason: We’re throwing our age out a little bit.
Ryan: The technology piece is, and I’ve said this before, my sons work for the company. This is their future. We have to be forward looking. When do we get our first robot?
Jason: Gosh. When? Don’t robots make all of our windows?
Ryan: I was trying to think of what somebody said. Like, no, they’re. We make them here in Indiana. By hand.
Jason: Oh yeah, we were shipping them from China or something.
Ryan: We start with a long stick of wood, and we mill that wood, and then we chop it into four pieces, and we build those four pieces and cut special grooves in them.
Jason: All by hand, ladies and gentlemen. Glossed over the small family business in Indiana. It’s part of it, but that’s fine.
Ryan: So back to how we’re a different kind of company doing things different. From the remodeling industry, very antiquated with their use of technology. The average contractor, I believe, is not using the internet to shop for products. They’re not researching.
Ryan: Even back to the last topic, the contractors who say it doesn’t work. They don’t know if it works. Shout out to big box retail, Lowe’s, Home Depot. They go to those stores and pluck things off the shelf. Now, if we had an opportunity to have some kind of customer ordering kiosk in their window and door department where they could access our type of products, that’s where we need to be.
Jason: Their contractor isn’t telling them.
Ryan: The contractor isn’t using the internet for that type of service. So for them to say it doesn’t work. I think the better thing to say is, they don’t know it exists. Because they’re not using the internet for that purpose.
Ryan: So why are we so different? We’re taking a new idea. I know, 25 years in, we’re still calling it a new idea, because until we’re a household name we’re still going to be calling it that. New concept. And we use the word perspective. We’re trying to change the consumer’s perspective on what window repair is versus window replacement.
Ryan: So we’re changing that perspective, but we’re also changing the way you make that purchase. It’s a new idea, it’s a different idea, and we’re even trying to sell it to you differently.
Ryan: Competition. No competition. There’s nobody I can think of or find, or at least Google will tell us there’s no other company out there selling these types of products on the internet directly to the consumer.
Jason: No.
Ryan: The old school way is either you have the salesperson come to your house and they’re beating you down for three hours until you sign the deal, or maybe you’re a builder or a next level up contractor and you’ve got a salesman who comes to you, or you’ve got a window and door company with a showroom. We’ve got a showroom, but that’s just for local customers. Our website is the showroom.
Ryan: It’s a different idea. A different concept. A different way of purchasing windows as a whole. Now you put in repair parts, and identifying parts, and identifying the sashes you need or whatever the case may be. It’s a completely new way of doing things than what people have been used to.
Ryan: So that is a challenge. It’s a challenge we’re still trying to overcome.
Ryan: Can you think of any examples where doing it online was difficult, or they appreciated it?
Jason: If I’m in somebody’s driveway with sashes, they’ve already figured it out. I think some people go back into that initial hesitancy, to not be able to go see it at a store, to not shake a hand with somebody. But I think what you guys have done with the website and the tutorials and the videos and the YouTubes is that a lot of those objections for most people are pretty much wiped out, if they allow themselves to see what we’ve got, to read what we’ve put out there, to look at our customer reviews.
Jason: And even people who think we’re some kind of mega corporation and don’t realize there are six or seven of us full time cranking these out.
Ryan: To that, I’ve got the sash guy in my signature line and all that. From one end of it, they can’t believe they’re talking to the CEO of the company. And to the other end, you realize you’re talking to the CEO of the company. So it goes both ends of the spectrum.
Ryan: But I think that’s maybe not unprecedented, but unheard of anymore. I’m the sales guy. Other than stuff that Ellie fields off directly off the website, if you’re submitting a request for quote, it’s coming from me.
Jason: And I think once people go through the process, if their situation has required some interfacing with you, they are so complimentary. And they’re kind of gobsmacked again. Ryan was great. He owns the company.
Ryan: Yeah, that’s him. Here’s a little card. See that guy in the middle there with the beard? That’s him.
Jason: That’s me over here on the edge. See, this is an extended family company.
Ryan: It’s us. And I think that has been something I’ve been focused on, our marketing team has focused on. How do I be as accessible as possible? Like we talked about, some people just need to know there’s another human being on the other end of the line. I’m like, no, AI is not typing all my emails. Those are coming from me. Ellie’s a real person sitting up at the front desk.
Ryan: We’re real people doing that. But the more visible I can be, I think that translates into some trust. Oh, that’s the guy. I don’t have an actor filming all those videos. They see my personality, they see who I am as a person. Hopefully not just my personality, but my integrity as a business owner comes through in a lot of that.
Ryan: So even if they didn’t talk to me, or they somehow made a purchase I wasn’t involved with, they understand who I am. And when I’m talking on the phone, I’m just kind of, it’s me. The guy in the videos.
Ryan: I don’t want to use her name, but the customer I made a delivery to the last time we went on vacation. Down in Alabama. Folks in Alabama that we stopped at on the way down to Florida. Made the delivery, and the wife comes out and she’s like, you’re the guy. You’re the guy on the videos.
Ryan: And I’m like, yeah, that’s me.
Jason: Did you encourage her to take a selfie with you?
Ryan: No. I’ll even sign it, right? And then we’re exchanging pleasantries and wrapping up, and they’re asking stuff about the product. We’re at my truck, my wife’s with me, and I close the hatch on my truck, and they’re like, the sash guy. You’re the sash guy. Because my license plate is SASH GUY.
Ryan: And just like so many of the interactions you get. You’re the guy, you’re the guy. And you just delivered my window.
Jason: That’s what we do here. That’s what we’re doing different.
Ryan: Just another one of the things. I was tying that into where maybe you hear it. I hear it a lot, the whole delivery thing.
Jason: Oh, your guy? I said white glove. And I said, I left my gloves at home today, but I can put some on if you want me to.
Ryan: Right. So my point is, another thing we’re doing different. What company is doing that? Please, come forward. What manufacturing company is loading their product on their own truck with their own driver and driving and delivering it to your front door. Who else is doing that? I’m going to say no one.
Ryan: It’s one more piece of the puzzle of why we’re doing things different, how we’re doing things different. And some of it we’re doing different on purpose. An unspoken thing people don’t consider is, okay, how is a company our size supposed to reach a broader audience if we’re not using the internet and that technology? If you just came to our showroom and bought our windows, and that was the only way to buy our windows, we would have been out of business a long, long time ago.
Jason: And I think a lot of that old school mentality. I would venture to say a lot of those companies are forgoing the brick and mortar showroom and it’s mostly in-house sales. So even though we don’t offer that particular service, I think everybody’s starting from the same point. You’re probably going to go to that company’s website and research them as a company, read those reviews, whatever your take on those might be.
Ryan: I hate to interrupt you, but could I, as a homeowner in need of windows, go to a big name window manufacturer and buy windows online?
Jason: I don’t believe you can.
Ryan: No. That’s the big difference. And even if you’re investigating the parent company, or the brand, it’s a better way to say it, investigating the brand, they’re still going to hand you off to a local dealer or distributor.
Jason: Come have them sit with you.
Ryan: They’ve got their dealer locator. I get that question a lot. Do you have a local representative, do you have a dealer in my area? And I’m like, we’re online sales only. I have to admit that might be a deterrent or a turnoff for some folks. But it’s the reality of what we are and what we’re trying to accomplish as a company.
Ryan: If I’m being honest, I don’t see that as a model for our company. For as long as I’ve been in the industry, as long as I’ve been a business owner, that just seems like taking a step back to me. We’re such a forward looking company and a forward thinking company. How we embrace technology and put the human component together with it, I think we’re already doing that well.
Jason: Yes.
Ryan: And it stands to grow as our acceptance grows, as our notoriety grows, as we grow as a brand name in the window industry. That’s where my focus is for the future. Not taking a twenty year step back and start renting office space and putting salespeople out there again.
Jason: If cars can drive themselves, then people can order windows.
Ryan: That’s right. So coming full circle again. Why we’re different, how we’re different. I think it’s getting the customer base to trust that process and use the information we have there.
Ryan: A lot of times folks are innocently ignorant to terms or whatever. And I’m like, okay, well, Google would tell you what that is in three milliseconds. I need you to get to some point before I can help you pick it up and run with it. So there’s that. But gosh, from this point to this point, I just think we have so much information out there and we’re doing a really good job.
Jason: Oh yeah. I hear it every delivery. I’ve watched all the videos, I’m so excited to have these. And I know that’s the post purchase, but on the pre-purchase side, yeah, it takes a leap of faith. But I think what we’ve done, what you’ve done showcasing who we are, the technology that exists on our website to make it as easy as possible, all the information. Unless there’s a better mousetrap that comes out at some point, I don’t think we can be better. I don’t think we can do it better or easier.
Ryan: And I want the focus to stay on that level of care and attention. We certainly have aspirations of what we want the company to be, the reputation the company has, what we can achieve as a business. But I want the world to know we never want to lose that level of personal touch or attention. God willing, we’ll have four Jasons or five Jasons going in four different directions. And every one of you will have the same experience and the same level of service.
Jason: Give me three final points. Three final points. What are the three takeaways you want people to know?
Ryan: Don’t take our word for it, but take our word for it. I think we set the stage for here’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. But then we get the examples from the customer that it’s working.
Jason: Positive reinforcement loop.
Ryan: If you follow the process, the information’s there, the tools are there.
Jason: The tools are there to get you through the process. Help us help you.
Ryan: Yes.
Jason: Read the Kwan. Read any word of the Kwan.
Ryan: You follow the process, you change your perspective. And have some faith in the product. Our customers, we see it every day. Our customers are saving time, they’re saving money, they’re saving the hassle of major remodeling. I hope you hear it, I hear it, I hope the reviews show it, that people are making a good choice. And not only are they making a good choice, but they’re happy with their choice. They made that choice.
Jason: Cool.
Ryan: So the takeaway again, just don’t take our word for it. But yeah, take our word for it.
Ryan: We’d like you to subscribe and follow us for future episodes. As we move forward we’re going to be taking a deeper dive into different window techniques and window repair techniques and troubleshooting. And we’re even going to teach you how to become your own DIYer down the road, so you don’t have to hire anybody else. You can install them yourself.
Jason: Word.
Ryan: Thanks.
0 Comments