Making Houses into Homes

About a year and a half ago, Terry Taylor Sr. and his wife Lori needed to have some windows replaced in their 20-year-old home. 

“We met with the Windows, Doors & More team in their beautiful showroom and we were really impressed. Not only are the windows and doors they showed us made in the U.S., but they are made right here in Allen County and come with lifetime warranties,” says Taylor. “Their workmanship was phenomenal and when they were done, we couldn’t even tell they were here because they cleaned up so well.”

The experience was so good, in fact, that when Lori was ready to remodel their kitchen, they returned to Windows, Doors & More. Taylor says the designer took the time to understand what they wanted, visited their home to determine what exactly could be done, and then outlined the project and set things in motion.

“A wall needed to be removed and outlets needed to be relocated. They gave us a game plan — explaining they wanted to wait until all the material came in and then it would be a two-week install project. We had a delay, but Kevin got involved and made it right,” Taylor says, referring to Windows, Doors & More Owner Kevin Hunter. “It’s a family of Fort Wayne people. They love their community, they want to take care of their customers, they want to do it right and make people happy. We were just thrilled with them.”

“Customer service is in our DNA,” says Hunter. “One thing that will really mess my day up is if we have customers who are upset. It has a real ill effect on me personally. It’s part of who I am. I want to do everything I can to get it right and our team responds that way, too.”

Originally known as Old Town Windows & Doors, the company rebranded as Windows, Doors & More in 1997. Now celebrating 40 years in business, Hunter has been around for 34 of them and has helped spearhead tremendous growth. 

“In our 40^th year, we will cross over 40,000 homes. When we were smaller, we were doing maybe 150 projects a year. Now we’re near upwards of 3,000 homes a year that we’re working on,” Hunter says proudly.

One thing that sets the home improvement company apart is its massive showroom on Washington Center Road. It boasts five distinct façades with different vignettes featuring not just windows and doors, but kitchens and baths as well as flooring and tile. Then there’s the exterior work: they can replace siding and roofs as well as build new additions to homes. 

“We’re doing pretty much everything on the home except building new homes. Our sweet spot is remodeling,” Hunter stresses. 

The showroom has become a destination not just for those in the market for home improvement projects, but for similar companies that want to emulate Windows, Doors & More. Hunter says in 2018, the company was honored to be named the Best Showroom in the Nation by Window + Door magazine. With more than 150 employees including an architect, designers, exterior representatives and more, he credits the entire team with creating unrivaled experiences for customers, no matter how big or small the project.

“We have all these people with certain areas of expertise,” he stresses. “If you want a kitchen or bathroom, talking with someone who has been to design school, and knows everything about kitchens and baths is important to help you get that space right. If you want windows and doors, you want to work with a window or door person. We get you the right professional to help make this process as excellent as possible. It’s our job to say, ‘This is what you can do with the space.’”

Hunter says those employees have become like family and he’s proud of what they’re able to accomplish each day. He’s especially proud to have so many women on the team. 

“I had female project managers 15 years ago when that wasn’t the norm. We are female-dominant here in the office and in management, and that seems to be pretty rare for a home improvement company,” Hunter says. “I have female painters and tradespeople. We’re working with so many women clients and love that they get to work with the women here in our office.” 

In recent years two of Hunter’s sons, Trevor and Chad, have joined the business, ensuring a legacy built on reliability, top quality materials, stellar service and attention to detail. About 67% of Windows, Doors & More customers are repeat or referrals. Toni Murray is one of those who has come back several times.

“I wanted a maintenance-free house. That started with me having them completely do the outside of my home and redo the cement work in front,” she recalls. “They redid the kitchen and then I had them do the rest of the house, including adding a four-season room and a patio. I had the garage redone and then decided I wanted the attic completely floored. I also got a gazebo for the yard.”

Like Terry Taylor Sr., Murray says from beginning to end the entire process was simple. 

“The quality is amazing. All the people I’ve worked with have been wonderful,” Murray adds. 

That’s exactly what Hunter and his team strive for.

“Our business is built on relationships. We make sure to connect with people. People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care. That’s probably my biggest concern in the future as we continue to grow — making sure that we are caring for our customers,” concludes Hunter. “If we continue to do that, we should be smooth sailing for the next 40 years.” 

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