Mr. Rogers Windows: Doing the Right Thing, No Matter What

Mr. Rogers shakes hands with Jim Powell, his first customer, 20 years after Mr. Powell gave a young man with a lot of heart a chance to do things right.

When Gerry Rogers began installing windows in 1986, he wasn't planning on acquiring the company. But a twist of fate made that option unexpectedly available. With the blind ambition and youthful enthusiasm of a young naive entrepreneur, he made one of the riskiest moves in his life. At 24 years old, Rogers admits he didn't have the conventional wisdom to see the impact of this challenge with zero credit to his name.

Even so, the replacement window business grabbed him hook, line, and sinker. You see, Gerry had proven his character to Jim Powell, the very first customer who took a chance that he would live up to his promise of doing whatever it took to satisfy him.

"I just told him the truth," said Rogers. "I told him it may take a while...but Jim's heart went out to us, and he gave me the chance to make it right. That's the feeling I want with every customer."

The day he made that promise to Jim Powell, he realized how it felt to be able to do what he said he was going to do. He no longer had to depend on someone else in the company. He grew more determined than ever to help homeowners with their window purchases and achieve success.

A Commitment to Family, Customers, and Success

The next few years wouldn't be easy, but Gerry devoted every waking minute to overcoming the business challenges he acquired. He took two moonlighting jobs (delivering newspapers in the morning and pizzas at night) and enlisted the strength and support of his family. His brothers and sisters actually came to work for him, pounding the pavement and calling prospects on the telephone.

He survived the economic recession in the late 1980s and early 90s, the savings and loan crisis, the credit crunch, and the Persian Gulf War...Gerry Rogers with his newly acquired fledgling window replacement business, almost crippled with the debt he had acquired, was up against some tough odds getting started.

Finally his perseverance began to pay off. Customers noticed Gerry's unquestionable commitment to their satisfaction, and Gerry understood how important it was for customers to believe his commitment. After all, he had witnessed first-hand the dubious practices of some other window companies.

His next realization was that people wanted a tangible, shopping experience — a place they could go within the community to see actual, life-size windows, in addition to the shop-at-home option. So he opened a small showroom, set up operations, and continued to work hard to ensure complete and unconditional customer satisfaction.

Your Neighborhood Window Man

By 1995 Gerry formalized his Lifetime Performance Guarantee, changed the company's name to Mr. Rogers Windows, and became your neighborhood window replacement guy. He continued providing what any friend, neighbor or family member would — his sincere help and a commitment to do the right thing.

You know how sometimes it feels like everything just falls into place? Well, the business model clicked, and Gerry had his formula for success. Over the next several years, Mr. Rogers Windows achieved double-digit growth and the company expanded into the space next door where Gerry continued to deliver his vision, making sure people were satisfied and guaranteeing his windows for life.

True to an entrepreneurial spirit, Rogers acted on the feeling that it was time to invest in property on which he could develop his own building from the ground up. As luck — and hard work — would have it, Gerry struck a favorable real estate deal, hired an architect and was poised to truly plant his roots in the community with enough space to manage his fleet of installation vehicles and handle inventory instead of using public storage. The business and its reputation were thriving, Mr. Rogers Windows had achieved success, and in May of 2000 the new facility opened.

A Recipe for Success

Shortly after the new showroom opened, Gerry grew a little uncomfortable with this arrangement. Your neighborhood window guy realized his installation vehicles were taking over the street corner. Managing inventory and operating a showroom and sales business from a neighborhood center wasn't very neighborly after all (especially to the residents of the apartment complex behind the store).

And there was more. He was ready to realize another part of his vision. He had now spent 15 years honing a series of predictable, trainable, repeatable processes for success in every area of his business — from sales and administration to installation to service — Gerry was ready to share the information. He needed a venue to promote a more reliable, ethical home improvement industry as well as to train his employees and associates for future expansion.

With these objectives in mind, it seemed natural to challenge himself again, and Gerry purchased another building to accomplish the dual purpose of a warehouse and fleet management locations as well as his training center: Mr. Rogers University.

In 2006, Gerry successfully expanded Mr. Rogers Windows into North Carolina, bringing highly-trained salespeople and installers, his Lifetime Performance Guarantee, and Renewal by Andersen FIBREX windows to the Charlotte metro area.

Even with expansion, you won't find that Gerry has lost any passion for his desire to do the right thing. When his first customer, Jim Powell, called with a window problem Gerry was there and took care of the problem for free.

"We built a team of good people, we carry the right products, and I still get that feeling in my heart every chance I get to do the right thing," says Rogers.

North Carolina:
Northlake Village: 7010 Smith Corners Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28269 • 704-319-5400  |  Arboretum: 8020 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28277 • 704-909-2400

Virginia:
Chesapeake: 1019 Eden Way North, Chesapeake, VA 23320 • 757-436-2200  |  Yorktown: 209 Village Avenue, Yorktown, VA 23693 • 757-833-2200