Good customer service can trump construction noise, traffic, dust and all other nuisances that go along with a $2 million remodel—just ask Infiniti of Mission Viejo’s sales force.
The dealership started the manufacturer-required “image makeover” as the 2013 holiday shopping season kicked off in November. That didn’t get in the way of a strong sales season—it boosted sales by 35% in the first two months of the project, finishing January as the No. 2 Infiniti dealership in the state.
“There are a lot of good cars out there, and every one of those cars will probably get you to and from work,” said Matthew Gunderson, who owns the dealership with his brother Scott. “[Our success] becomes a question of the nature of the product and the image of the product, which is really controlled by the factory, or the experience and rapport [customers have] at the dealership—which is something that we control.”
The 13-year-old dealership occupies 10,000 square feet on the “freeway side” of Marguerite Parkway, just below the Shops at Mission Viejo.
The remodel will spiff up the look of the overall dealership, meeting the current standard set by Infiniti, and also add 526 square feet of office space and six service bays for a total of 22.
“I am actually quite encouraged and excited about it, because it is going to improve our efficiency and our ability to serve the customer and give them a ‘tier one’ experience,” Gunderson said. “The old design wasn’t efficient.”
Some automotive manufacturers have offered attractive incentives to dealership owners to upgrade their facilities.
That wasn’t the case for Gunderson, since the project is mostly a renovation rather than new construction.
“If you built from (the) ground up, there is some assistance, but still nothing significant like [General Motors Co.] is offering,” Gunderson said. “We are considered a secondary remodel, which diminishes the level of support. It’s a $2 million project, and I laugh about it because we built the original building for $2.6 million, and now we are putting $2 million into this building and they call it a secondary remodel.”
The construction crews will be done early next month, but they won’t go far. Gunderson has to remodel his Audi of Mission Viejo, just next door on Marguerite Parkway.
The 8-year-old building will not change dramatically. The remodel will feature a two-story addition at the back, an expanded service drive and a sales floor upgrade. The price tag: another $2 million.
“The Audi brand is great,” he said. “You have to accept the fact that (the) manufacturer’s investment in product and development goes hand-in-hand with your investment in customer experience. You are a franchise, so they get to send those edicts down from Germany that say, ‘We want you to look like this,’ and if you want to stay an Audi dealer and you want to participate in all of their programs, you end up doing it.”
Opportunities, Incentives
The challenge, Gunderson said, is to provide opportunities for his employees to grow and develop, despite the fact that they are working out of trailers amid construction for a prolonged period of time.
Incentives have included an all-expenses-paid Baltic cruise offered by Audi—a performance-based perk claimed by three employees so far.
“This is a service industry where we are providing them a product, so we are only as good as our weakest employee,” he said. “Every employee has to be at the top of their game, and one employee’s interaction with the customer can destroy every other positive impact from other employees. I can’t change the national advertising for Audi. I can’t change what product Infiniti will produce and give us to sell. We are our own small business trying to motivate, challenge and invigorate our employees to be the absolute best they can be for our” customers’ sake.
