BOB MYERS INCORPORATED A LOT OF ADVANCED IDEAS WHEN HE FIRST OPENED HIS STORE. THIS IS ONE DEALERSHIP THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.
Bob Myers and his sales team (left to right) George Ettiene, Chris Byberg, Sandy McLeod, Bob Myers, Charlie Bartolo and Lou D’Amelio
There’s no question that Bob Myers Chevrolet is an imposing place. Located on Bayly Street in Ajax, close to the intersection with Westney Road, it stands out as a beacon of commerce amid the rows of businesses and restaurants that line this thoroughfare.
Bob Myers took a different approach when building his store, and his gamble paid off
The store itself looks modern and fresh, following the current General Motors of Canada image standards. Once a Chevrolet Oldsmobile franchise, today it carries the Bowtie brand along with Buick and GMC.
Yet sometimes things aren’t entirely what they appear. Although the store looks brand new, most of the building actually dates back to 1987 and that goes for the massive service drive-thru on the western side (a feature that is all the rage in dealerships today).
NEW SHOWROOM
“We tore the front end off it,” says Myers in reference to his store “and built this new showroom. We went into the ground in September 2011 and we opened again in January 2012.” Myers says he was grateful that the winter that year was so mild as it expedited the construction and remodeling process. Yet, with factory imaging a major issue for dealers, the fact that most of the facility hasn’t changed much since 1987 is a credit to Myers’ vision when he first set out to build this store.
“I originally worked for GM corporate,” he says. “I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and went to work for General Motors in 1965.”
Myers went all over the country, working in sales, ending up as the zone manager for Atlantic Canada. This was the early 1980s and by then he decided that perhaps it was time to do something different.
“I felt that I could run deals myself and that [being a dealer] offered a better lifestyle, both for myself and my family. At that time there were a lot of guys venturing out and setting up their own stores.” Myers says he was familiar with the area and knew that he wanted to operate a store in Durham Region. “GM was very good to me,” he remarks, “and they offered me several opportunities across the country but I decided to choose this one.”
So, in 1982, Myers, with assistance from Motors Holding (GM’s financial arm that helped new dealers get a leg up), opened his first store in Ajax.
He’s the first to tell you however that as good as business was in those days, the actual location left a lot to be desired. “I’ll make no secret, it was a terrible place. It was run down — in fact the building is still there today, even in worse shape now.”
So a new premises was on the cards, almost from the get-go. By 1986, Myers had a plan in place. He’d purchased a vacant lot close to the Westney and Bayly intersection and began building his new store. With a good deal of foresight he knew this location would serve his operation well in the coming years — an exit from the 401 was created and gradually, business sprung up around the area, making it into a major commercial artery for Durham Region.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
As for the store itself, Myers’ time at General Motors gave him an advantage in wanting to try ideas that were different to what many other dealers were doing back then. The drive-thru is a good example. “I came out of the factory and I had all of these ideas,” he says. “One of them was the drive-thru. It was pretty fancy. Stores really didn’t have drive-thrus in the mid-1980s, so it was nice for customers to drive their cars in. It ended up working really well for us.”
Today, judging by the cleanliness, you’d be hard pressed to think this is essentially the same building as it was back in ’87, but it is. “We’ve had it painted a few times,” says Myers “but it is basically the same.” And perhaps it was due to foresight when originally building this facility that for the latest round of GM imaging, there wasn’t a great deal that needed to be done.
New showroom is spacious and has been well received by both customers and staff
Myers says that customers like the new configuration, which enables nine cars or trucks to be displayed comfortably. Large window openings facilitate the feeling of spaciousness and a contemporary lounge area makes the whole space feel relaxing.
Sales manager Charlie Bartolo, says that customers appreciate the new showroom design. “Since we reopened in January last year, we do get a lot that are wowed by it,” he says. “It also enables us to get a lot more cars in, a lot more variety.” An important consideration, especially since the dealership now carries vehicles from three distinctive General Motors brands.
Although a good deal of Bob Myers’ customers call Durham Region home, the dealership regularly gets traffic from further afield. “We have customers as far away as Niagara Falls,” says Bartolo “and a lot that come from Toronto and Scarborough. Many of them have been good customers who have moved away but still want to deal with us.”
Service manager Mike Flanagan
GEARED FOR HIGH VOLUME
Service manager Mike Flanagan has been with Bob Myers for 13 years and says he’s seen a lot of changes when it comes to the fixed ops side. “The Internet has changed things,” he says “and you will get a lot of customers who will come in with an idea of what is wrong with their vehicle.” He acknowledges that while the Internet can be helpful, until the car is hooked up to a multi-scanner and/or taken for a test drive, it’s hard to pinpoint a specific problem. “That is when you need to rely on good technicians,” he says.
With 15 service bays, 12 licensed technicians and two apprentices, Flanagan and his team have the tools and expertise to handle high R/O volumes when the need arises. He says that Bob Myers stresses check-in times for service repairs rather than appointments, to maximize efficiency and keep customers happy.
Through GM’s Goodwrench service branding, Flanagan says the dealership makes a conscious effort to promote good quality service, via promotions and stressing the correct tools and experience required. “We do seasonal promotions on service and parts items,” he says, “whether it’s an oil change, wiper blades, brakes or tires.” He says that although there is still a perception that aftermarket repair services and fast lube centres are cheaper, that really isn’t the case and customers will often discover that when they actually bring their vehicle in for service, as well as getting more bang for their buck. “Even if a customer is coming in for an oil change, we’ll check and top up fluid levels, check tire pressures and inspect the vehicle.”
Service drive-thru was one of the first of its kind when the store originally opened in 1987
Parts manager Cam Banner, who oversees a quarter million dollars in inventory, says the location of the store and the layout of the property is a big plus when it comes to parts shipments. “We’re minutes from the 401, so for anybody accessing our property it is easy to get here and trucks have room to turn around.”
Night deliveries from GM ensure that parts are in stock the very next day and even when it comes to specific items, Banner says they can usually be sourced and on the shelf within 24 hours. “We have suppliers that will run to our store five or six times a day and can also source parts via other GM dealers,” he says.
Spending time at Bob Myers Chevrolet Buick GMC you can’t help but come away impressed, both in terms of the facility itself and also the people behind it. And in today’s highly competitive auto retailing sector, that’s an important consideration. “The market is tougher today,” says Bob Myers. “Where you used to have four or five players wanting a slice of the pie, today it’s 25, so you have to be able to compete.”
