Treating Customers Right the 2019 RAV4, Shown in Lunar Rock 8 1 0 August 2 July
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july/august2018 THE MAGAZINE FOR TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS Treating Customers Right The 2019 RAV4, shown in Lunar Rock 8 1 0 2 august / july Dealer Doings Color Me Impressed 2 11 Toyota dealerships across the country work to make Meet the team in charge of choosing colors for Toyota a difference in their communities. vehicles. Answered Prayers Strike a Pose 7 13 Signature Toyota partners with a Michigan church Wellesley Toyota entices new customers with ice to help families find reliable transportation. cream and even a little yoga to keep them engaged in the ownership process. For the Love of the Customer 9 Meet the Toyota Quality Champions: technicians who serve as the brand’s eyes and ears on the front lines. EDITORIAL STAFF toyotatoday.com Published six times per year for Toyota dealers and dealership personnel Sr. Manager Scott DeYager by the Corporate Communications Division of Toyota Motor North America. Manager Lisa Yamada Copyright ©2018 by Toyota Motor North America. Contents may be reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Editor Kristen Orsborn Address magazine inquiries to: Kristen Orsborn Writers Dan Miller TEL: 469.344.8427 eMAIL: [email protected] Dan Nied For customer inquiries, please contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center: Design AkinsParker TEL: 800.331.4331 For product and company information: WEB: toyota.com TEL: 800.GO.TOYOTA DEALER DOINGS: Price LeBlanc Toyota Dealership Teams Up with Local Hospital to Help Keep Kids Safe by Kerry Curry 8 1 0 2 august / Click It july The Price LeBlanc Toyota team partnered with a local hospital and Buckle Up for Life to install car seats for children with special needs. 2 y a d o t ta o oy t Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, “At each event, Price LeBlanc Toyota has provided dinner Louisiana, had a $10,000 grant to provide car seats to for the parents and children as well as for the child passenger children with special needs. It just needed a place to help safety technicians and therapists teaching the class,” Fogle families install them. That’s when the team at Price LeBlanc says. “The staff at Price LeBlanc always makes our families Toyota stepped in to help. feel welcome.” Buckle Up for Life, a child passenger safety initiative Besides providing a meeting room and dinner, the spearheaded by Toyota and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, dealership keeps the service shop open after hours so that awarded the grant. parents and their children aren’t out in the elements if bad “Children with special needs often have numerous weather strikes. medical appointments that require frequent travel in a The first event, held at the end of 2017, went so well vehicle,” says Ashley Fogle, a physical therapist and pediatric that the dealership has since hosted more. Fogle says 18 injury prevention coordinator at Our Lady of the Lake. These seats have been installed at Price LeBlanc Toyota to date. children deserve the opportunity to be transported safely no DeArmond hopes to do it again. matter their positioning needs or financial ability.” “I told them that I want to do all of these. We don’t want Price LeBlanc Toyota General Manager Johnny recognition. We just want to help,” he says. “Ms. Fogle is DeArmond took the call and jumped at the chance to host the one who deserves the credit. I just provide the facility the event. Fogle and DeArmond say it was the beginning and try to make it special for the people who come.” of a continuing partnership. DEALER DOINGS: Serra Toyota of Decatur In Wake of Record Hailstorms, Alabama Dealership Makes it Clear: ‘We’re Here to Help’ by Dan Miller Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. “A lot of them were a total loss,” says Mcleod. Such was the stance taken by Serra Toyota of Decatur “You couldn’t make them look that bad even if you’d taken when vehicles in the communities surrounding the northern a baseball bat to them.” Alabama dealership were damaged in a series of devastating In response, Serra Toyota leveraged its local media hailstorms last spring. contacts to spread the word that it was there to help. For That included a barrage of record-breaking hailstones on a lucky few, that meant making repairs. But for most, the March 19. Craig Mann, a reporter with The Cullman Tribune, dealership’s assistance took the form of buying back each preserved one such specimen in his freezer. The National damaged vehicle “for the highest possible purchase price” Weather Service in Huntsville later confirmed the ice ball and offering $500 toward the purchase of a new or used was 5.38 inches in diameter and weighed 9.8 ounces. replacement. Mcleod says nearly 50 customers chose the “I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I’ve lived latter option. here my entire life,” says Serra Toyota General Manager “It was a 50/50 mix of returning customers and new Michael Mcleod. “We could see the storm coming, so we customers,” he says. “In one case, we had an entire family — 8 1 shut down the dealership and gave our employees a chance mother, father, daughter and son — that needed to replace 0 2 to get home before we took the hit.” all four of their cars. Many customers, though, weren’t able to find shelter august “I certainly hope our customers never have to go through / july for their vehicles in time. anything like that again.” 3 y a d o t ta Here to Help o When severe hailstorms oy t damaged cars in northern Alabama, Serra Toyota of Decatur came up with innovative solutions to help affected customers. DEALER DOINGS: Labadie Toyota Michigan Dealership Donates Thousands of Dollars to American Cancer Society by Kristen Orsborn 8 1 0 2 august / july 4 y a d o t ta o oy t A Cause Close to Home Labadie Toyota General Manager T.J. Horner (left) presents a check for $12,500 to Jeff Larsen of the American Cancer Society. When Labadie Toyota General Manager T.J. Horner wanted staffers presented the American Cancer Society with a check to do some good in his community, he didn’t have to look far in November. for inspiration. The team at Labadie Toyota also did its part to spread “Both my parents are cancer survivors,” says Horner. awareness among customers. Employees decorated the “My mom beat breast cancer and my dad had kidney cancer. showroom with hot pink balloons, and many wore pink So, this is personal. It’s a cause near and dear to my heart. bracelets as a show of support. I have a soft spot for the American Cancer Society, and it just Horner says he’s thrilled to make an impact and help fight seemed like a perfect fit for us to help them.” the disease he watched his parents battle for years. But for Labadie Toyota joined the organization as a partner in him, it also makes good sense for his business. its fight against cancer last year, donating $100 for every “We like to give back as much as possible to our local new and used vehicle sold in October. Initially, Horner hoped community,” says Horner. “We feel very strongly about it. to raise $12,000. But he and his team surpassed that number, We’re a family-owned business, and we like to keep our raising $12,500 by the end of the campaign. Labadie Toyota money in the community.” DEALER DOINGS: Toyota of Hackensack New Jersey Dealership Hits Home Run for Local Little League Team by Kristen Orsborn 8 1 0 2 august / july 5 Home Run y The Toyota of Hackensack team presents a $3,000 check to the local Little League program, Baseball of a d Hackensack. From left: General Manager Fred Radulic, General Sales Manager Mario Puentes, Bill White o t ta of Hackensack Baseball, and Fixed Operations Director Nick Latino. o oy t Nick Latino, fixed operations director at Toyota of “It’s important to us that every kid has a chance to play,” Hackensack, wanted to help his community’s local Little says General Manager Fred Radulic. “We don’t want anyone League team. To him, it seemed like a no-brainer. The team turned away.” practically plays in the dealership’s backyard. The sponsorship is just one of several charitable initiatives “Growing up, both my parents worked,” says Latino. happening at Toyota of Hackensack, after Radulic decided to reallocate some of the dealership’s advertising budget toward “I spent most of my days playing in the schoolyard, just like community service projects. Latino and his colleagues have these kids. So, when I heard they needed help, I immediately created scholarship funds for students, provided backpacks wanted to do something. I asked our Dealer Principal, Frank and school supplies to local children, wrapped vehicles for Holtham, and he said, ‘Run with it.’” breast cancer awareness and donated Thanksgiving dinner Latino and other dealership employees did just that. to the Hackensack High School football team. For the second year in a row, they sponsored the team, paying “I’ve got to tell you,” Latino says. “It’s a great feeling. for equipment and player registration. Toyota of Hackensack It feels so good to help people. Especially children. It’s very also covers costs for other local children who can’t afford emotional to see these kids. The smallest things make them the entrance fees, or who may not have money for mitts so happy. It’s not part of my job description, but I love to do it.