Dealer Spotlight: Crystal Auto Mall
CUSTOMER LOYALTY AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION ARE KEY

If you think you’re in a competitive market, you might change your mind after talking to Michael Rendine, Dealer Principal at Crystal Auto Mall in Green Brook, N.J. Located about 30 miles west of Manhattan, Crystal Auto Mall is on Route 22, one of the largest auto dealer corridors in the country. “Within 20 miles, there have to be 50 car dealerships,” says Rendine, who started at the store in 1995 as general sales manager. “If you do a circular map, there are 11 Toyota stores within 20 miles.”

Even with that many other dealerships in such close proximity, Rendine’s store, which sells Toyotas and Mazdas, retailed more than 4,000 new and used vehicles last year. The key to its success in such a highly competitive market, he says, is loyalty — both from customers and employees — and his team of 135 employees works tirelessly to maximize both. Their customer database of more than 100,000 names receives weekly email updates with exclusive specials.”

“A lot of dealers don’t realize their best customer is a previous customer,” Rendine says. “You know their habits and their service histories, you know their pay-offs and you know what it takes for them to make a deal. And it’s free to market to them.”

Along with quality products and great prices, Rendine says that one of the biggest reasons for the store’s customer loyalty is its employee retention. “It makes people happy to see the same sales people and technicians over the years,” Rendine says. That’s a tough achievement in an industry known for high turnover. Sales staff and service technicians get extra benefits, such as time off and paid vacation days, at their five-, ten- and fifteen-year anniversaries at the store. After five years, they earn an extra day of paid vacation for every year of service.

“Someone who has been here for ten years could get three weeks’ vacation instead of two,” he explains. Plus, the store’s management works hard to create a comfortable working environment that’s not offered in many stores. For example, the employees have regular outings, play softball together and celebrate birthdays. Plus, Rendine keeps the store “as clean as a whistle. “We do an upgrade to some part of the dealership every year, and the landscaping and the cars are kept meticulous,” he says. “Each manager is responsible for a certain part of the building and the lot.”

All of those things create an atmosphere that makes people look forward to coming to work — and customers look forward to coming to shop. Its customer loyalty was tested during the recent Toyota recalls. Crystal Auto Mall took a proactive approach and contacted its Toyota customers with affected vehicles and advised them that they didn’t have to wait for their recall repair. Service hours were increased and extended to handle the extra volume. Rendine indicated that new customers had the most concern about the recalls, while existing customers took them in stride.

“It’s a great product,” he says. “You just have to reinforce how many vehicles have been sold that haven’t had an issue, and that Toyota is trying to do the right thing.”

Having come to the store in 1995 with heavy experience in F&I, Rendine says that the F&I department plays a critical role in Crystal Auto Mall’s success. The store is located in Green Brook, where the average annual income is about $96,000. Plainfield, NJ, is less than five miles away, and customers from that town tend to have much lower incomes. “That’s what makes the F&I process so important,” he says.

As the originating JM&A pilot dealership in the Northeast in 1986, Crystal Auto Mall has always stayed on the forefront of the most effective F&I products and systems. The entire department is on the sales floor, meeting and greeting customers and starting to put the deal together at the beginning of the sales process. The F&I manager works at the sales manager’s desk, not in an unseen office at the back of the store.

Training is continuous with the JM&A Field Service Managers, who are in the store “all the time,” Rendine says, sharing best practices from other stores and finding ways to implement them at Crystal Auto Mall. “It’s so important for your partners to understand how and what makes a dealership work.” All the hard work — from marketing to employee retention to F&I processes — is paying off after a very tough year in 2009. All indications point to a 25 percent to 30 percent increase in sales over last year. “I think the consumer feels a lot healthier than he did this time last year,” he says. “Incentives have never been better. That’s helped. Things are looking a lot better.” >>>

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