Even a six-figure salary couldn?t convince Scott Donaldson to leave his job.
Donaldson, parts and service director at Frankel Acura in Cockeysville, said he isn?t alone in his commitment to Frankel Automotive Group. Employees at the group?s various locations are loyal to the company because of dealer Bob Frankel?s commitment to them, Donaldson said.
“Bob is the anti-car dealer,” said Donaldson, noting that many dealers seem only to be in the business for their own personal gain. “He cares a great deal about his employees and is always going out of his way to help us. That loyalty makes everyone want to support him.”
That support has generated some top dealer awards for Frankel. But rather than accept them, he rewards his employees, Donaldson said.
“That?s Bob,” Donaldson said. “He is the angel of car dealers.”
Frankel Automotive Executive Vice President Group Rich Giroux said such care for employees and customers has set the dealerships apart since Frankel opened a Cadillac dealership on Reisterstown Road in 1982.
Giroux, who worked at General Motors for almost two decades as well as various auto dealerships before joining Frankel in 1995, said the group?s customers receive many extra perks, including lounges with wireless Internet access, Starbucks coffee and loaner cars.
“We have taken the emphasis on luxury treatment and moved it across the whole spectrum,” he said. “We offer high-end vehicles and high-end customer care.”
Even correspondence from the dealerships is personalized as a way to reach out to the customers and let them know they are not just numbers.
“It?s not just a car, it?s a Frankel,” Giroux said. “We carry that theme through everything we do.”
And it?s not just talk, he said. Not only do the 350 Frankel employees strive to outperform expectations, but Frankel and Giroux are always on the properties.
“You can always pick up a phone on a Saturday and find the owner or me,” he said. “It is that little extra personalized service” that sets the dealerships apart.
At a glance
Frankel Automotive Group
www.frankelautomotive.com
» Cadillac/Pontiac/GMC: 11227 Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills, 800-243-8029
» Land Rover: 10260 York Road, Cockeysville, 800-764-8506
» Acura: 10400 York Road, Cockeysville, 800-762-1653
