Mercedes-Benz of Naperville was recently certified as a J.D. Power 2019 Dealer of Excellence for the second year in a row, according to an AutoNation press release.
The vehicle dealership was the first AutoNation-owned business to receive this recognition in 2018, an honor that general manager Eric Hoffman said left him feeling “blown away.”
“To get this accolade amongst an unbelievable company was just really flattering,” Hoffman told Mega Dealer News.
AutoNation Director of Corporate Communications Lisa Ryans shared how 35 additional AutoNation dealers received the same title throughout 2019 following the Naperville site's first certification. Mercedes-Benz of Naperville’s recent acknowledgement places the current total number at 36.
“It is really in our rhythm to provide a pure customer experience every time, because we sell and service vehicles one at a time, one customer each time, and we’ve had the privilege to do that 12 million times,” Ryans said. “We have sold 12 million vehicles to date, on our way to 13 million, and we are the only automotive retailer to have done that ever.”
Dealerships apply for the Dealer of Excellence three-step program to be qualified for certification. The Dealer of Excellence program signifies to customers that the awarded dealership provides excellent customer service and strong commitment to ensuring the right vehicle purchase.
J.D. Power analyzes a brand’s performance, customer satisfaction and sales before naming them a Dealer of Excellence.
Hoffman also discussed how being certified reflects on customer’s expectations and his dealership’s overall strong work ethic.
“The parameters that J.D. Power sets for this recognition [are] very high, and it is all customer-centric, so we need to make sure our entire team performs at the highest level every day,” Hoffman said. “So when you do get something like this, the pride level between all of our associates, because it does take the entire dealership to accomplish this, goes extremely high, and it gives them validation that everything they do every day really matters.”
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