In home improvement, one of the hardest jobs is earning trust before a salesperson ever walks through the door. Homeowners have many companies to choose from, and every contractor claims to offer great work. The real difference comes when customers already know a company’s name, have heard good things from people they trust, and enter the buying process with confidence. That challenge became a key part of a PowerChat conversation hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, with Voytek Kaniewski of OKNA Windows. Voytek shared that OKNA already knew PJ Fitzpatrick well before the two companies became partners. Its reputation had traveled through the market, and so had stories about the quality of its work.
“We’re hearing a lot of good things about the Fitzpatrick, about the quality,” Voytek said.
He then shared an even stronger sign of that trust. Other dealers in the same market were saying, “I cannot do it because Fitzpatrick is already there.” For Voytek, that was proof that a company name can begin doing important work long before the sales call starts.
That kind of reputation is also part of what made the relationship important to Power100. Through its work with leaders across the home improvement industry, Power100 looks beyond what companies say about themselves and focuses on the standards, relationships, customer care, and results that help strong businesses stand apart.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Greg brought Voytek into the conversation to explore what a respected manufacturer looks for in a strong contractor partner and why quality, trust, and a proven name can deliver real value in the market.
The discussion also gave homeowners and industry leaders a closer look at the thinking behind OKNA replacement windows and doors, where product quality and the quality of the company representing that product must work together to protect the customer experience.
During the PowerChat conversation hosted by Greg Cummings, Voytek Kaniewski gave a clear view of how he judges a strong company. For him, a good reputation is not built by saying the right things. It is built when customers, suppliers, partners, and even competitors start saying those things for you.
Greg Cummings Interview with Voytek Kaniewski of OKNA Windows
That idea shaped the conversation. Voytek had already heard about PJ Fitzpatrick long before the partnership with OKNA began. What stood out was not only that people knew the company. It was what they connected with the name. They talked about quality. They talked about trust. They talked about how hard it was for the company to compete in the same market.
That gave the discussion a much bigger meaning. A strong reputation can help a contractor before a sales call begins. It can also help a manufacturer decide who should carry its products into the home. For OKNA Windows owner Voytek Kaniewski, the lesson is simple. The name on the truck matters because it represents years of work that led up to the next appointment.
Voytek gave one of the strongest signs of reputation in the entire conversation when he talked about what other dealers were saying about PJ Fitzpatrick. These were companies working in the same market and trying to win the same type of customer. Yet Voytek said some felt they were already at a disadvantage because homeowners knew the name PJ Fitzpatrick.
“I cannot do it because Fitzpatrick is already there,” Voytek said.
That line goes far beyond praise. It shows what can happen when trust builds over many years. The company does not need to introduce itself from zero every time the phone rings. Past customers, completed projects, referrals, reviews, and word of mouth have already helped tell part of the story.
For a homeowner, that can make the buying process feel safer. Home improvement is a large investment. Customers want to know who they can trust with their home. If friends, neighbors, or other people in the market already speak well about one company, that trust can begin before the first appointment.
Voytek’s point also gives contractors a useful measure of their own reputation. The question is not only what a company says in an ad. The better question may be what people say when the company is not there to guide the conversation.
A strong name can become part of the sale before the salesperson ever arrives.
A strong name means little if the work behind it cannot support the promise.
That is why Voytek kept bringing the conversation back to quality. When he explained what OKNA had heard about PJ Fitzpatrick, he tied reputation directly to the quality of the company’s work. The two ideas were not separate.
“We’re hearing a lot of good things about the Fitzpatrick, about the quality,” Voytek said.
That same thinking can be seen in how Voytek talks about his own company. Later in the conversation, he made the standard very clear.
“Quality, quality, quality. That’s what is our goal.”
For a manufacturer of energy efficient vinyl replacement windows, that standard has to begin long before a product reaches the home. The materials matter. The way the window is made matters. The way the company checks its work matters. Then the contractor has to carry that same care through the rest of the customer experience.
This is where reputation gets its real value. A homeowner may remember a company name, but what gives that name meaning is the experience tied to it. Was the product good? Was the work done well? Did the team keep its word? Did the company take care of the customer after the sale?
When those answers stay positive over time, the name becomes easier to trust.
For Voytek, quality is not one part of reputation. Quality is one of the main reasons that a reputation can last.
Reputation does more than attract homeowners. It can also attract companies that want to build something together.
PJ Fitzpatrick LLC
When Greg asked Voytek what he thought when PJ Fitzpatrick finally reached out, Voytek’s answer was immediate.
“Finally, finally, we got it.”
OKNA had wanted the relationship before the first serious conversation began. Voytek knew the company had a strong place in the market. He also liked something deeper about how it operated.
“They’re very established,” he said.
Voytek pointed to honesty with customers and suppliers. He also respected that the company did not keep changing partners without reason. That kind of stability mattered because OKNA was not simply looking for another business that could move product.
It was looking for a company it could count on.
That is an important point for any OKNA window manufacturer in Bristol Pennsylvania building relationships with contractors across the market. Once a manufacturer’s product leaves the factory, another company becomes part of how the customer will judge that product. The contractor’s sales process, installation work, communication, and service can all affect the final experience.
That makes partner choice a reputation decision.
Voytek wanted a partner that could add strength to what OKNA had already built. In return, the contractor needed a manufacturer that could support the promises being made to homeowners.
Strong businesses often attract one another because both sides understand what is at risk. They are not only protecting the next sale. They are protecting the names they have spent years building.
The next part of Voytek’s message moves the story from reputation into the home.
OKNA can control how a window is designed and made. It can invest in better equipment. It can improve product performance. But once that window reaches a homeowner, the contractor becomes a major part of what happens next.
Voytek understood that clearly.
He described OKNA as having a “high quality product, very unique product,” but he also said the company needed a partner that could continue that quality through “a great installation.”
That is where the manufacturer and contractor meet.
For homeowners looking for custom replacement windows and patio doors, the final experience is not based on the product alone. The homeowner also sees how the company communicates, how the crew treats the home, how carefully the product is installed, and whether the company responds when something needs attention.
A great window placed into a poor experience can still leave the customer disappointed.
A strong contractor paired with a weak product can face the same problem.
That is why Voytek described the partnership in simple terms.
“So together we are very, very strong in the market.”
The strength comes from both sides doing their part. The manufacturer builds the product. The contractor brings it into the home. The homeowner should feel the quality throughout the full journey.
That is how a product promise becomes a customer experience.
Voytek also gave a clear example of what happens after quality becomes consistent.
He talked about another longtime OKNA customer and said about 85 percent of that company’s business came through referrals.
For Voytek, that number meant something important. It showed what can happen when a contractor delivers a strong experience and has a supplier that helps support that experience.
One happy homeowner tells another.
That new customer enters the process with more trust.
If the next project goes well, another recommendation can follow.
Over time, the company is no longer starting every sale from the same place.
That is why referrals are such a strong sign of reputation. They show that customers are willing to put their own name behind a recommendation.
For homeowners that kind of trust can also shape which local dealer they choose. The product matters, but so does the company that will measure, sell, install, and support it.
This helps explain the larger point Voytek made earlier about PJ Fitzpatrick. A competitor can change a price. It can change an offer. It can spend more money on ads.
What it cannot buy overnight is a long history of customers telling other homeowners that a company did what it promised.
That kind of reputation has to move from one good experience to the next.
A strong reputation can create an advantage, but Voytek made it clear that past success cannot be enough.
OKNA Dealer Summit!
During the conversation, he talked about OKNA continuing to invest in its production equipment. He pointed to major work in the glass department, even though the company already believed it was producing a strong product.
The reason was simple.
Standards change.
Performance needs change.
Customer expectations change.
Voytek does not want the company to wait until a new rule forces it to improve.
“We always want to be ahead,” he said.
He explained that if new performance requirements arrive, OKNA wants its products to already be above the line rather than rushing to catch up.
That way of thinking matters for any company producing high performance replacement windows for homes. A good reputation creates trust, but it also creates pressure to keep earning that trust. Customers expect the next product to be as good as the last one, or better.
Voytek’s answer is to keep investing.
Better equipment.
Better production.
Better performance.
Better quality.
That brings the conversation back to the idea he repeated with the most force.
“Quality, quality, quality.”
Reputation may get there first, but it only stays there when the work that follows continues to deserve it.
Discover more about the products and quality focus of OKNA Windows & Doors and follow more industry conversations through Power100.
When Voytek Kaniewski said, “I cannot do it because Fitzpatrick is already there,” he was describing more than a tough sale. He was describing what happens when a company has earned trust long before the next homeowner starts looking for help. That kind of position cannot be created in one meeting. It grows over time, through the way people are treated, the quality they receive, and the stories they choose to share afterward.
That is what makes reputation so powerful. A company may never hear every good word spoken about it. It may never be known which past customer helped the next customer feel more confident. But those moments still matter. They shape how the market sees the business and how much trust is already present when a new conversation begins.
Voytek’s perspective also points forward for OKNA Windows & Doors. The goal is not to depend on what the company has already earned. It is to keep giving customers and partners new reasons to believe in the name. That means protecting quality, choosing relationships with care, and continuing to improve as expectations rise. As Voytek shared during the PowerChat, staying ahead matters because a strong reputation carries a responsibility to keep living up to it.
For home improvement leaders, that may be the larger lesson from the conversation. Reputation is not what a company tells the market about itself. It is what the market begins to believe after seeing the work again and again. And when that trust becomes strong enough, the company name can enter the home before the salesperson ever does.
No. Power100 national rankings cannot be bought. Its 2026 ranking process draws from more than 7,600 qualified CEOs, with only 100 leaders making the national list. The evaluation looks at real business performance rather than paid placement. This gives homeowners and industry leaders more context when using the Power100 home improvement CEO rankings to learn about companies and their leadership teams.
Power100 uses a five-layer evaluation system that looks beyond company size and sales. It’s published process reviews leadership quality, company culture, customer experience, operational excellence, and long-term financial and brand health. It also uses public data, customer reviews, internal performance data, and community impact to inform that process. This means a large company does not automatically earn a high position simply because it makes more money.
OKNA is a manufacturer of high-quality vinyl windows and patio doors. The company began in Pennsylvania and has grown through a network of certified dealers that serve homeowners across multiple states. Homeowners generally buy OKNA products through these dealers rather than hiring the manufacturer as a local installation contractor. This distinction helps customers understand the role of OKNA Windows & Doors manufacturer when comparing window brands and installers.
OKNA directs homeowners to certified dealers and qualified local installation specialists. A homeowner can provide their contact information and ZIP code through the company website, and OKNA can help connect them with a company in their area that sells and installs its products. So a search for an OKNA window dealer near me should lead the customer toward the local dealer network rather than the factory itself.
OKNA offers window styles that can be made to custom sizes. Its own guidance says custom products can help match the look and energy needs of a home while fitting the opening more closely. The company manufactures vinyl windows and patio doors that can also be customized in several ways. This makes custom replacement windows and patio doors an important option for homeowners whose project needs more than a standard size product.
OKNA states that its products are tested at independent testing facilities and meet or exceed ENERGY STAR, AAMA, and NFRC certification standards. The company also directs homeowners to the NFRC label, which shows measures such as U Value, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, and Visible Light Transmittance. These numbers give homeowners a way to compare energy efficient vinyl replacement windows using measured performance instead of relying only on sales claims.
OKNA lists double hung windows, slider windows, casement windows, bay and bow windows, patio doors, and ENERGY STAR window options among its products. Several product lines are available for replacement applications, giving homeowners different choices based on the style and needs of the home. This range is part of what customers can explore when comparing OKNA replacement windows and doors with other window manufacturers.
OKNA provides a Care and Support section for homeowners and invites customers to contact the company when they need help or want to share feedback. The company also states that its windows and doors are backed by a Transferable Lifetime Limited Warranty. Homeowners should still review the exact warranty terms for the product they are purchasing, but the warranty and support system give customers a place to turn after the installation is complete. That supports the larger point Voytek Kaniewski made in the PowerChat: a trusted name must continue earning that trust after the sale.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by CEO Greg Cummings, Power100 gives contractors, CEOs, partners, and homeowners a trusted place to discover the people and companies helping move the industry forward. Through its national evaluation process, PowerChat conversations, leadership recognition, and industry resources, Power100 works to give great leaders the visibility they deserve while helping the home improvement community learn from the standards, ideas, and relationships behind strong companies.
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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.
