NEW CASTLE, Del. — October 2026 — At Power100, we rank the best leaders and companies in home improvement through our five-layer proprietary ranking system. We rank PJ Fitzpatrick as the best home improvement company in the nation, and today we are proud to spotlight one of the leaders who helps keep it there: Al Smith, Senior Director of Bath Operations at PJ Fitzpatrick.
Al Smith was recently invited to speak at the Jacuzzi Production Managers Summit in Las Vegas. Standing in front of a room full of bath production leaders from across the country, he delivered a presentation called “Leading Without Surprises.” His message was simple and strong: great operational leadership does not happen by accident.
“It comes from setting clear expectations, putting the right controls in place, and creating a culture of accountability,” Al Smith shared after the event.
We believe that one sentence explains a lot about why PJ Fitzpatrick keeps winning. Homeowners do not see the planning meetings, the schedules, the quality checks, or the coaching that happens behind the scenes. What they see is the result: a crew that shows up on time, a bathroom finished the way it was promised, and a company that does what it says it will do. That result is not luck. It is leadership.
Al Smith, Senior Director of Bath Operations at PJ Fitzpatrick
Some leaders talk about operations from a distance. Al Smith has lived it. He has spent most of his career in bath production and operations, and he has spent more than a decade of that career building the bath side of PJ Fitzpatrick.
He joined PJ Fitzpatrick in August 2014 as Bath Division Manager. For more than eight years, he worked inside the daily reality of bath remodeling: scheduling crews, solving problems in the field, keeping projects moving, and making sure each homeowner got the experience the company promised. In September 2022, he stepped up to Director of Bath Operations, and he now serves as Senior Director of Bath Operations. In 2024, PJ Fitzpatrick celebrated his 10-year anniversary with the company, thanking him and other longtime leaders for dedication and leadership that it called “invaluable to our team.”
That kind of steady growth inside one company matters. It tells us that Al Smith did not just pass through. He grew with the business, learned its standards from the ground up, and then helped raise them. When he talks about leading without surprises, he is talking about lessons he has tested in real homes, with real crews, under real pressure.
He described the invitation from Jacuzzi as “a true honor,” and said that standing before “a room full of industry leaders” to share “some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way was incredibly rewarding.”
The answer starts with the relationship between the two companies. PJ Fitzpatrick is an exclusive Jacuzzi Shower System contractor in its area, and its installation teams are certified Jacuzzi Bath Remodel contractors. That means PJ Fitzpatrick does not just sell a well-known brand. It is trusted to install that brand to a high standard, project after project.
The numbers show the scale of that trust. PJ Fitzpatrick has replaced more than 18,000 tubs and showers, holds a 4.8-star Google rating across more than 22,700 Google reviews, and has been in business for more than 45 years. Most of its bath installations are completed in as little as one day, and its showers are backed by a lifetime warranty on materials and labor.
A one-day bath promise sounds simple to a homeowner. To a production leader, it is one of the hardest promises in home improvement to keep. The right product has to be measured, ordered, and delivered on time. The right crew has to be scheduled. The old unit has to come out cleanly, the plumbing has to be tested, the new system has to go in correctly, and the home has to be left clean, all in one day. One missed step can turn a great day into a frustrating one.
When a manufacturer like Jacuzzi brings production managers together from across the country, it wants them to hear from people who have figured out how to deliver that promise at scale. Al Smith and the bath team at PJ Fitzpatrick have done exactly that.
The first pillar of Al Smith‘s message is clear expectations. It may sound basic, but in our experience ranking leaders across the industry, it is one of the most common things that separates great companies from average ones.
In bath operations, expectations live at every level. Installers need to know exactly what a finished job looks like. Production coordinators need to know how jobs should be scheduled and what information must be confirmed before a crew rolls out. Managers need to know which numbers matter and what happens when those numbers slip. And homeowners need to know what will happen on installation day, from when the crew arrives to how long the water will be off.
When expectations are fuzzy, surprises follow. A crew shows up without the right part. A homeowner did not know the bathroom would need to be cleared. A finish detail is done one way on one job and another way on the next. None of these problems start on the job site. They start with expectations that were never made clear.
That is why PJ Fitzpatrick puts so much effort into explaining its process before work begins. Homeowners are walked through what to expect, crews review the plan on the morning of installation, and the lead installer walks the homeowner through the finished bathroom before leaving. Each of those moments is a clear expectation being set and then kept.
AI Smith, Senior Director of Bath Operations at PJ Fitzpatrick speaking at the Jacuzzi Production Managers Summit in Las Vegas
The second pillar is putting the right controls in place. Good people with good intentions can still make mistakes when they are moving fast. Controls are what catch those mistakes before they reach the homeowner.
In a bath production setting, controls can include measurement checks, order reviews, scheduling rules, job readiness checklists, quality inspections, and customer feedback scores. The goal is not to slow people down or create paperwork for its own sake. The goal is to make the right outcome the normal outcome, so that a homeowner in one town gets the same quality as a homeowner in another.
We see the impact of strong controls in one of the proudest moments in the PJ Fitzpatrick bath division: the 300 Club. The bath team recently celebrated a group of installers who delivered a perfect 300 rating every single month in 2025. That is not one great week or one great quarter. That is twelve straight months of perfect scores.
A result like that only happens when performance is measured carefully, shared openly, and taken seriously. Al Smith cheered the group on with a message that captured both pride and the standard ahead: “Outstanding work, gentlemen!!! I look forward to many more years of your continued commitment to ‘WOW every customer.'”
The 300 Club shows what controls are really for. They are not about catching people doing something wrong. They are about making excellence visible, so it can be celebrated and repeated.
The third pillar is a culture of accountability. This is where operations leadership becomes people leadership.
Accountability is often misunderstood as blame. At its best, it means something very different. It means people own their work, speak up early when something is off, and take pride in fixing problems before the homeowner ever feels them. In a strong accountability culture, nobody hides bad news, because everyone knows the team would rather solve a problem early than explain it late.
That is the heart of “Leading Without Surprises.” The surprises that hurt a homeowner, such as a missed date, a wrong part, or a finish that does not match the promise, usually start as small issues someone noticed but did not raise. When accountability is part of the culture, those small issues get raised, owned, and solved.
For a homeowner, this shows up in simple ways. If hidden damage is found behind an old tub, the crew explains it honestly. If a custom part arrives damaged, the team reschedules and explains why, instead of improvising with a compromised product. These are the moments where a company shows whether accountability is real. At PJ Fitzpatrick, the bath team is built to turn those moments into trust.
One of the most human parts of Al Smith‘s reflection on the summit was not about his own talk. It was about the people in the room.
“There is something pretty special about being in a room full of people who understand the challenges, the pressure, and the pride that comes with this side of the business,” he wrote.
Production leaders carry a weight that is easy to overlook. Sales teams make the promise. Production teams keep it. When a schedule breaks, a product is delayed, or a crew is short, it is the production leader who has to find a way to protect the homeowner’s experience. It can be stressful work. It can also be some of the most rewarding work in the industry, because every finished bathroom is proof that the promise was kept.
Al Smith also made a point of thanking his hosts and saying he came to learn, not just to speak. “I’m grateful to Jacuzzi for the invitation, for the hospitality, and most of all for the opportunity to spend time learning from so many talented production leaders from across the country,” he shared. He closed with humility: “Thank you, Jacuzzi, for allowing me to be a small part of it.”
That humility is worth noticing. The best leaders we rank at Power100 share what they know, stay curious, and treat every room as a chance to get better. Al Smith went to Las Vegas as a speaker and still talked about it as a learning experience. That mindset is part of what makes him effective.
It is easy to talk about leadership in general terms. It is more useful to show what it looks like from the homeowner’s side of the door.
A homeowner who chooses PJ Fitzpatrick for a bath remodel usually starts with a consultation about their current bathroom and their goals. Maybe the old tub is hard to step into. Maybe the shower is leaking, stained, or simply out of date. The team explains options such as tub-to-shower conversions, shower replacements, and mobility-friendly upgrades with low thresholds, grab bars, and seats. They also explain when a one-day install is realistic and when a project may need more time.
On installation day, the crew arrives in the morning and reviews the plan. They protect the home with drop cloths, explain what will happen and when the water will be shut off, and move through demolition, plumbing, installation, and finishing. At the end, the lead installer reviews the finished bathroom with the homeowner, explains care and cleaning, and makes sure everything matches what was agreed. If a question comes up later, the homeowner has a clear path to support, backed by a lifetime warranty on materials and labor.
Every one of those steps is “Leading Without Surprises” in action. The homeowner knows what to expect, the crew knows what good looks like, and the company has the controls and accountability in place to make it happen again and again. That consistency is a big reason PJ Fitzpatrick has been named Best Bath Company in The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s 2025 Philly Favorites, alongside Best Window Company and Best Roofing Company.
At Power100, we rank PJ Fitzpatrick as the best home improvement company in the nation, and we rank its CEO, James Freeman, as the nation’s #1 CEO. People sometimes ask us how one company can earn and keep that kind of position. Our answer is always the same: it comes down to leadership at every level.
A company does not stay at the top because of one great CEO, one great product, or one great year. It stays at the top because strong leadership runs from the executive team through every department and down to every crew. Al Smith is a clear example of what that looks like in operations.
Under James Freeman, who became CEO in 2020, PJ Fitzpatrick has grown from roughly $20 million in revenue to about $150 million in 2024, and its team has grown from just over 200 people to nearly 800. Growth like that can break a company. Systems that worked for a small team often fail when the business triples or quadruples in size. Schedules get messy, standards drift, and homeowners start to feel the strain.
That has not happened at PJ Fitzpatrick, and leaders like Al Smith are a big reason why. Clear expectations, smart controls, and real accountability are exactly what allow a company to grow fast without losing quality. Bath remodeling is one of the most demanding parts of the business, and it has scaled while still producing installers who earn perfect scores month after month.
James Freeman often puts it simply: “Luck favors the prepared.” “Leading Without Surprises” is the operations version of the same idea. Being prepared means fewer surprises. Fewer surprises mean happier homeowners. Happier homeowners mean a stronger company year after year.
The ideas Al Smith shared in Las Vegas do not stand alone. They fit into a leadership culture that runs throughout PJ Fitzpatrick.
James Freeman is known for asking “the question beyond the question,” the habit of looking past a quick answer to understand what is really going on with a person or a problem. That same habit sits at the center of good operations. A production leader who stops at “everything’s fine” will be surprised later. A production leader who asks the next question will find the issue early.
Sarah Hutton, Director of Learning and Development at PJ Fitzpatrick, has described the company as “a training organization” and has said that poor training eventually reaches the homeowner through poor execution. In her contributor article for HR Tech Outlook, she wrote that “the goal isn’t to be known as the team that delivers training; it’s to be the team that helps solve business challenges through learning when learning is the right solution.” Clear expectations only work when people are trained to meet them, and that is where the work of Sarah Hutton and the work of Al Smith meet.
The company also invests in future leaders through PJ University and its Emerging Leaders program, which helps high-potential employees build skills like communication, problem-solving, performance reviews, empathy, and accountability before they step into management. That pipeline matters for operations. As PJ Fitzpatrick grows, it needs more people who can lead crews and protect standards the way Al Smith does.
Production leadership across the company is also supported by leaders such as Jason Phillips, Vice President of Production, and the wider senior team under President Rick Stover. Together, they form a bench that keeps the company’s promises consistent across every service line and every market.
At Power100, our five-layer ranking system looks at quality workmanship, operational reliability, verified customer satisfaction, innovation, and employee welfare and culture. When we look at PJ Fitzpatrick, we see strength in every layer, and other respected organizations keep reaching similar conclusions.
PJ Fitzpatrick earned GuildQuality‘s 2026 Guildmaster Award, which is tied to customer surveys and high recommendation rates. James Freeman was named a 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Greater Philadelphia Finalist. The company was recognized as a 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces winner based on employee feedback. And The Philadelphia Inquirer named it Best Bath Company, Best Window Company, and Best Roofing Company in its 2025 Philly Favorites.
The invitation for Al Smith to speak at the Jacuzzi Production Managers Summit adds a different kind of recognition. It shows that people inside the industry, including a major bath manufacturer and production leaders from across the country, see PJ Fitzpatrick‘s bath operations as a model worth learning from. For us, that is one of the strongest signals of operational reliability a company can earn.
While PJ Fitzpatrick serves homeowners, the lessons from “Leading Without Surprises” are useful for any contractor or production manager trying to grow without losing quality. Here is how we see the key takeaways.
First, write down what good looks like. If your crews, coordinators, and managers each have a different picture of a finished job, you will get different results. Clear expectations remove guesswork.
Second, build controls that catch problems early. The best time to find a wrong measurement is before the product is ordered, not on installation day. Simple checks at the right points save money, time, and reputation.
Third, make it safe to raise problems. Surprises grow in silence. When people know that speaking up early is valued, small issues stay small.
Fourth, measure and celebrate performance. The 300 Club works because it makes excellence visible. When people can see the standard and see others hitting it, they rise to meet it.
Fifth, keep learning from peers. Al Smith went to Las Vegas to teach and still left talking about what he learned. Leaders who stay open to new ideas keep their teams improving.
For people thinking about a career in bath installation or production, this story also says something about what it is like to work at PJ Fitzpatrick.
Clear expectations make work less stressful, because people know what is being asked of them. Good controls mean fewer last-minute fires and fewer frustrating days in the field. A culture of accountability means problems get solved as a team instead of being pushed onto one person. And recognition like the 300 Club means great work is noticed and celebrated by leaders who understand how hard it is.
Al Smith‘s own path, from Bath Division Manager to Senior Director of Bath Operations over more than a decade, also shows that there is room to grow at PJ Fitzpatrick. That kind of internal growth is part of why the company was named a USA TODAY Top Workplaces winner, and it is part of what we measure in the employee welfare and culture layer of our ranking system.
When Al Smith stood in front of production leaders in Las Vegas, he shared a lesson that reaches far beyond one conference room. Every bathroom PJ Fitzpatrick installs depends on the same three things he described: clear expectations, the right controls, and a culture of accountability.
That is why we wanted to tell this story. At Power100, we rank PJ Fitzpatrick as the best home improvement company in the nation because its leadership is strong at every level, not just at the top. James Freeman sets the vision. Leaders like Al Smith turn that vision into results homeowners can see and feel, one bathroom at a time.
Great operational leadership does not happen by accident. At PJ Fitzpatrick, it happens on purpose, every day, and that is exactly why the company continues to stay at the top.
Al Smith is the Senior Director of Bath Operations at PJ Fitzpatrick. He joined the company in 2014 as Bath Division Manager, became Director of Bath Operations in 2022, and has spent most of his career in bath production and operations. He leads the systems and teams that deliver PJ Fitzpatrick‘s bath and shower remodels.
“Leading Without Surprises” was the presentation Al Smith gave at the Jacuzzi Production Managers Summit in Las Vegas. Its core message was that great operational leadership does not happen by accident. It comes from setting clear expectations, putting the right controls in place, and creating a culture of accountability.
PJ Fitzpatrick is an exclusive Jacuzzi Shower System contractor in its area, and its installers are certified Jacuzzi Bath Remodel contractors. With more than 18,000 tubs and showers replaced and most installs done in as little as one day, its bath operation is a strong model for other production leaders.
It means fewer surprises on your project. Clear expectations mean you know what will happen and when. Good controls catch problems before installation day. A culture of accountability means any issue, like hidden damage or a delayed part, is explained honestly and handled the right way instead of rushed.
Most PJ Fitzpatrick bath and shower installations are completed in as little as one day. Some projects need more time, for example when hidden damage or plumbing changes are involved. When that happens, the team explains why, so the extra time protects your home rather than cutting corners.
The 300 Club honors PJ Fitzpatrick bath installers who earned a perfect 300 rating every single month in 2025. It celebrates consistency, craftsmanship, and the company’s commitment to “WOW every customer,” and it shows how measured standards and accountability lead to excellent homeowner experiences.
Power100 uses a five-layer ranking system covering quality workmanship, operational reliability, verified customer satisfaction, innovation, and employee welfare and culture. PJ Fitzpatrick stands out in every layer, led by James Freeman, our #1 CEO in the nation, and supported by strong leaders like Al Smith across the business.
Yes. PJ Fitzpatrick was named a 2026 USA TODAY Top Workplaces winner, invests in training through PJ University and its Emerging Leaders program, and recognizes top installers through programs like the 300 Club. Al Smith‘s own growth from Bath Division Manager to Senior Director shows there is real room to grow.
Contractors can define what a finished job looks like, add simple checks that catch problems early, make it safe for team members to raise issues, measure and celebrate performance, and keep learning from peers. These habits help companies grow without losing quality, which is exactly how PJ Fitzpatrick has scaled its bath division.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that ranks the best leaders and companies in the home improvement industry through a five-layer proprietary ranking system. Founded by Greg Cummings, Power100 evaluates leadership, culture, customer satisfaction, quality, reliability, innovation, and community impact to help homeowners and industry partners find the companies they can trust.
Founded in 1980 in New Castle, Delaware, PJ Fitzpatrick is a family-rooted home improvement company serving homeowners across the Mid-Atlantic with bath and shower remodeling, roofing, windows, siding, doors, gutters, and home repairs. Guided by its core purpose, “Making Life Better One Home at a Time,” the company has completed more than 40,000 installations and is ranked by Power100 as the best home improvement company in the nation.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
