PReston Automotive BBB Nomination

8/6/2019 PReston Automotive BBB Nomination

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P.O. Box 489, 218 South Main Street, Preston, Maryland, 21655

www.prestonmnotor.com

July 14, 2011

Better Business Bureau502 S. Sharp St.Suite 1200Baltimore, MD 21201

Dear Judges of the BBB Torch Awards,

Of the many nominations that have submitted to the BBB of Greater Maryland, PrestonAutomotive Group should be considered for the award. Preston Automotive Group firstbegan in 1975 as Preston Ford only. Since then it has grown to include several new andpre-owned car dealerships including service centers and a auto body shop. Needless tosay it is difficult for a business of this size to keep it BBB A+ rating and continuallyincrease a positve reputation that many in the automotive business find difficult to do.

Not only have we continually kept a good reputation but we have also strived to becomeone of the leading ethical businesses in our industry. We find that good business ethicseasily leads to a good reputation and great customer experience before, during, and afterthe sale or service. All of our employees go through extensive training to ensure properethically behavior as well as proper ways to provide great customer service and qualitywork.

Every business has an upset customer every now and then, we are no different. However,if a customer is not fully satisfied with doing business with us, we always follow-up andinvolve upper management to correct the issue regardless of who is right and who iswrong. To maintain a healthy business in our area it is most important to take care of thecustomer and provide them with the best experience possible.

Preston Automotive Group has always strived for marketplace excellence. Throughout

the years we have demostrated excellence through ethical business practices, greatcustomer service, and quality ethical employees. It is with great pleasure that I ask you toconsider Preston Automotive Group as the winner of the BBB Torch Award. Thank youfor your time.

Brent DurhamInternet Marketing DirectorPreston Automotive Group


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1) Preston Automotive Group works hard every day to promote and hold high ethicalstandards. Due to the nature and reputation of the Automotive Industry it isimperative that we prove to each and every customer we are not like the other cardealerships. Furthermore if we even treat one customer wrong word of mouth willspread like wildfire. And being in the small community that we are it is of theutmost importance that we carry a string ethical standard which will in turn helpspread good reputation by our precious customers.

These ethical standards that we uphold, when followed, help us promote valuessuch as trust, good behavior, fairness, and/or kindness. With each employee thatwe hire we make sure that they folow our own ethical code with each and everycustomer. The below examples will help convey our ethical standards via ourcompany Creedo, customer testimonials, our charitable contributions, and ourenvironmentally friendly business practices.

A)

We use Compli in order to convey our ethical message to all employees. Compli allowsus to set-up webinars and readings about ethcial behavior, compliances, etc.


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Above is a picture of satisfied customers. We ask our customers to have their picturetaken after all sales. This shows that the sales employee has treated the customer ethically

and fairly.

B)


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Above is an award presented to David Wilson and our Company for being annualpartners with March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, and the National Fallen

Firefighters Foundation.

Above is the award presnted by Ford Motor Company to Preston Ford for giving greatcustomer servie and giving back to the community. We actively support our local youth

sports teams as well as high school sports.


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Above is our fundraiser we held for our local Senator, Richard Colburn.


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C)Below are examples of our Dealerrater.com trestomonials for our Preston Ford Store.

Each of our locations have high ratings given by real customers.About Preston Ford Lincoln

This dealership is a DealerRater.com Certified Dealer and is committed to providing quality customerservice.

As a Certified Dealer, Preston Ford Lincoln has the opportunity to contact reviewers that hadunsatisfactory experiences at their dealership. Contact may be made privately, without giving out anyone'semail address, through the DealerRater.com Message Panel with the goal to resolve any issues the reviewerexperienced. Reviews will automatically post after the two week reconciliation period has ended.

This dealership is available to supply quotes fornew vehicle inquiries.

ritacannon6/28/2011 3:12:19 PM

Customer Service:

Quality of Work:

Friendliness:

Overall Experience:

Price:

Overall Score: 5.0

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Reason for Visit: Sales (New)

I recommend this dealer: Yes

Employee(s) Dealt With: Charles Flowers

My Review of Preston Ford Lincoln:Charles was great from start to finish. He answered emails and phone calls promptly and had the answers toall my questions. I love my 2011 Ford Fusion SEL.
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Was this review helpful to you?Yes |NoVickie Hall6/9/2011 7:44:19 PM

Customer Service:

Quality of Work:

Friendliness:

Overall Experience:

Price:

Overall Score: 5.0

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Employee(s) Dealt With: Charles Flowers

My Review of Preston Ford Lincoln:I've never had a car sales man to be as open and as honest as Charles Flowers was, the man knows his job

very well. He had us in and on our way in a new car which seemed like no time at all. I had been shoppingaround all week for a new car and got all kinds of run around storys, finnally i said thats it Im trying onemore place and that was the best thing i could have done. When we got there and meant Mr.Flowers weknew right off that he was the best car salesmen we have every meant. I will not take my bussnessanywheres else but to Preston in hopes that Charles Flowers will be there the next time i need a car, truck,or horse and buggy.

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Was this review helpful to you?Yes |Nowpfalcon806/8/2011 5:35:57 PM

Customer Service:

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Price:

Overall Score: 5.0

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Reason for Visit: Sales (Used)


Employee(s) Dealt With: Mickey Henry

My Review of Preston Ford Lincoln:Being from out of state Mickey Henry made our car buying experience easy and simple. All information

was swapped in the early morning via telephone, and email and within a few hours we were on our way toMD to purchase our F150. Mickey Henry was very personable and provided exceptional services for ourneeds. I would recommend Mickey to anyone interested in a great car buying experience. He provided uswith ease as we negotiated to our desired price range without being rude or pressuring us to commit to adeal we didn't feel comfortable with. Mickey bared with us and made this an over all great experience.

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Was this review helpful to you?Yes |NoJay Schwartz5/14/2011 2:54:56 PM

Customer Service:

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Price: N/A

Overall Score: 5.0


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Reason for Visit: Service


Employee(s) Dealt With: Cherrita Cox
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My Review of Preston Ford Lincoln:My 2010 Ford Edge body work from a minor accident as well as a normal service check. After theinsurance company was advised that I would take car to Preston Ford where I purchased vehicle, the nextcall I received was from Cherrita Cox of Preston who was pleasant, organized and helpful.

About a month later, I called Cherrita to schedule a time and she had a rental car(paid for by insurance)waiting when I arrived. When the repair was taking longer than planned and threatening an scheduled out

of town appointment, Cherrita expedited the job.

Cherrita was always on top of the situation and made sure I was advised immediately. She even read nymanual to explain to me how to correct a problem I was having with my radio.

Well Done: Give her a bonus!!! // Jay Schwartz

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Was this review helpful to you?Yes |NoKrissee79795/11/2011 3:48:30 PM

Customer Service:Quality of Work: N/A

Friendliness:

Overall Experience:

Price:

Overall Score: 4.8


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Employee(s) Dealt With: Earl Murphy

My Review of Preston Ford Lincoln:Earl Murphy went to great lengths for a few weeks to find us the best deal possible. We were in a badfinancial situation & he hit a grand slam! He went above & beyond what ANY salesman would do. If you

think you cant get approved, call Earl Murphy! He will put you in a car. The entire finance department andmanagment team, including Mike (forget his last name) have the best customer service skills and workedSO hard! We cannot thank you all enough!! We WILL be buying another car in the near future and will be

back!
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D)


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Above is our Shut it Off campaign at all of our locations. We realized that by notshuting down computers and turning off the lights, not only does it cost us money but

also has adverse effects on the environment.

2) Preston Automotive Group began with Preston Ford of Preston, MD in 1975.From a single Ford dealership, initially in a small downtown location andrelocated to the middle of a corn field, The Preston Group, now known as PrestonAutomotive Group, has expanded to represent 5 franchises in 4 cities across twostates. While growing the business, the Company also focused on achievingexcellence within the industry by ethical business practices, customer satisfaction,and having great employees.

Preston Ford is the only dealership on Delmarva that has been in the Top 100Ford Dealers in the nation. In 2008 David Wilson, Jr., was appointed Vice-President of Preston Ford and is committed to achieving this distinction onceagain in 2011. David Jr. continues the family tradition of high customersatisfaction combined with high ethical standards. "We are proud of theCompany's many accomplishments and are excited about the future", says David.

Over the past 36 years for Preston Automotive Group to expand we could nothave done it without our valued customers. Many of our customers have boughtover 15 vehicles from us and keep coming back. Its customers like these thatenable us to operate our Autoplex in the middle of a cornfield between Prestonand Hurlock, MD. Without striving for ethical standards and customer satisfactionwe would not be in business today. Below are a couple of our awards and

recognitions.


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A)


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Above is a copy of the Presidents Award given by Ford Motor Company. The award goesout to a select few dealers that demonstrate our teams ability to exceed the ever-

increasing expectations of todays automotive consumers.

3) Preston Automotive Groups practices and policies used to assure all sales,promotional materials, and advertisements are truthful and accurate are governedby business law and also the guidelines of our Franchises. With everyadvertisment we place whether it is traditional or digital we make sure we havewhat we advertise available. All pricings that we use we make sure are accurateevery month (daily for some items) as rebates and incentives change from monthto month by our franchise parents. We also have programs that we use for each ofour franchises where we submit each of our advertisements to them for review inorder to receive co-op money where they split the cost of our advertising costs.An example of the guidelines is below. Without conforming our advertisementsfor the co-op our advertising expenses would be much to large for our company tohandle. Each manufacturer wants their dealers to be as truthful and accurate aspossible. Verbiage is also monitored by both our marketing department and ourfranchises in order to not confuse our customers. Again if we try to confuse ourcustomers with bait and switch or confusing words, it is easy for them to spreadword that our company does this which will greatly weaken our sustainability.

A)


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Above is a copy of our Ford stores advertorial. Here we exemplify why one shouldchoose Ford.


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Above we distributed this advertisement via newspaper and digital marketing to conveyour message to all of our customers to say thank you for helping us become 93rd Ford

dealer in the Nation, which is a huge feat for a little town of 600.

Above is an ad we recently ran in a local newspaper. All vehicles were currently instockwith accurate pricing information without any hidden extra costs.

B)


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Above is a declined ad due to including a college rebate in the pricing and mis-identifying the Focus Hatchback.


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Above is the apporved ad after the changes have been made.


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4) In order for Preston Automotive Group to promote an ethical workplace we havea system in place called Compli. Compli is a program in which every employeemust use each month and repeat key focuses every year. Key focuses include: RedFlag reporting, Discrimination, sexual harrassment, integrity policies, emergencyactions, and consequences of unethical behavior. Compli enables us to convey ourpractices and polices to the whole organization.

Our employee handbook is also included with Compli. On each of our employeesdesk is also a Preston Automotive Group Creedo which implements and explainshow we should treat our customers. With the Creddo Ethical standards are layedout. Each and every manager we lead by example. All mamangers are required tomaintain ethical behaviors in and out of the workplace. Managers that are not ableto prove their ethical standards on and off the job must talk to our humanresources department. Below are examples of our practices and policies.

A)

Integrity Policy

The Preston Automotive Group adheres to an unbending standard of honor and

truthfulness. Integrity is an unwavering standard in all of our relationships. This

includes but is not limited to fellow employees and customers as well our

manufacturers and suppliers. We value our standing in the community and in our

corporate circles. It is up to each employee to guarantee that our conduct not only

meets this high standard but enhances it.

Dishonesty on the job has always been and remains cause for immediate discharge.

No employee may:

Deliberately perform unauthorized work on a vehicle. Claim that work has been done or parts replaced when such is not the case. Falsify or make any misrepresentations on or about any application or

document. Perform any act that can jeopardize the companys public image or legal

position. Deliberately make any untruthful or misleading statement, omission or

falsification.

In cases where an issue is not clear, any employee at any level should seek an

appropriate interpretation from management before taking action that has any

possibility of being construed as misconduct or dishonesty.


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Failure to adhere to this policy will result in disciplinary action up to and including

termination.

Above is an excerpt from the employee handbook that states our Integrity expectations.

B & C)

We combined B and C with our Company Creedo. This represents our code of ethics andwe use this for every sales person to ensure ethical behavior. Failure to comply with the

Creedo results in termination.


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D)


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In 2007, David Jr. made the decision to no longer represent the General Motors brand.Doing so at first resulted in loss of revenue. However shifting our focus from GM to

strictly Ford allowed us to capitalize on Ford and later become a top 100 Ford Dealer.

PReston Automotive BBB Nomination

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