Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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By Tariq Kamal DE A LERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Joe McCloskey's focus on customer service extends through sales, F&I; and the service department. Te customer comes frst at McCloskey Imcu u po t ports, Truck Town and Truck Repair, the th three-r three-roofop operation owned by veteran au dealer "Big" Joe McCloskey. Te group auto d is based is base in Colorado Springs, Colo., and McC Closke relies on a customer base that is largeCloskey ly dominated by military members, defense ly dom contractors and their families. "If you get a bad reputation with the military, you get found out in a hurry, and you get your business in trouble," McCloskey says. "Te military leaders in our community are very conscious of how their soldiers and soldiers' families are being treated. And what they want is to be treated like every other customer." Tanks in part to a longstanding partnership with SouthWest Dealer Services in Irvine, Calif., the vast majority of McCloskey's customers are protected by an in-house certifed pre-owned (CPO) program to protect them afer they drive of the lot. All vehicles that are 10 years old or newer and have 130,000 miles or less are qualifed for the program, which protects consumers from mechanical breakdowns 18 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS tually add a Suzuki franchise and an Isuzu franchise, both of which disappeared when the OEMs lef the market. No harm done, says McCloskey, who credits his relatively brief experience as a franchised dealer with expanding his used-car business. "We got a franchise to sign up more lenders," he says. "We were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in our state with each franchise and were nationally ranked as well. … Now, we have lenders who have been stakeholders and partners. Some have been with us for two decades." McCloskey has been fascinated by cars since the age of 8. Tat's when he took his frst job in the automotive industry, pumping gas and sweeping up at a flling station. By the time he was in high school, he was selling cars. In 1989, afer putting in several years with both of the major dealerships in town, he was starting to feel discouraged. He enjoyed the work, but he wanted to do it his way. He told his wife, Ann, who encouraged him to start his own business. Te couple started small, opening an unnamed, alley-facing garage that was lit by a single light bulb and had no phone. McCloskey bought used cars and ran ads featuring the number to his voice pager. He returned calls from a payphone at the shopping center across the street. "I used to carry around a roll of quarters," he says. "I would get cars, get appointments and get customers in. Ann would detail the cars and I would sell them." Before long, the McCloskeys opened their frst used-car lot, on the site where Truck Town currently sits. Te other roofops followed, and sales grew. Tey would even- ROLE REVERSAL As front-end profts on new-vehicle sales have continued to shrink, many franchised dealers have had to rededicate themselves to selling used cars and trucks, ofen to credit-challenged customers. Tom McCloskey grew up in the business as one of Ann and Joe's fve children, and is now the group's fnance director. He says McCloskey's managers and staf faced a role reversal when the franchises were added. "It's harder to sell new cars. It took away the independent aspect of being able to put up signs on a Saturday do what we wanted to do with our advertising," he says. "But we had a leg up over everybody else. A lot of new-car dealers would send a 600 credit score away because they didn't know what to do with them." Seventy percent of McCloskey's sales are to subprime or nearprime customers. Te group's sales and fnance stafs are trained to discuss fnancing with each customer and make sure their paperwork is in order. If the customer is missing proof of income or residence, for example, the sales consultant will for 60 days and includes a three-day or 500mile return policy. Many additional protection products are available, but McCloskey says that initial coverage helps give his customers confdence in their purchase and assures them they are buying from a reputable dealer. "We control the expense of the repair. Te customer is frustrated that the car broke but pleased that there's no hassle," he says. "It allows us to be very competitive with our pricing." AUTO DE ALE R MONTHLY • FE BRUARY 2014