Meet Angel Carrillo of 3 Queens Glass & Windows

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Carrillo.

Angel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
3 Queens Glass & Windows is a family owned company in Dallas Texas operated by my loving wife and myself. the 3 queens in my life are my wife and two daughters. It all started when a man gave me an opportunity to be a window installers helper, after four months of working there I got a phone call from the owner. He called to say he was impressed by my workmanship and how quickly I picked up the trade. He offered me a position as lead installer with a company truck. I took it. after a couple years of being overworked, missing time with my family, and struggling to make ends meet. I took a job in commercial construction industry thinking it would open more doors for me because I am bilingual and a fast learner. After a year of working there I received a .50 cent raise which was not what I was expecting. I remember telling my superintendent that I was putting in my two weeks’ notice and taking the day off. He was confused as to why. I explained to him that I always went the extra mile for him and felt like I deserved bigger raise. He then told me to take a week’s vacation and think about my decision and when I returned he would talk to me about getting a bigger raise. I took that week to clear my mind and the strangest thing happened… I got a call from my previous employer and was offered a higher pay and more company perks. Soon, my paid week was up and I received the phone call from my superintendent asking if I was coming back to work. I told him no, I had received a better job offer. He hung up on me. Overwhelmed and confused with myself, I began to wonder why I felt I wanted to leave my previous employer in the first place and How long until things go back to early mornings and late nights away from home? I didn’t know what was going to happen or when, all I knew was that I wanted more time with my Queens. I thought to myself, I have the labor experience and self-motivation. why can’t I do this for myself? I thought up a million scary reasons why I shouldn’t start a business. I remembered as a child I always wanted to own something, leave a legacy of some kind for my kids and grandkids. While debating on my employment situation we received a phone call from a woman my wife grew up with. She was living in Florida and had started a business and needed help in the office. She asked if my wife would be willing to come to Florida and work for her and learn along the way. My wife and I spoke about the thought of being so far away from each other and would this even be worth it? Tired of struggling and not making ends meet we decided to take this opportunity offered and start our own company by investing our recent tax return into Tools, Business Cards, And decals for the truck. I drove My wife and youngest daughter Ariel to Florida to learn all she could about the operations of a business and came back with my oldest daughter Aubree and got busy passing out cards and flyers basically just trying to get my name out there. While helping a friend one weekend after the tornado in Rowlett in 2015 his neighbor asked if I could replace Window frames as well. I told him yes and that I would be by in a few minutes to speak with him about window installations. We discussed a price on 11 Window installations and I soon came back to do the work with my Step Father and uncle in tow. The Client was so impressed with the work we did that he referred 3 Queens to several more clients. With all the hail storms in North Texas, my phone was soon ringing constantly with contractors who had heard about 3 Queens and needed glass work and various Window related work done. After a few months of running this business by myself I called my wife and asked her to come back home and help with the office work. She came back and started a system in the office that paved the way for more business to flow in electronically as well as by word of mouth. We are here today by sheer motivation and dedication. To put it plainly we love what we do and we are doing it for our family. Hard work and persistence truly do pay off. I want my girls to believe that they can do anything they put their minds to as long as they work hard and never give up.

Has it been a smooth road?
The Beginning was hard simply because we didn’t have much to work with. We lived in an apartment and we paid for a garage to run our screen production out of. We had truck troubles due to all the weight carried to and from jobs more than 50 miles from our home. As business was moving too quick I couldn’t keep up with the workload. I went through numerous employees, broken glass, windows ordered wrong and many other obstacles along the way. I would start my mornings at 6am to get Aubree and myself ready and drop her off at school and go to work until 7-8pm. At night I would type up all my estimates and invoices and build my window screens until 2am sometimes. many days with no lunch and eating dinner at 10-11pm. under bidding jobs and

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 3 Queens Glass & Windows story. Tell us more about the business.
3 Queens Glass & Windows specializes in residential and commercial Glass, Windows and Doors. We offer a variety of services including installations, replacements, and repairs. We have a reputation for cleanliness, outstanding workmanship, and competitive pricing. We are most proud of our reputation through five-star reviews and customer referrals. we strive to give 100% at every job and it makes us proud to see the outcome of that dedication. 3 queens is set apart from other companies because we offer 24/7 emergency and board up service.

We have a wider variety of services offered than other companies in the glass trade and with a faster turnaround time.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I see the glass industry going greener as far as using Low E glass and using solar screens.