Michael Thompson says at his dealerships, service extends to employees as well as customers.

Michael Thompson remembers a darker time in the auto business. He started in 1967 as a salesman, when the prevailing attitude was almost antagonistic toward the customer. “The average salesperson took the customer’s money and never spoke with them again,” he said. “Back in those days, the people in the service department felt they were doing the customer a favor by fixing their cars. I did not like that—it did not sit right with me.”

Michael Thompson

His customers liked that. Today, as CEO of Akron, Ohio-based Montrose Auto Group, Thompson’s customer base numbers around 85,000. “I always regarded my customers as the most important asset in the business,” said Thompson, whose collection of dealerships generate about $300 million in annual sales, compared to the typical dealership of about $10 million to $14 million. “I implemented a strong work ethic in my service department. I made sure everyone understood that the most important people in the company were the customers, and they needed to be welcomed with open arms.”

Turnaround story
Thompson applies that attitude to all his businesses, whether they are auto dealerships, tech companies, office supply stores, wireless phone stores, or marinas. A permanent Florida resident since 1981 (he commutes weekly between Englewood, Fla. and the Akron area), Thompson bought his first marina because he hated its service.

“The service and the way they treated the customers was terrible,” he recalled. “I started talking to the owner, and I said, ‘Why don’t you let me buy you?’ We ended up becoming one of the largest Wellcraft dealers in the world, right there in Englewood, in four short years.”

While Thompson bought and sold many businesses in Florida, he also steadily grew his group of Akron-area auto dealerships. That first store was a Chrysler/Dodge/Dodge Trucks dealership. In 1983, he acquired Montrose Ford of Fairlawn, which he considers the first official dealership in the Montrose Auto Group. Many others followed, including Brahler Chrysler-Plymouth in 1986, M&M Toyota in 1996, Wally Armour Ford in 1998, Don Joseph Chevrolet in 1999, Park Ford of Louisville in 2004, and Stupka Motors (Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac) in Hermitage, Pa. in 2007.

Just one dealership, Thompson admitted, is enough to keep you busy for a lifetime. “But I’m a Type-A personality,” he said with a laugh.

Going door to door
Thompson’s company doesn’t just buy a dealership and wait for business to walk in the door. About 10 years ago, it implemented the Montrose City Manager program. Three staffers, called city managers, actively reach
out to corporate clients.

“We go door to door to businesses and tell them we’d like the honor of doing business with them,” Thompson said. To large and small businesses, municipalities, and government agencies, the Montrose Auto Group sells and services corporate vehicles, municipal vehicles, and even police cars. It also offers discounts on parts and service and hands out VIP cards offering discounts to employees for their personal vehicles.

Thompson thinks it’s the only program like it in his market. “Our city managers have developed hundreds of clients for us,” he said.

In that same spirit of service, in 2000, the Montrose Auto Group launched a separate Business Development Center in Alliance. That location houses the company’s Internet and customer service departments, and the staff handles lease renewals and service recalls.

“If you bring service into your business, people will remember you,” Thompson said. “In times like these when everything is so costly, to add, say, $5 or $10 when you can get good service, that amount of money is worth it to people. We make them feel special because they are special to us.” Thompson refers to his customer base as the Montrose family.

To further reach out to that family, in 2004, Montrose Auto Group started its own wireless communications company. “Montrose Wireless is a benefit for our customers and other retail customers,” Thompson explained.

Montrose Auto Group’s latest venture is an online travel company, modeled after Internet leaders Expedia and Travelocity. Because the company communicates regularly with its customers through e-mail, offering other online services was a natural fit.

With so many businesses to run, there’s no way Thompson can keep up with the daily operation of all of them. Instead, he relies on trusted employees to operate each business with the Montrose emphasis on ethics and service. And he treats his employees with the same reverence as he does his customers. While many companies have eliminated such special touches as Christmas parties and bonuses, the Montrose Auto Group still hosts an elaborate holiday party each year.

Employees earn a very expensive ring after five years with the company, and they get a diamond to add to the ring with each additional five years of service. Each department also has special recognition programs, and top employees win trips and cash prizes. “We go the extra mile to show our appreciation to our people,” Thompson said.

“A lot of business owners forget that their employees are actually their ambassadors,” he said. “You can’t expect your employees to go about making your customers be appreciative of you unless your employees are appreciative of where they work.” E

Deborah Geering, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.