 Dave Cushman and Paul Holloway
When Debra Smola joined the Sales Team at Holloway Motor Cars in Manchester, NH 5 years ago, it was a lot like going home. She had bought her first pre-owned Mercedes-Benz from the dealership in 1997 and immediately noticed the sense of “family” the sales team fostered. Subsequent service check-ups demonstrated that Holloway was not simply selling cars but building relationships with clients. As she says now to her own customers, “We want you to become part of the Mercedes-Benz family;” she treats her clients the way she was treated almost a decade earlier.
Smola is just one of many employees and customers who have benefited from Holloway partner Dave Cushman’s beneficent practices. He sees both dealership/customer relationships and employer/employee relationships as symbiotic; ultimately, what is good for one is beneficial to the other. “I practice my partner Paul Holloway’s philosophy that we are not in business to sell cars,” he explains, “but to build relationships.” Those relationships start in the dealership.
As Holloway taught Cushman in his first job out of college more than 25 years ago, employee turnover is a huge expense. To retain good employees, it is important to treat them well, not only in obvious terms like remuneration and benefits, but also with appreciation tokens, such as cookouts on holidays and working in tandem with them. Smola shares, “Dave works side by side with us. He’s not above picking up trash from the floor and he’s right out there in the parking lot with us when we do snow removal.”
When Cushman opened Holloway Motor Cars in Manchester in 1996, he was determined to solve a dilemma he had encountered through his 16 years on the Seacoast: Why was it difficult to retain women in sales positions in the automotive business? Returning to lessons learned from Paul Holloway, he theorized that perhaps male managers were challenged in building relationships with their female representatives, so Cushman decided to hire Lisa Welch as Finance Manager and see her effect on the sales force. Ten years later, 4 of the 5 managers at Holloway are women: Lisa Welch, Finance Manager, Brenda Bagdonas, Service and Parts Director, Crystal St. Cyr, General Sales Manager, and Emily Millon, Office Manager.
The female managers seem particularly apt at anticipating and responding to needs of both the staff and customers. It is estimated, Cushman says, that women are 80% responsible for car-buying decisions, yet it was not until the advent of his new hiring practices that women customers became more visible on the floor. Welch attests that both men and women like the depth of knowledge her sales force shares “without trying to be impressive or using confusing terminology.”
Brenda Bagdonas is one of few female Service and Parts Directors in the industry and in her 4 years at Holloway has brought the dealership’s service rating to #2 in the region, quickly pointing out that they missed #1 “by a fraction of a point.” She attributes her department’s success to Cushman’s willingness to “let us get our job done. If we take care of customers and take care of our employees, the rest will fall into place.” Since coming to Holloway, Bagdonas says, she has seen “very, very little turnover” in the Service Department and of those who have left, “almost 100% call back because the grass isn’t greener.” She notes, “It’s not an easy business. Customer expectations are very high, as they should be when buying a Mercedes-Benz, but honestly, I love working here. There’s topdown care for employees and Paul and Dave are just good people.”
Over and over, managers and employees at Holloway Motor Cars liken Cushman’s care for his employees to what Mercedes has presented for over a century. When clients buy a Mercedes-Benz, they buy a total package: style, performance, prestige, dependability. When someone new comes aboard the team at Holloway, they receive training, support, and people who truly care about them and want them to succeed. Smola agrees, “I’ve learned from the best here at Holloway. They make sure I have the resources to become successful.”
Debra Smola can trace her 5 years of professional success and job satisfaction at Holloway Motor Cars to Crystal St. Cyr, who has been with Dave Cushman at the dealership since it opened 10 years ago. Cushman began his training almost 3 decades ago from Paul Holloway. Holloway, a car dealer for more than 4 decades, surrounds himself by staff with years of experience and satisfaction at his 4 dealerships around New Hampshire.
Success breeds success, especially when fostered through caring relationships. |
