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4<br />
The Puget Sound Dealer<br />
Official Publication of the<br />
Puget Sound Automobile Dealers Association<br />
16101 Greenwood Avenue N Bldg 2100<br />
Seattle WA 98133<br />
Phone: 206 542-3551<br />
Fax: 206 542-7561<br />
Email: jim@<strong>psada</strong>.com<br />
www.<strong>psada</strong>.com<br />
President<br />
Mark Westlund<br />
Westlund Buick Pontiac GMC Truck, Seattle<br />
1st Vice President<br />
Wayland Scarff<br />
Scarff Motors, Auburn<br />
2rd Vice President<br />
Phil Bivens<br />
Auburn Chevrolet & Puyallup Chrysler<br />
3rd Vice President<br />
Craig Campbell<br />
Campbell Nelson Volkswagen, Edmonds<br />
Campbell Nelson Nissan, Edmonds<br />
Trustees<br />
Sue Byers<br />
Bob Byers Volvo, Seattle<br />
Jason Courter<br />
Honda Auto Center of Bellevue<br />
PSADA Staff<br />
James R. Hammond<br />
Executive Director<br />
Don Schultz<br />
Director of Education and Development<br />
Ron Olson<br />
A-YES State Manager<br />
Joyce Nichols<br />
Executive Assistant<br />
Linda Halverson<br />
Office Manager<br />
Susan Leonhardi<br />
Secretary<br />
Dawn Mylerberg<br />
Secretary<br />
For information on advertising in this<br />
publication contact Jim Aitkins<br />
Blue Water Publishers, LLC<br />
360.805.6474<br />
Inside<br />
this<br />
Issue<br />
A Message from the Editor<br />
The Words From Your Mouth<br />
One of the most impressive men I have ever met in<br />
my life was the late Stanley O. McNaughton, President of<br />
Pemco Insurance. Stan was indeed a great friend and mentor<br />
to me. Every morning Stan would walk through his<br />
entire company and say hello to his employees. You know,<br />
he knew them all by name. There were hundreds of them. And he knew things<br />
about their lives and interchanged conversations with them about things that<br />
were important to them. Certainly the return to Pemco was employees that<br />
knew that the man at the top cared about them and was sincere about it.<br />
We can all learn from Stan’s great example. He knew that words from his<br />
mouth could have great impacts on other people. He chose them wisely and<br />
used them to build up people. One of Stan’s greatest quotes is “Multiply your<br />
strength by the number of people around you. Make them look good, successful,<br />
and of value to others. You will never have to worry about your own success.”<br />
This philosophy is standard fare for many of our dealers. But, if you<br />
haven’t tried it, begin today. Walk through your dealership everyday. Learn<br />
about your people. Let them get to know you. Let them know that you personally<br />
value them “personally.” Let them know you care about their best interests<br />
and that you are sincere about it. You will find this daily activity exciting and<br />
rewarding. Dealers that do this already know how this builds loyalty and productivity.<br />
Love your people and remember the words from your mouth do have<br />
an impact on people around you.<br />
Jim Hammond<br />
Executive Director<br />
7 Message from the President - Mark Westlund<br />
8 Termination Checklist<br />
10 Pete Calkins - Exciting! Experienced!<br />
11 Growth and Expansion at the Professional Automotive Training Center<br />
13 Developing and Retaining Loyal Customers<br />
14 Steve Klein: The Gift of Giving<br />
18 Creating an Energy-Efficient Dealership<br />
21 The Entitlement Generation - Strategies for Hiring Generation WHY<br />
22 The Old Rules Don’t Apply!<br />
25 The Best of NADA 2007<br />
29 Coffee Break<br />
32 Meet Your PSADA Team
Message from the President<br />
Mark Westlund<br />
Westlund Buick Pontiac GMC Truck<br />
Phase II...Here We Go!<br />
Back in 1977 when my dad, Warren Westlund, was president of the dealers association<br />
the first seeds of the Professional Automotive Training Center (PATC) were planted.<br />
Those were exciting days as the dealers looked forward to growing their own technicians.<br />
Most certainly their hopes and dreams came true greater and larger than they<br />
ever expected. Today the PATC is recognized nationally as the cutting edge of automotive<br />
technical training in the nation. It’s hard to believe that so many years have passed<br />
since my dad has been president. Now I am president and I have the honor of being part<br />
of this great project and its next exciting step forward.<br />
I am proud to announce that we expect to break ground on Phase II of the PATC<br />
this November which will expand the present facility by 24,000 square feet. The expansion<br />
couldn’t come sooner. The demand for admission to the PATC’s manufacturer-specific<br />
programs is immense – well beyond its present capacity. The expansion will more<br />
than double our ability to train new techs for our stores. It will also help us provide<br />
more training space for the auto manufacturers who train up to 10,000 techs a year at<br />
the PATC. Plus, it creates more opportunities for us to accept into our manufacturerspecific<br />
programs the hundreds of AYES students that will be coming our way out of<br />
high schools over the next several years. The PATC is very good news for all dealers.<br />
We are fortunate to have it right in our own backyard.<br />
7
8<br />
Termination<br />
Checklist<br />
By Thao Tiedt<br />
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland<br />
Before terminating an employee, review this checklist<br />
to see if you have your ducks in a row. While employment<br />
in Washington is at-will, you cannot terminate an employee<br />
for an illegal reason, such as discrimination, or in retaliation<br />
for the employee having exercised a legal right, such<br />
as reporting a safety violation or filing a workers’ compensation<br />
claim. In order to avoid discrimination claims, it is<br />
important to be consistent in how you treat employees. If<br />
you answer no to a question on the checklist, it does not<br />
mean that you should continue employing the employee.<br />
However, you may want to consider the matter further or<br />
get legal advice.<br />
• Is the employee a member of a protected group (minority,<br />
pregnant, disabled, etc.)? If so, is the employee<br />
being treated the same as members of non-minority<br />
groups?<br />
• Remember, if the employee is separating due to illness<br />
or pregnancy, he or she may be entitled to family leave<br />
and it may not truly be a resignation.<br />
• Was the rule or policy the employee violated a published<br />
rule? How? Where? When? If the violation was<br />
not published, is it a serious enough matter that a reasonable<br />
person would agree that the employee should<br />
be terminated?<br />
• Did the employee ever receive a written copy of the<br />
policy? For example, in a handbook or employee orientation?<br />
Was the rule posted?<br />
• Have any other employees violated this rule or policy?<br />
If so, did they receive the same disciplinary action? If<br />
not, can you articulate a good reason why this employee<br />
is receiving harsher discipline? Some good reasons<br />
are because this was a repeat violation, the employee<br />
being terminated is a supervisor and therefore has to<br />
lead by example or that this employee has been troublesome<br />
for some time and this is just the last of a<br />
long line of issues.<br />
• If the decision to terminate is based on poor performance<br />
has the employee been given the opportunity to<br />
improve? Can you document your coaching sessions<br />
with this employee?<br />
• How long has the employee been employed? The<br />
longer a person has been employed, the more chances<br />
a jury thinks the employee should have to improve.<br />
• Have alternatives to discharge been considered (change<br />
of position, transfer, education)? However, demotions<br />
are seldom wise or work out.<br />
• Has the employee received warning, verbal or written,<br />
previously for violation of this rule? By whom? And<br />
was it documented? (All documentation of verbal and<br />
written warnings should be retained in the employee’s<br />
personnel file)<br />
• What was the employee’s prior disciplinary record?
• With whom will the employee be replaced? If the<br />
employee being terminated is over 40, is the replacement<br />
substantially younger?<br />
• Does the documentation in the personnel file support<br />
the termination?<br />
• Has the final decision to terminate been reviewed by<br />
Human Resources or legal counsel (if applicable) to<br />
ensure uniformity and consistency of treatment?<br />
• What considerations need to be made for compensation,<br />
i.e. additional pay for earned time off, 401K or retirement<br />
benefits, etc.?<br />
• Has payroll been contacted with this decision in order<br />
to adequately prepare final compensation? However, in<br />
Washington you do not have to give the terminated<br />
employee his or her final check at the time of termination.<br />
You can issue it on the next regular payday and<br />
mail it to the employee.<br />
The following are guidelines to follow during your<br />
final interview with the employee. First and foremost, cool<br />
down. Never discharge an employee without having gathered<br />
your wits. You want to have your best professional<br />
demeanor. Be sure you have made arrangements for another<br />
supervisor or witness to be with you during the termination<br />
meeting.<br />
• Tell the team member that he or she is being terminated<br />
within the first few minutes of the interview; do not<br />
drag the meeting out.<br />
• Explain the decision briefly and clearly.<br />
• Avoid counseling at this point; it should have already<br />
been done.<br />
• Explain fully the reasons for termination; give the true<br />
reasons and all reasons. What you tell the employee at<br />
the termination meeting will be what you have to testify<br />
to as your reasons if things go wrong.<br />
• Allow the employee an opportunity to have his or her<br />
say; pay close attention to what is said but do not argue<br />
with the team member in an effort to justify the decision.<br />
• Close quickly.<br />
• Only discuss the details of a termination with those who<br />
have a business need to know. Publicizing your feelings<br />
about the terminated employee to other employees<br />
could later come back to haunt you in a defamation<br />
case.<br />
□�<br />
If the decision to terminate<br />
is based on poor performance,<br />
has the employee<br />
been given the opportunity<br />
to improve? Can you document<br />
your coaching sessions<br />
with this employee?<br />
9
10<br />
Exciting! Experienced!<br />
By Mark Cutshall<br />
Pete Calkins remembers the first<br />
time he fell in love – with cars.<br />
“I had a Mattel Hot Wheels set<br />
when I was eight or nine years old. It<br />
was Smokey and the Bandit, and they<br />
had flashy stickers.”<br />
Several years later, a muscle car<br />
magazine caught his teenage eye.<br />
Then, he got behind the wheel of his<br />
first car, a Triumph Spitfire.<br />
Today, he’s driving another creation,<br />
a vehicle for men and women<br />
pursuing careers in the automotive<br />
repair industry. It’s called the<br />
Professional Automotive Training<br />
Center at Shoreline Community<br />
College. Last November, Pete became<br />
its new director of automotive education.<br />
He takes over a nationallyrespected<br />
program which, fueled by<br />
the leadership of Don Schultz, an<br />
impressive faculty, corporate support<br />
of General Motors, Toyota, Honda<br />
and Chrysler, and area-wide dealer<br />
involvement, has become the standard<br />
by which all other college-based automotive<br />
training programs are judged.<br />
“What impressed me about Pete is<br />
he understood what teaching and<br />
learning is all about,” says John<br />
Backes, Shoreline Community College<br />
Interim Vice President for Academic<br />
Affairs, who hired Pete. “He’s been<br />
where our students want to go. He<br />
knows what it takes to serve the dealers<br />
and the manufacturers. It’s hard to<br />
find all of these abilities in one person.<br />
With his breadth of teaching<br />
experience, administrative skills and<br />
practical industry experience, Pete is<br />
the right man for the job.”<br />
“Pete’s career path, natural abilities<br />
and achievements speak for themselves,”<br />
says PSADA<br />
Executive Director Jim Hammond.<br />
“He knows automotive education from<br />
the inside out. As an administrator and<br />
an experienced technician, his leadership,<br />
insights and ideas will take the<br />
PATC to the next level. Pete knows<br />
that guiding young adults into successful<br />
automotive careers has immediate<br />
payback for dealers financially.”<br />
What was the career opportunity<br />
that brought him to Shoreline<br />
Community College? After gaining a<br />
toe-hold in the industry at an<br />
Oldsmobile dealership in Denver, Pete<br />
discovered General Motors’ ASEP<br />
tech training program and decided “to<br />
make a living working on cars.” He<br />
honed his skills as a technician and<br />
gained experience in auto warranty<br />
service. Then, with a little encourage-<br />
ment from his wife, he landed a teaching<br />
job in electrical and engine performance<br />
at the Denver Automobile<br />
and Diesel College.<br />
While taking full-time classes at a<br />
local commuter college, Peter continued<br />
to teach – and then learned about<br />
a full-time teaching position at<br />
Arapahoe Community College in the<br />
Denver suburb of Littleton. Not only<br />
did he get the job, Pete accepted the<br />
school’s offer to be the department<br />
chairman.<br />
“As a faculty member, I was<br />
exposed to different teaching methods<br />
through two manufacturer programs:<br />
GM’s ASEP and DaimlerChrysler’s<br />
CAP. As an administrator, I developed<br />
class schedules, supervised faculty<br />
and was at the center of assessment<br />
and strategic planning,” he says.<br />
One of Pete’s success stories at<br />
Arapahoe came from the automotive<br />
students’ participation in SkillsUSA,<br />
previously known as VICA<br />
(Vocational and Industrial Clubs of<br />
America). The program gave students<br />
both technical know-how as well as<br />
the “soft skill” proficiency in resume<br />
writing, interviewing, on-the-job<br />
punctuality, appearance, team building<br />
and problem solving. At Arapahoe,
Pete helped students carry on the college’s<br />
tradition of winning SkillsUSA<br />
statewide skill-assessment competitions<br />
and representing Colorado at the<br />
national level. “I would like to develop<br />
and encourage the same kind of student<br />
achievement at Shoreline.”<br />
There was also a bit of serendipity<br />
at work. Three years ago, Pete met Don<br />
Schultz at a GM western region event<br />
in Burbank, California and at a<br />
Chrysler CAP conference in Auburn<br />
Hills, Michigan. The two swapped stories<br />
about their respective workplace<br />
schools.<br />
Pete recalls, “When Don told me<br />
what he was involved in at Shoreline,<br />
the PATC sounded too good to be true,<br />
particularly the relationship of the center<br />
to the college, the relationship of the<br />
college to the dealers, and the involvement<br />
and support of the PATC’s participating<br />
manufacturers.”<br />
Pete and Don’s conversations set<br />
the stage for an unusual invitation.<br />
“When Don told me he was retiring, he<br />
suggested I apply for the job. At the<br />
time I wasn’t quite ready,” says Pete<br />
who, last fall, topped a field of quality<br />
candidates.<br />
“My near-term goals are to help<br />
with the future expansion of the PATC<br />
facility. When you’re elbow to elbow<br />
like we are, you look forward to the day<br />
of the additional space. Long term, I’d<br />
like to bring in new manufacturers to<br />
the PATC. In GM, Toyota, Honda and<br />
Chrysler, we’ve got four quality factory<br />
partners, and of course we would like<br />
other auto makers to help more dealers<br />
grow their own technicians. “Up ahead,<br />
I’d like to partner directly with dealerships,<br />
including those who aren’t represented<br />
by our four current corporate<br />
brands.”<br />
Clearly, promising opportunities<br />
abound for dealers, manufacturers and<br />
students, alike. Now driving the educational<br />
work of the PATC, Pete Calkins<br />
has a firm grip on the wheel for the<br />
curves and straight-aways ahead. �<br />
Growth and Expansion<br />
at the<br />
Professional Automotive Training Center<br />
The Professional Automotive Training Center (PATC) at Shoreline<br />
Community College is the first manufacturer-specific training center of its<br />
kind in the United States. The first dealer-specific classes were offered at<br />
Shoreline in Fall of 1978. The design and plans that grew to be the PATC<br />
were based on the exact outline presented by NADA President Jack<br />
Pohanka in 1977 at a meeting held at Hilton Head, South Carolina. The<br />
PSADA/Shoreline plans adhered strictly to Pohanka’s ASE standards and<br />
manufacturer-specific training. Within a couple of years the Shoreline<br />
training program not only attracted the attention of General Motor, Toyota,<br />
American Honda, and DaimlerChrysler, it also caught the attention of colleges<br />
across the nation and governments around the world. Through the<br />
years more than 60 community colleges (frequently accompanied by their<br />
local dealers’ association executives), numerous municipalities and multiple<br />
foreign governments including Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands<br />
and two different delegations from China have visited the PATC.<br />
Needless to say, the success of the Center has been exceptional, and it<br />
is recognized as one of the cutting edge manufacturer-specific automotive<br />
colleges in America. Of course, along with the success comes growth. Not<br />
only does the PATC house some of the top manufacturer-specific programs<br />
in the country, it also provides training for 7,000 to 10,000 dealership<br />
employees each year. The need to expand the facility became very evident<br />
many years ago. Two years ago an active capital campaign was begun by<br />
PSADA to generate the funds necessary to expand the PATC. To date over<br />
$4 million has been collected from manufacturers, dealers, interested parties,<br />
PSADA and the State of Washington. Because fund raising has gone<br />
so well for this project, it is anticipated that the design and permitting<br />
process for construction should begin in November of 2007.<br />
Recently, the PATC faculty began meeting with the architects to<br />
start the design of the expansion of the PATC. The College has hired<br />
Group Mackenzie to design the expansion. Group Mackenzie has extensive<br />
experience with the auto industry; their firm designed the new<br />
Training Center for American Honda in Portland, Oregon, and also the<br />
new Honda Dealership in Wilsonville, Oregon. The PATC expansion project<br />
will be about 24,000 square feet and will include six training rooms for<br />
the automobile manufacturers. These rooms will be used by Toyota,<br />
DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo and other auto manufacturers. This<br />
means the new car dealers in this region will be able to get their technician<br />
training at Shoreline instead of sending them out-of-state. There will also<br />
be additional training bays in the addition for the factory-specific technician<br />
training programs housed at Shoreline. These programs include<br />
Toyota T-TEN, General Motors ASEP, Honda PACT, DaimlerChrysler CAP<br />
and Volvo V-CATT. There will also be some additional classroom and<br />
office space on the second floor. �<br />
11
You see your product.<br />
We see your largest<br />
earning potential.<br />
At Clothier & Head, our services are designed to meet your needs, no matter where you are on the path to<br />
success. With the foresight gained from being up-to-date on trends, regulations, and issues facing the<br />
dealership industry, our team of advisors truly gain an accurate picture of each client’s financial and overall<br />
situation. At Clothier & Head we see the whole client, because we take a whole interest.<br />
Our Dealership Services Team provides a full array of services, including:<br />
Department Operations Consulting Tax Planning & Compliance<br />
Dealership Valuation Merger & Acquisition Support<br />
Sales & Use Tax Compliance Safeguarding Evaluation<br />
Internal Control Evaluation Succession & Estate Planning<br />
Financial Statement Audits, Fraud Examinations<br />
Reviews, and Compilations Cost Segregation<br />
For more information on Clothier & Head’s value-building services call Rick Rekdal, CPA or<br />
Mike Hopkins, CPA at 206.622.1326 or visit our website at www.clothierandhead.com.<br />
10<br />
70<br />
5<br />
15<br />
Certified Public Accountants<br />
and Business Advisors
Developing<br />
and<br />
Retaining<br />
Loyal Customers<br />
A satisfied customer will shop at<br />
any dealership that sells the new- or<br />
used-vehicle he or she wants, assuming<br />
approximate price parity and reasonably<br />
pleasant service. A loyal customer will<br />
buy only from you.<br />
Customer retention is arguably the<br />
single most important driver of your<br />
dealership’s value, and the key to growing<br />
your business. Retained customers<br />
return to your dealership each time they<br />
buy or lease vehicles; they won’t deal<br />
with anyone else. Retained customers<br />
talk to their families, their friends, and<br />
their colleagues about how well you<br />
treat them, and these people become<br />
your customers, too. All those customers<br />
together constitute a strong base of customers<br />
whose loyalty is worth millions—literally.<br />
Long before manufacturers required<br />
CSI surveys and “customer satisfaction”<br />
became a mantra, dealers were well<br />
aware of its importance. They measured<br />
customer satisfaction by the number of<br />
times their customers returned to buy<br />
vehicles, and/or brought their vehicles in<br />
for service, and/or referred prospects.<br />
Dealers knew their customers and stayed<br />
in touch with them because dealers<br />
understood the benefits of retaining their<br />
customer base.<br />
Today, dealerships keep in touch<br />
with their customers<br />
using a<br />
sophisticated<br />
business model<br />
supported by<br />
equally sophisticated<br />
technology.<br />
Customer<br />
Relationship<br />
Management<br />
(CRM) is a way<br />
of documenting, tracking, analyzing, and<br />
building upon each customer’s every<br />
contact with the dealership, regardless of<br />
the point or method of contact. A contact<br />
may happen in the form of a showroom<br />
visit, an incoming or outgoing<br />
telephone call, or any means of written<br />
communication (mail, fax, or the<br />
Internet, including e-mail). Over time,<br />
and with the input of each dealership<br />
employee who interacts with each customer,<br />
the dealership builds detailed,<br />
individualized customer portraits, which<br />
then provide the information needed to<br />
maximize sales opportunities and<br />
strengthen the ties between customers<br />
and dealership.<br />
Your dealership’s relationship with<br />
customers is what differentiates your<br />
store from all the other stores in your<br />
marketplace. You need to be extremely<br />
sophisticated about customers because<br />
you need them more than they need you.<br />
You need to earn their business. They<br />
need reasons more compelling than<br />
price, convenience, or product to give<br />
you their business. They’ll choose you if<br />
you provide the individualized customer<br />
service that the other stores don’t.<br />
They’ll be loyal to you if you take the<br />
steps to earn their loyalty. For customers,<br />
good service for loyalty is quid<br />
pro quo. For you, what you give comes<br />
back to you times ten:<br />
It costs ten times more to bring in a<br />
new customer than it does to retain an<br />
old one.<br />
This article is adapted from A Dealer<br />
Guide to Taking Charge of New-Vehicle<br />
Sales (SL35). For this and other helpful<br />
resources, visit NADA Management<br />
Education online at<br />
www.nada.org/mecatalog or call us at<br />
800-252-NADA, ext. 2.<br />
13
Adam Buchanan<br />
14
Steve Klein:<br />
The gift of giving<br />
By Mark Cutshall<br />
Do you remember the time when opportunity knocked?<br />
Steve Klein does. Almost 40 years ago, he was 17 years old and standing on<br />
the doorstep of a lifelong automotive career.<br />
“It was 1968 and the local Honda motorcycle dealership in Everett had gone<br />
bankrupt. So my older brother, Bill, and I decided to buy it. My dad, who owned<br />
the local Ford dealership, gave us his used car building next door.” Steve and<br />
Bill kick-started the business. Sales took off so much they soon built a new<br />
12,000-sq ft. building.<br />
Knock, knock.<br />
In the months and years that followed, opportunity arrived again, when Steve<br />
and his brother took on the franchise for Honda power equipment.<br />
“The motorcycle business was so seasonal, we needed a way to do year<br />
round business and to keep our employees year-round,” recalls Steve.<br />
Knock, knock. Steve, an accomplished downhill skier, saw the writing in the<br />
snow. The brothers opened Klein Honda Ski Haus in 1971, with a full line of<br />
alpine ski equipment.<br />
15
Adam Buchanan<br />
By the time Steve was ready to<br />
graduate from the University of Puget<br />
Sound, not one, but two more opportunities<br />
glided across his path. The first<br />
happened in the Spring of 1973. “Bill<br />
was going to run the store, and I was<br />
looking forward to graduate school. But<br />
then he decided he didn’t want to stay<br />
in the business, and my dad gave me a<br />
16<br />
choice: sell the company and take the<br />
profits, or you run it.<br />
“All I want,” I told him, “is the<br />
chance to run the company for one year.<br />
For Steve Klein, opportunity didn’t<br />
just knock, it swung open the door in a<br />
way he never imagined.<br />
“In 1974, Cliff, our motorcycle representative,<br />
was lured away by Honda’s<br />
car division. He came into the<br />
store one day and said, ‘Steve,<br />
you should look at a Honda car<br />
franchise. It would be advantageous<br />
to your business. Of<br />
course you’d need to pick up<br />
some more property.’”<br />
“So, I purchased the<br />
Standard Oil service station<br />
next to our current shop. Our<br />
franchise fee was $13,000. For<br />
that cost, Honda provided us<br />
special parts, special tools and<br />
an outdoor sign.”<br />
And with that, 23-year-old<br />
Steve Klein became the 132nd Honda auto dealer in the U.S.<br />
“I thought I knew everything.<br />
I thought I could walk<br />
on water. Yet, I soon realized I<br />
knew nothing. I had zippo<br />
experience. So I worked my<br />
fanny off. I read a lot. Most of<br />
all, I drew from three things<br />
my dad taught me growing up:<br />
be honest, work hard, and don’t<br />
be afraid to ask questions of<br />
people who’ve been down the<br />
road before you. I took these<br />
things to heart. I hired good<br />
people and paid them well. I<br />
learned that if you encourage<br />
and motivate them, they’ll raise<br />
the dealership to the top.”<br />
Which is exactly what<br />
happened. For Steve, professional<br />
and personal fulfillment was<br />
never an automatic transition. He had to<br />
learn to shift.<br />
A huge turning point for the dealership,<br />
he admits, came when he joined a<br />
“20 Group.” Three times a year, Steve<br />
joined 19 of his fellow Honda dealerprincipals<br />
for a NADA-sponsored
oundtable gathering. “Each of us was<br />
required to bring a successful idea that<br />
had worked in our respective business.<br />
Then we had to tell the group how we<br />
made it work. I came back home with<br />
some fantastic best practices that we’d<br />
implement in our own dealership. And I<br />
know others benefited from things that<br />
had worked in Everett.”<br />
In his 30 years with Honda, Steve<br />
has enjoyed three upgrades to build<br />
larger, expanded facilities. And as business<br />
has grown, Steve has discovered a<br />
principle that has touched his own life<br />
— the deep, personal satisfaction of<br />
giving back to others out of your own<br />
bounty.<br />
Steve’s generosity has touched the<br />
AYES automotive program at<br />
Marysville-Pilchuck High School where<br />
he has donated four above-ground<br />
hoists. Steve has supported the<br />
Professional Automotive Training<br />
Center at Shoreline Community College<br />
since day one and has donated to the<br />
PATC’s current capital expansion. He<br />
has helped build a new Snohomish<br />
County YMCA in Mukilteo and supported<br />
Cocoon House, a shelter for<br />
homeless teens in Everett.<br />
In the aftermath of September 11,<br />
Klein Honda set aside money for every<br />
vehicle sale, a pledge that resulted in a<br />
gift of $17,000 to the National Red<br />
Cross and a donation of $17,000 to the<br />
Snohomish County Red Cross.<br />
But there’s one particular cause<br />
that’s close to Steve’s heart. “In 1990, I<br />
went through a divorce and became a<br />
single parent. My daughter, Deonna,<br />
was in middle school, and son Rory was<br />
in elementary school. I didn’t want<br />
them to be home alone, so I made sure I<br />
was home every afternoon when they<br />
got out of school at 3:00 p.m.<br />
“Single parenting was a real awakening.<br />
I found out how difficult it is.”<br />
That appreciation deepened when Steve<br />
discovered there were single mothers<br />
enrolled at Everett Community College.<br />
“I visited the school and asked the leadership,<br />
‘How many single moms with<br />
children are enrolled because they want<br />
a better life for themselves and their<br />
children?’ The man said, ‘We have a<br />
ton.’”<br />
“I said, ‘In that case, I want to<br />
help.” He funded four scholarships each<br />
academic year. Seven years later, Steve<br />
has made a college education possible<br />
for 28 young women, some of whom<br />
have graduated in medical technology<br />
and nursing. He’s met a number of the<br />
women, their parents, grandparents and<br />
friends.<br />
“All they needed was just a little<br />
boost to get ahead in life.”<br />
During those five challenging years<br />
when it was just the three of us at<br />
home, Steve surely gave a boost of love,<br />
confidence, and hope to his son and<br />
daughter.<br />
Today, Deonna and Rory are working<br />
full time in the dealership. Deonna,<br />
now 25, directs customer relations and<br />
heads the Honda Excel program that<br />
strives to improve all phases of the<br />
dealership. Rory, 23, is IT manager and<br />
head of marketing.<br />
“At first, bringing them on was<br />
exhausting,” says Steve. “They were so<br />
full of questions: ‘Why do you do this?<br />
How come this? How come that?’ I’ve<br />
come to believe that the amount of time<br />
you invest at the beginning is directly<br />
proportionate to what you get back in<br />
the future. I see this in both of my children.<br />
They know the new and younger<br />
audiences we’re trying to reach. They<br />
bring new ideas and new knowledge of<br />
the latest technology our customers are<br />
using today.”<br />
Every morning, Steve walks<br />
through the dealership and greets each<br />
of his 80 employees. It’s just one of the<br />
many ways he chooses to extend himself<br />
to others. After all, he remembers<br />
when he had a staff of ten and how<br />
every little encouraging word meant a<br />
lot. It still does.<br />
Steve Klein knows that an act of<br />
generosity, an expression of service<br />
above self, can change the life of a high<br />
school automotive student, a single<br />
mom – perhaps even a fellow dealer.<br />
“If I could say one thing to my<br />
automotive peers, it’s this: I guarantee<br />
you, by donating your time and money<br />
to the wonderful causes you believe in,<br />
you will increase your visibility in the<br />
community. People will see you as more<br />
than an honorable dealer; they’ll see<br />
you as a deeply valued contributor in<br />
the community where you do business.<br />
People will see what you’re all about.<br />
They’ll see the things you care about<br />
and they’ll think, ‘With all that he or<br />
she is doing, maybe I should give back<br />
a little, too.’”<br />
Talk about an opportunity to extend<br />
your generosity to countless customers,<br />
colleagues and friends – for Steve<br />
Klein, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.<br />
�<br />
17
18<br />
One excellent way to learn about<br />
potential energy efficiency improvements<br />
is from industry peers. Such<br />
success stories can reveal details of<br />
the work, time, and investment<br />
involved and the improvements<br />
achieved.<br />
Evidence of the potential for dealership<br />
energy efficiency improvements<br />
is a Virginia Acura, Lexus and<br />
Chevrolet dealership, visited in conjunction<br />
with the development of an<br />
NADA guide referenced below. The<br />
sprawling automobile campus has<br />
three dealerships and a number of<br />
service buildings adding up to a quarter<br />
million square feet of space, not<br />
including an off-site collision repair<br />
center.<br />
The successes achieved at this<br />
facility were made possible due to the<br />
efforts of the dealership group’s facility<br />
manager, with the support of the<br />
dealer-owners. Many energy efficiency<br />
improvement opportunities have<br />
been taken advantage of, within the<br />
constraints of the franchisors’ design<br />
specifications. Various dealership personnel<br />
are involved in the improvements,<br />
as are several outside product<br />
and service providers, including lighting<br />
professionals. Some of the<br />
improvements include:<br />
Creating an<br />
• Building Shell—A<br />
master switch that<br />
shuts down the entire<br />
facility at closing,<br />
except for select security<br />
lighting.<br />
• Showrooms—Metal<br />
halide lamps in areas<br />
with high ceilings.<br />
• Parts/Service<br />
Areas—Suspended<br />
and looped compressedair-distribution<br />
systems.<br />
• Vehicle Washing/Detailing<br />
Areas—Greater than 50 percent<br />
water reclamation.<br />
• Dealership Lot/Building<br />
Exteriors—Exterior lighting<br />
incorporating photocells to reduce<br />
day burning.<br />
• Body Shop—T5HO lighting for<br />
the bodywork examination area.<br />
To achieve similar results consider<br />
contacting appropriate professionals<br />
to review or energy audit your facilities<br />
for potential energy savings.<br />
Many opportunities exist for costeffective<br />
energy efficiency upgrades at<br />
dealership facilities. In addition, even<br />
more fruitful opportunities exist for<br />
dealerships involved in new construction<br />
or major facility renovations.<br />
These opportunities will only become<br />
more numerous and attractive in the<br />
future as energy costs increase, and<br />
new technologies and strategies<br />
become available.<br />
This article was adapted from A<br />
Dealer Guide to Energy Star® Putting<br />
Energy into Profits (BM31). This<br />
guide can be ordered online at<br />
www.nada.org/mecatalog or by calling<br />
NADA at 800-252-NADA, ext. 2. For<br />
further information and assistance for<br />
your dealership, contact NADA or the<br />
ENERGY STAR ® Small Business<br />
Network at 1-888-STAR-YES or<br />
http://www.energystar.gov/smallbiz.
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The Entitlement<br />
By Eric Chester<br />
Perhaps you’ve seen the story that<br />
made its way into over 300 daily newspapers,<br />
the major television networks,<br />
and thousands of websites. It obviously<br />
hit a nerve with both managers and kidployees,<br />
as it set off a huge chain of<br />
blogs and scores of letters to the editor.<br />
The headline read, “The Young<br />
Labeled ‘Entitlement Generation.’” The<br />
story featured Evan, a 24-year-old radio<br />
sales rep, who revealed that the middleaged<br />
manager who interviewed him for<br />
his current job said during the interview<br />
that young employees arrive to the job<br />
displaying an attitude of ‘entitlement.’<br />
Evan’s reply? “Do we think we’re<br />
deserving if we’re going to go out there<br />
and bust our ass for you? Yes.”<br />
I, too, was interviewed and quoted<br />
in this particular article, but I never<br />
imagined that I’d be “debating” Evan a<br />
few days later live on a Fox News segment<br />
about younger workers and their<br />
entitlement mentality. I found it fascinating<br />
that the word ‘entitlement’ riled up<br />
so many emotions in so many people.<br />
Webster’s defines entitled as “qualified<br />
for by right according to law.” So,<br />
when it comes to a Gen Why entering<br />
the workforce, is ‘entitled’ a fitting term<br />
to describe their attitude?<br />
I guess it really depends on who’s<br />
doing the entering and who’s doing the<br />
describing. But the ‘entitled’ label raises<br />
two much larger questions that managers<br />
and execs everywhere are wrestling<br />
with.<br />
First, what would drive a young kidployee<br />
to act as if he/she is entitled to a<br />
job? (i.e. expecting rapid advancement,<br />
frequent raises, time off, special treatment,<br />
etc.)<br />
Answer — You would, too, if you<br />
had always been on the demand side of<br />
the employment equation. As difficult as<br />
it was for you and me to find our first<br />
job and our first career, the boom in the<br />
service sector over the past 15 years has<br />
meant that Gen Whys have always been<br />
able to find a job, quit it, and have<br />
another one the next day. Further, we are<br />
talking about children of workaholic<br />
“Boomer” parents who’ve worked over-<br />
time to provide an endless stream of<br />
brand name clothing, toys, and electronics,<br />
so they think they can apply their<br />
techno-savvy skills and “Apprentice”<br />
roadmap to get to the top and reap the<br />
payoff in much less time. (Just re-read<br />
Evan’s statement.) Besides, it’s tragically<br />
un-hip to come across as if you are a<br />
rookie seeking wisdom. Much cooler to<br />
play the part of a young aggressive<br />
“Donald” who’s got it all figured out.<br />
Secondly, how is a manager supposed<br />
to relate to or connect with a<br />
young kidployee that demonstrates an<br />
entitlement mentality?<br />
If you anticipate an entitlement mentality and understand<br />
the social conditions that created it, you won’t be thrown<br />
into a blind rage when they display that behavior.<br />
Answer — Expect it. If you<br />
anticipate an entitlement mentality and<br />
understand the social conditions that<br />
created it, you won’t be thrown into a<br />
blind rage when they display that<br />
behavior. Conversely, you’ll feel like you<br />
hit the lottery when you encounter a<br />
kidployee who is genuinely grateful for<br />
continued on page 36<br />
21
It’s been quite the ride lately for<br />
dealers in the market to change vendors<br />
or upgrade their current systems. If you<br />
haven’t been following the market, you<br />
need to know that things have changed<br />
drastically and the old rules just don’t<br />
apply any longer. Vendors are under<br />
tremendous pressure to provide their<br />
investors and stockholders a larger<br />
return on their investment. As a consequence,<br />
we’ve seen the largest market<br />
reorganization in thirty years! Unless<br />
dealers move to protect themselves,<br />
higher technology costs are very likely.<br />
Even if he can wade through confusion<br />
and figure out what he needs to<br />
buy, extended contracts, more restrictive<br />
terms and mandatory upgrades make it<br />
harder for a dealer to keep his options<br />
open and strike a deal that makes the<br />
most sense for his store. It’s harder than<br />
ever for a dealer to find the right technology<br />
at the right price and have it<br />
delivered under an acceptable, fair contract.<br />
Confusion is rampant and even the<br />
industry news reports seem contradictory.<br />
Depend on what your vendor rep tells<br />
you and you’ll probably find out that not<br />
even he knows what really happening!<br />
Or maybe he’s not telling you all the<br />
truth?<br />
Retaining a dealer’s business long<br />
term in the face of increased competition,<br />
new players and industry reorganization<br />
has become a staggering task for<br />
vendors. As a dealer, you simply can’t<br />
depend on what’s worked for you in the<br />
past. We’ve seen staggered leases for<br />
hardware and agreements for software<br />
22<br />
The Old Rules Don’t Apply!<br />
A few simple rules that will help dealers avoid costly mistakes<br />
when dealing with their DMS Computer Vendors<br />
parlayed into ten and, even twenty-year<br />
commitments for dealers who, in some<br />
cases, don’t know how it happened.<br />
Industry guru, Paul Gillrie (of The<br />
Paul Gillrie Institute) recommends a few<br />
simple rules that every dealer should<br />
follow:<br />
1. Do not authorize any of your<br />
employees to sign any agreement<br />
that may obligate your dealership in<br />
any way. Immediately inform your<br />
employees of this policy and follow<br />
up with your computer vendor via<br />
certified mail giving them the<br />
name(s) of anyone in your organization<br />
authorized by you to sign<br />
agreements. In most stores, only the<br />
dealer should be on that list.<br />
2. Make sure you have every agreement<br />
scrutinized by someone familiar<br />
with the current industry standards<br />
and practices. These agreements<br />
sometimes appear to say one<br />
thing when the actual intent is very<br />
different. Get help – don’t get surprised!<br />
3. Make sure all computer contracts<br />
are co-terminus contracts. That is<br />
that they all terminate on the same<br />
date.<br />
4. Begin contract negotiations for<br />
upgrades 18 to 24 months before<br />
the end of the current contract.<br />
Vendors love to run out the clock<br />
and thus gain the upper hand<br />
because a dealer fears that his system<br />
may be shut off. Month-tomonth<br />
contracts are no panacea.<br />
There are serious downsides, both<br />
in cost and leverage, with these<br />
seemingly innocuous situations.<br />
5. Main stream computer vendors have<br />
openly declared war on the third<br />
party providers. Third party vendors<br />
are tech companies that offer products<br />
that compete directly with similar<br />
products offered by DMS vendors.<br />
A few examples are companies<br />
that provide websites, networking,<br />
CRM and archiving. By<br />
restricting access to your data under<br />
the guise of security, vendors now<br />
seek to tell dealers which companies<br />
they can employ. Would it surprise<br />
you to know that this tactic<br />
steers you to companies that have a<br />
fiscal relationship with the DMS<br />
vendor. Remember, if a third party<br />
supplier pays a fee to your DMS,<br />
that charge will be one you will pay<br />
one way or another. Also, remember,<br />
it is not who owns the data, it is<br />
who controls the data.<br />
The Gillrie Institute has agreed to discuss<br />
these issues with PSADA Dealers at<br />
no charge and provide them with further<br />
guidance and information on implementing<br />
the correct defensive practices. They<br />
can be reached at 800-576-6959 and<br />
mention this newsletter.
The Best of NADA 2007<br />
By Jeff Forsberg<br />
Director Peterson Sullivan PLLC<br />
Las Vegas. Each time NADA makes a<br />
stop here, I resolve to limit my play at<br />
the tables, because accountants should<br />
know better. On the other hand, visiting<br />
Vegas gives me an opportunity to check<br />
on my “investment.” But the real action<br />
was at the exhibition hall and workshops,<br />
serving as a think-tank on best<br />
practices. My observations on NADA<br />
2007 follow if you were otherwise busy<br />
increasing your position in the casinos:<br />
Most Interesting DMS News<br />
Reynolds & Reynolds (“R&R”) occupied<br />
a mammoth booth aptly named “the<br />
battleship.” R&R added even more bulk<br />
following its recent marriage with UCS,<br />
hinting at its next slogan: “It’s your battleship….”<br />
R&R reps ventured it will<br />
continue to provide ERA support for ten<br />
years and beyond –as if it had a limited<br />
shelf life, leading one to speculate about<br />
its long-range development path. One<br />
possible scenario is that the post-UCS’<br />
“Power” offering will, in time, assimilate<br />
R&R’s ERA customers, presumably<br />
for a premium. Given the dynamic New<br />
World Order of DMS providers, your<br />
next DMS contract will be particularly<br />
consequential to your dealership.<br />
Paul Gillrie, the DMS consultant to<br />
dealers, fielded more than a few<br />
inquiries about Microsoft’s presence at<br />
NADA. A common refrain heard from<br />
dealers: “I’m going to wait for<br />
Microsoft.” That might be the pragmatic<br />
approach, but consider that a MS-branded<br />
DMS won’t be something you will<br />
pick up at Best Buy, which is another<br />
way of saying it won’t be inexpensive.<br />
And the release date will likely slide<br />
past year 2008. True, there are “secondtier”<br />
providers offering a DMS built on<br />
MS technology today (Quorum, PBS,<br />
and ACS, etc.). But these “second tier”<br />
providers all lack significant market<br />
penetration; fewer customers can mean<br />
limited feature sets, uneven factory support<br />
and a higher risk of an outright<br />
sale. Finally, I can’t recommend being a<br />
pilot dealer for new DMS software —<br />
just ask those intrepid dealers running<br />
the RGS system at the time R&R<br />
unplugged it. Don’t get me wrong: I<br />
think a MS-branded DMS is an exciting<br />
development and will give strong competition<br />
to “The Big Two” (i.e. ADP and<br />
R&R/UCS).<br />
continued on page 26<br />
25
Customer Relationship Management.<br />
Jim pressed dealers to either purchase a<br />
CRM product or make better utilization<br />
of what’s already in-house. Your database<br />
should also contain customers that<br />
predate the most recent two years. And<br />
pay attention to targeting the demographics<br />
of your best customers: baby<br />
boomers have impressive discretionary<br />
income. Finally, get statistical with<br />
measuring your ups and production on<br />
the showroom floor.<br />
Inventory Control. Turning inventory is<br />
more important than ever with current<br />
flooring rates. Remember, used vehicles<br />
depreciate 1.5% - 2% each month,<br />
unlike new vehicles that depreciate once<br />
a year. Making the right vehicle decisions<br />
of mix and valuation will prevent<br />
your used vehicles from aging past 60<br />
days.<br />
Personnel. Pay plans should function as<br />
job descriptions for your sales staff.<br />
Because pay drives specific behavior,<br />
ensure that your plans encourage what<br />
you want from your staff. Reinvent the<br />
culture of your sales staff so that “full<br />
price is a fair price.” Minimize sales<br />
26<br />
Best Speaker<br />
Jim Ziegler was firing on all nonhybrid<br />
cylinders, sporting a hat that<br />
read “Da Man” in case you needed<br />
an introduction. Jim presented five<br />
opportunity areas:<br />
staff turnover and the related costs of it:<br />
The #1 reason sales staff leave is spouse<br />
pressure over hours, so consider giving<br />
your sales personnel at least one weekend<br />
off per month.<br />
Marketing. Advertising dollars should<br />
return $10 for every $1 spent. If you<br />
can’t measure your marketing investment,<br />
don’t buy it. Update your website<br />
continued on page 30
Coffee Break<br />
That's A Fact Jack!<br />
� Potatoes have more chromosomes than humans do - 48 versus 46.<br />
� The potato chip was created out of spite. In 1853, when a customer at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, NY, complained that<br />
head chef George Crum's potatoes were soggy and not salty enough, Crum stomped back to the kitchen, thinly sliced some potatoes,<br />
fried them until they were golden, poured salt all over them, and dumped them in front of the picky customer.They became known<br />
as "Saratoga Chips" until Herman Lay, an enterprising young salesman, popularized the product throughout the country.<br />
� Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on television.<br />
� Unlike other fruits, cranberries do not show their ripeness with color. Instead, they are sorted by bouncing: good cranberries bounce<br />
and bad ones don't.<br />
� The steam rising from a cup of coffee contains the same amount of antioxidants as three oranges.<br />
� Too much coffee can kill you. A lethal dose of caffeine for the average adult is somewhere around 10 grams, or the equivalent of<br />
drinking between 50 and 200 cups of coffee in rapid succession.<br />
� Pretzels originated in Northern Italy around A.D. 610. An Italian monk gave them out to children who learned their prayers. He called<br />
the strips of baked dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the breast, prestiolae - Latin for "little rewards."<br />
� The world's oldest surviving recipe is a formula for making beer. It was discovered outside Baghdad in 1850 on a 3,800-year-old<br />
Sumerian clay tablet.Two other tablets contain what are believed to be drinking songs.<br />
� There are roughly 144,000 mosquitoes for every human on earth.<br />
� Malaria mosquitoes are attracted to ripe Limburger cheese and smelly feet.The odor-protein given off by the cheese was found to be<br />
structurally similar to human feet.<br />
� Mosquito repellent doesn't repel mosquitoes; it blocks their sensors so they don't know you are there.<br />
� A fetus acquires fingerprints by the end of the first trimester.<br />
� Bookworms are actually beetles.They proliferate in libraries, where dust, dirt, heat, darkness, and poor ventilation are prevalent.The<br />
mature female lays her eggs on the edges of books or in the crevices of bookshelves, and when hatched the larvae burrow into the<br />
books.<br />
� Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham after his editor challenged him to produce a book using fewer than 50 different words.<br />
These interesting factoids come from That's A Fact Jack!, a new collection of utterly useless information by Harry Bright and Jakob<br />
Answer, MJF Books. You can find a personal copy of this great book at your favorite book store.<br />
29
The Best of NADA from page 26<br />
and engineer compelling reasons for<br />
your customers to bookmark it. Jim recommended<br />
“retro-advertising” that seeks<br />
to target your past customers –it should<br />
capture 20% of your ad budget.<br />
Training & Sales Processes. Constant<br />
training, testing, and re-training of sales<br />
staff is imperative and can be funded by<br />
your current ad budget. Have your staff<br />
role-play on handling customer objections<br />
by making it fun. And regularly<br />
quiz your sales staff on product knowledge,<br />
which Jim lamented as a continual<br />
problem. Finally, have a written showroom<br />
policy signed by your sales personnel,<br />
containing provisions for ethical<br />
standards and accountability.<br />
Alternative Desking Techniques<br />
Grant Cardone made a convincing argument<br />
for accelerating the sales process.<br />
Negotiating speed also impacts intangibles<br />
like customer satisfaction. See<br />
below for what happens to your gross<br />
30<br />
when you’re “playing pass” with the<br />
customer:<br />
Grant implored dealers to give customers<br />
more choices at the beginning of<br />
the sales process. Consider modifying<br />
the traditional “four square” with one<br />
that features multiple down payments<br />
and terms, including purchase and lease<br />
options. The gross profit is the same<br />
with each, but choices help refocus the<br />
customer’s attention<br />
off the four<br />
square’s “single<br />
option” limitation.<br />
And the choices<br />
may eliminate the<br />
back-and-forth of<br />
learning what the<br />
customer will<br />
accept for payment<br />
and terms.<br />
The customer<br />
might even have<br />
some patience left<br />
for the F&I process.<br />
Grant also believes it’s a mistake to<br />
“soften up” the customer on the trade-in<br />
by sharing what’s wrong with it.<br />
Instead, be enthusiastic about the customer’s<br />
vehicle. And consider using a<br />
third party source like NADA or Kelley<br />
to support the trade-in value, on the<br />
principle that customers believe what<br />
they see, not what they hear. �<br />
Negotiation Time & Gross<br />
Number of Passes Average Gross<br />
2 $1,140.00<br />
2 $958.00<br />
2 $814.00<br />
2 $711.00<br />
2 $602.00<br />
2 $547.00<br />
2 $508.00<br />
2 $389.00
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31
32<br />
By Mark Cutshall<br />
Imagine you had a support team<br />
of professionals that provided your<br />
dealership invaluable tools like free<br />
legal service and a landmark regional<br />
Wage & Benefit Analysis Survey?<br />
Imagine having these services at your<br />
fingertips providing you with immediate<br />
access, personable attention and<br />
practical help that you can’t get anywhere<br />
else. These are just a few of the<br />
services offered by the PSADA eight<br />
member team: Jim, Joyce, Linda,<br />
Don, Ron, Donna, Susan and Dawn.<br />
Though you already knew them<br />
on a first-name basis, do you know<br />
how they’re strategically organized as<br />
a team to help every PSADA dealermember<br />
be the best they can be?<br />
“The Association exists to serve<br />
the needs of our dealers, period,” says<br />
PSADA Executive Director, Jim<br />
Hammond. “It’s about service. No<br />
other automobile dealer association in<br />
the country offers its members these<br />
two landmark achievements:<br />
• Dealer Employee Handbooks.<br />
The Association, says Hammond,<br />
has been recognized in national<br />
automotive publications as one of<br />
the national leaders in wage,<br />
management and labor relations.<br />
“Our dealership employee handbook<br />
has a high standard of<br />
excellence and is utilized by a<br />
large percentage of dealers<br />
throughout Washington State. It<br />
is highly regarded by many insurance<br />
companies.”<br />
• PSADA Wage and Benefit<br />
Analysis Survey. Hammond<br />
stresses the Survey is the only<br />
regional resource of its kind in<br />
the country. “PSADA participation<br />
rate is nearly 60 percent.”<br />
More than essential services like<br />
these, the PSADA team provides a<br />
uniquely integrated team approach.<br />
Let’s meet the PSADA “team” and<br />
discover how they’re putting their<br />
expertise to work for you:<br />
Jim Hammond<br />
Executive Director<br />
Jim’s entrance in the local automotive<br />
market came in 1973 when he<br />
began writing advertising copy for<br />
Seattle’s Buick dealers. The announcer<br />
was none other than legendary<br />
Seattle Sonics’ play-by-play announcer,<br />
Bob Blackburn. In 1972, Jim<br />
directed his first Seattle Auto Show in<br />
the Seattle Center Coliseum. Soon<br />
after, Larry Norton Jr., on behalf of<br />
the King County dealers, asked Jim to<br />
be the association’s first director.<br />
After 12 years in a second floor office<br />
above Westlake Chevrolet, the<br />
PSADA moved to Shoreline<br />
Community College. In 1976, with<br />
inspiration from Jack Pohanka, a former<br />
NADA president and father of<br />
ASE, Jim spearheaded the creation of<br />
the Professional Automotive Training<br />
Center at Shoreline Community<br />
College. Today, the program is recognized<br />
as one of the top automotive<br />
education and training centers of its<br />
kind in the nation. And the Seattle<br />
Auto Show that represented 29 local<br />
dealers (yet not a single manufacturer)<br />
back in 1972? Today the event<br />
showcases every major domestic and<br />
foreign manufacturer in four dedicated<br />
venues that cover 500,000 square<br />
feet, more than six times the<br />
Coliseum’s space. “PSADA’s heritage<br />
of service stems from dealers like<br />
Larry Norton, Jr., Warren Westlund,<br />
Pat Goodfellow, and Ron Claudon,<br />
Sr., early leaders of the association,”<br />
says Jim. “I’m honored to stand in<br />
their shadow and work alongside a<br />
team of such exceptional service oriented<br />
people. Individually, they are<br />
each immensely talented. As a team,<br />
their ability to meet our dealers’<br />
needs is exceptional. Each of them<br />
deserves a gold star for both their<br />
character and competence.”
Adam Buchanan<br />
33
Joyce Nichols<br />
Executive Assistant<br />
Joyce arrived at PSADA in August<br />
1995 having worked for three years in<br />
corporate banking and 25 years at<br />
Shoreline Community College. More<br />
than Jim’s confidential secretary, her<br />
major responsibilities include:<br />
Managing all internal operational<br />
aspects of the Auto Show, including<br />
exhibitor contracts, data base management,<br />
factory and booth exhibitor support,<br />
part-time show staff supervisor and<br />
managing the show office.<br />
Creating and customizing the<br />
employee handbooks for PSADA’s dealer-members,<br />
and working with the<br />
Association’s attorney to make sure the<br />
handbook are current with state and federal<br />
laws.<br />
Administering the annual Wage and<br />
Benefit Analysis Survey and report,<br />
administering and processing PSADA’s<br />
associate memberships, plus handling a<br />
constant stream of questions, information<br />
and requests on a bevy of autorelated<br />
issues.<br />
Says Jim, “It’s been said that no<br />
employee is indispensable in an organization,<br />
yet Joyce may be the one lone<br />
exception on the planet. She is quite<br />
simply the most amazing, efficient person<br />
I have ever met.”<br />
Linda Halverson<br />
Office Manager<br />
Linda maintains constant focus on<br />
several key areas from administering<br />
dealer classes on Hazmat training and<br />
computer analysis, to overseeing classes<br />
on Service Writer, Title Clerk and F&I,<br />
to managing the office’s computer data<br />
bases and delivering Association correspondence<br />
to PSADA members. Linda,<br />
who joined the PSADA team in May<br />
2001 came from Shoreline Community<br />
34<br />
College’s accounting department and<br />
many years in corporate banking. Linda<br />
also works closely with bookkeeper<br />
Donna Howard.<br />
“When you run a multitude of programs<br />
simultaneously, you need an ultimate<br />
multi-tasker who can manage and<br />
oversee projects and give each one the<br />
attention they deserve,” notes Jim.<br />
“Linda does this naturally. Not only does<br />
she execute well, she has tremendous<br />
foresight and intuition that helps us<br />
maximize our time, our dollars and our<br />
total effort.”<br />
Don Schultz<br />
Director of Education and<br />
Development<br />
Don worked at Shoreline<br />
Community College for 37 years, starting<br />
as a professor in engineering and<br />
manufacturing. The past 12 years he<br />
served as the Dean of Business,<br />
Automotive and Manufacturing<br />
Division. Don has been central to the<br />
success of the Professional Automotive<br />
Training Center at Shoreline. Today,<br />
Don is working with PSADA to raise<br />
money for the Center’s expansion project,<br />
which will add 24,000 square feet to<br />
the existing complex. To that end, he’s<br />
been working with dealers, manufacturers<br />
and other potential donors for cash<br />
donations. He’s also been the go-to guy<br />
working with SCC, the architect and the<br />
City of Shoreline on project planning<br />
and permitting.<br />
“Don is the guru of automotive education<br />
in America,” says Jim. “He<br />
helped lay the foundation for the<br />
Professional Automotive Training<br />
Center. When he retired from Shoreline<br />
Community College two years ago, we<br />
made sure he wasn’t going to get away.<br />
We hired him to run the expansion campaign.”<br />
Ron Olson<br />
Automotive Youth Education Systems<br />
Manager<br />
Ron coordinates the statewide<br />
school-to-work initiative between high<br />
schools and Puget Sound area dealers.<br />
The two-year AYES program he oversees<br />
involves high school students in an<br />
industry-based, in-class training program<br />
that is connected with a summer internship<br />
with a dealer. The intent of the program<br />
is to help young workers become<br />
automotive technicians.<br />
Says Ron, “I’m working to give<br />
dealers an increased appreciation for this<br />
program that gives them the opportunity<br />
to hire quality people and, as we like to<br />
say, “grow their own technicians.”<br />
“I’ve known Ron since 1973, when<br />
he was the regional representative for<br />
Volkswagen,” notes Jim. “Based on<br />
Ron’s vast industry experience, there<br />
was no question of who to pick to head<br />
our AYES program. His immense<br />
patience with the kids, combined with<br />
his experience, makes him a natural for<br />
the job.”<br />
Donna Howard, CPA<br />
Bookkeeper<br />
With 19 years experience as a CPA,<br />
Donna fills a critical role of processing<br />
all financial transactions, creating<br />
PSADA board financial reports and<br />
managing the Association’s year-end<br />
audit. As Donna says, “I’m here to help<br />
and provide perspective.”<br />
“Donna has revolutionized our<br />
bookkeeping system,” says Jim. “She<br />
can identify every expense, every payment<br />
at any time. Her accuracy, organization<br />
and financial analysis pay huge<br />
ongoing benefits for the association.”<br />
continued on page 36
PSADA Team from page 34<br />
Susan Leonhardi<br />
Receptionist and AYES Secretary<br />
With a business degree from the<br />
University of Washington and a broad<br />
variety of work experience, Susan is the<br />
smiling face you’re most likely to see<br />
when entering the PSADA office. Born<br />
and raised in Seattle, Susan is the mother<br />
of two.<br />
“Susan brings us incredible flexibility<br />
and efficiency, supporting all of our<br />
programs. And she’s very funny,” says<br />
Jim, smiling.<br />
Dawn Mylerberg<br />
Project Support<br />
“Several years ago I retired after 23<br />
years at Shoreline Community College,”<br />
says Dawn who grew up in Pasco,<br />
Washington and also worked in admissions<br />
at the University of Washington<br />
and Eastern Washington University.<br />
“My last job was as coordinator for<br />
Continuing Education. During that time<br />
I interfaced with Jim. I told him the kind<br />
36<br />
of work I was interested in doing when I<br />
retired. One day he walked in and asked<br />
if I would like to come to work for<br />
PSADA. He must have read my mind.”<br />
Today Dawn is on call to help with special<br />
PSADA projects and is a major support<br />
for Joyce down at the Auto Show.<br />
“When Dawn came through the<br />
door,” says Jim, “I knew in the first few<br />
minutes that she was perfect for the job.<br />
She fits in perfectly. And she is always<br />
so happy.”<br />
That’s the PSADA team. Eight professionals.<br />
Eight people committed to<br />
providing prompt, personable service,<br />
working together to help you make your<br />
dealership the best it can be. �<br />
Entitlement from page 21<br />
the opportunity to work for you, and is<br />
willing to accept your direction without<br />
question.<br />
Further, make time for face time.<br />
The best way to diffuse an attitude of<br />
entitlement—without uttering the words<br />
“you’re fired!”—is by forming a relationship<br />
where each party trusts the<br />
other to help them reach desired goals<br />
and objectives. In short, learn why they<br />
have a job, why they chose to work for<br />
you, and what their short-term and longterm<br />
objectives are. Resist the temptation<br />
to be like your first employers and<br />
‘lay down the law’ or tell them your<br />
company history and mission statement.<br />
Instead, do the opposite and first discover<br />
their mission statement. You’ll be<br />
amazed at how quickly they’ll shed their<br />
shell of entitlement and acquiesce to<br />
doing things your way.<br />
Never forget that regardless of what<br />
kind of first impression they make,<br />
underneath lies a kid who desperately<br />
wants to succeed, possesses the talent<br />
and skills to help your business grow,<br />
and is searching for direction, leadership,<br />
and a caring adult mentor. Rise to<br />
the occasion. After all, you’re entitled. �
Want Dedication?<br />
Give Inspiration.<br />
Employee Recognition<br />
Phone (800) 253-0882<br />
Fax (360) 573-6018<br />
www.terryberry.com<br />
e-mail: info@terryberry.com<br />
37
Puget Sound Automobile Dealers Association<br />
16101 Greenwood Avenue. N. Bldg. 2100<br />
Seattle, WA 98133<br />
PRSRT STD<br />
U.S. Postage<br />
PAID<br />
Seattle, WA<br />
Permit No. 1578