GOAC Q u a r t e r l y 12/2015
Employee of the Year Every year, each Dealership gives the prestigious honor of Employee of the Year. So what makes somebody Employee of the Year? This person makes a profound impact on the dealership which shows through their commitment to the company. Work ethic, drive, and exceeding expectations in challenging situations are just a few qualities our Employee of the Year has. Being dependable, efficient, and punctual are also looked into when making this important decision. Any employee in any position can be nominated as Employee of the Year. The Gregg Orr Auto Collection & Gregg Orr Marine are thrilled to have so many candidates nominated for this honor and appreciate every employee working their hardest day in and day out.
> From our Leaders... I want to thank everyone for a great 2015. Our employees are what make this business successful and I am proud to be associated with all of you. Thank you all for your continued efforts and working hard day in and day out. Have a wonderful holiday with your families and let’s have a great 2016! Gregg Orr President Gregg Orr Companies
Happy Holidays, I hope everyone and their families are having a great year and are looking forward to a great 2016. I wanted to write a short article with the focus being on company culture. If you Google “company culture” you will find a ton if different definitions, thoughts, and ways to achieve a great company culture. I spoke with some of our company veterans who have been with the company a long time and that I look up to as leaders as well as really good, happy people both at work and in their personal lives. The traits that seem to continually come up are honesty, positive attitude, and respectfulness. These are some of the core traits that we would like to exude as a company. This isn’t only how we should treat our customers. We should treat our co-workers, potential new hires, vendors and competitors in this manner as well. Having a happy and positive work environment is a big deal. It makes everyone who works at a store happier, improving quality of life and that becomes obvious to our customers, also making their experience better. It is up to every one of us to help create this environment every day. If everyone comes to work and does their best to be honest, positive and treat everyone with respect we will have great work environments that people want to be a part of. Thanks everyone for making this a great place to come to work and a great place for our customers to come and do business.
Thomas Orr President of Operations Gregg Orr Companies
> Ashdown Classic Chevrolet First of all, I would like to thank each of our team members for their efforts and hard work in making 2015 a successful year in Ashdown. We have a great team and I am proud of everyone here. It makes it easy to come to work every day when you are surrounded by great people and I can’t thank you enough for that. We had a record year in fixed ops and we still feel there is potential for growth. We have added Lacey Power as our new Service Manager and we are excited to welcome Lacey and the enthusiasm she brings. We feel that she will take our fixed operation department to a new level in 2016. We are excited for what 2016 brings and we all feel that this will be the best year we ever have had. We have added two new sales consultants to
our staff; Patrick Smith and Cornelius White. Both guys, along with our other sales team members are excited for what 2016 brings. Chevrolet has changed the body style on the new Silverado, introducing an all-new Malibu body style, and an all-new Cruze. Chevrolet has introduced the 6th Generation all-new Camaro and it has already won Motor Trend Car of the Year. The new Colorado is the Motor Trend Truck of the Year, so Chevrolet has a clean sweep. With all the new looks and the aggressive incentives, we are looking forward to a great Sales year in 2016 in new and used. I would also like to thank the GOAC
team for all of their support. You guys are the best and we all appreciate everything that you do for us. With your support and the great team that we have in Ashdown, we are excited about what 2016 has in store for us.
Terry Wrinkle General Manager Classic Chevrolet
> Destin Porsche of Destin I can’t believe it is the end of another great year at the Destin location. This year we added the Marine division to the Florida market and getting our foothold into representing our great brands to the Emerald Coast. We are looking forward to the achievements this division will have in the coming new year.
In the last year with Porsche product we have been maximizing the arrival of new models providing Porsche of Destin a new and wider relevance. Today, Porsche is the synonym of success in our market with a name recognition way beyond the sports car aficionados. Our highly trained sales team is proud to be part of this marque and represent our store amazingly. We produced a great success in our service business this year with our team hitting new record production levels. We have young up and coming technicians that are quickly becoming the finest professionals in the country. Obviously, we benefited
greatly from the cores we were dealt from the leadership at the corporate office. We appreciate the assistance and guidance from them all. We would like to welcome the following to our team: • • •
Tina Somers, Business Manager Stefan Anderson, Brand Ambassador Raphael Adolph, Brand Ambassador
I want to thank each member of our team for a great year. It is a continuous source of joy and considerable pride to work with you daily. Wishing everyone a wonderful 2016.
Cameron Scott General Manager Porsche of Destin
> Hot Springs
Gregg Orr Marine Hot Springs
Cadillac of Hot Springs
Hello to all from Gregg Orr Marine. We have had a wonderful year of growth at the marina and are looking forward to even more in 2016! We are located in what manufacturers and statistics call a “200 boat market” meaning according to statistics, only 200 boats are sold by all dealers in this area each year. Well, Gregg Orr Marine has done 200 boats alone in 2015! So, we are making an impact on the market and we are proud of our efforts. Our pro-shop and boutique, Lake Hamilton Outfitters, has turned into one of the nicest and most unique shopping locations in the area. What started out as basically a garage with wakeboards and Yeti coolers for sale, has turned into a beautiful and profitable retail location. We are getting ready to launch a new e-commerce retail website as well and can ship anywhere. In Summer 2015, we recruited three of the most experienced marine service experts in the state and the quality and efficiency of our service department has skyrocketed. We are proud of our accomplishments in just 2 years in business while learning the ins and outs of the multifaceted marine industry. Now, with two locations in Destin and Texarkana, we are looking forward to even more growth and name recognition in the boating industry. Our employees are all proud to work with such a professional group and be a part of the Gregg Orr Auto and Marine Group. Thanks!
I’ve been with the Gregg Orr Auto Collection since March of 2012. I was given the opportunity to operate the Cadillac store in February of 2015 and it has been a very exciting 5 years to say the least. We are constantly making changes to better ourselves as a company and make our customer’s buying experience first class. We do business with integrity and we work very hard to maintain a great reputation in our community. We hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and we were voted number 1 Auto Group by our community in 2015. I have great respect for this company and our leaders who give individuals the opportunity and tools to be successful. The company is highly regarded for promoting withing and I have seen firsthand a lot of dedicated people promoted lead roles in their stores. We recently promoted Matt Perry to Service Manager. Matt has been with us for 21 years and has built a large customer base. He is a big part of our store. People trust him to provide an excellent customer experience and to service their vehicles. We are looking forward to 2016, with a huge selection of new Cadillac’s and an even bigger selection of pre-owned inventory for our clients and if a customer does not see the vehicle with the equipment they are looking for on our lot, we ask that they give us 24-hours and we will find it for them. Every employee in this operation is important and helps us to provide our customers a great experience.
Lisa Sexton General Manager Gregg Orr Marine - Hot Springs
Bobby Bentley General Manager Orr Cadillac of Hot Springs
Toyota of Hot Springs
Lake Hamilton Outfitters
Merry Christmas! I want to personally thank all of the wonderful employees of Gregg Orr Toyota! We have a wonderful group of employees that will go above and beyond for our customers and for the company. We have focused this year at building a stronger foundation where we are focused on more positive, honest, hard working employees. I want to congratulate the employee of the year, Salesman of the year and tech of the year I have worked and known the following for years and they are great employees and also great people and we are lucky to have them as part of our team. I want to thank all that have helped me this year, the receivables meeting team for all their work and effort getting all this cleaned up, the wonderful help from our office and the best service department. We had another wonderful year in fixed operations, John Word and Kenny Dhane and the great asm’s , parts and not to mention the wonderful techs that make their jobs look easy. I want to thank the long term sales associates that have been with me for years: Curtis, Robert, Tim and Jeff. Thank you so much for all the hard work and dedication.
2015 has been a great year for Lake Hamilton Outfitters, the premier Pro Shop inside of Gregg Orr Marine Hot Springs. After finishing a deep remodel we opened our doors in January with a small selection of merchandise & wakeboards. We had a great summer and made a lot of new returning customers. We have landed some huge brands this year for 2016 such as Hyperlite, Rowdy Gentleman, Billabong, PilyQ, L Space, Columbia, Bote Paddleboards, Jobe & many more! We have grown from a garage with a small selection of merchandise to a beautiful outdoor, outfitter boutique. We just finished up having our Holiday Open House Party for our customers, were we had live music, hor d’oeuvres, Christmas cocktails, shopping discounts & giveaways! We had a great response from our customers & looking so forward to going into Summer 2016. This upcoming year we are getting involved with the INT amateur wakesports league & help hosts some events, which in turn will create movement in our store! We will be having Customer Appreciation after-hour parties once quarterly, & continue to build our brand! Everyday we are looking for new ways to get involved in the community and help get Lake Hamilton Outfitters name out to the public!
Joe Afeld General Manager, Toyota of Hot Springs
Honda of Hot Springs First of all, I’ve got to thank Gregg and Thomas for this opportunity. It means the world to me and my family. I really appreciate it! My name is Wes Pinson, the new General Manager at Orr Honda of Hot Springs. I have a great team already in place with Obie Staggs, New Car Manager and Steve Gallomore as our Pre-owned Manager. We also have Clint Tarkington as our Finance Manager, John Word as our Service Director and Cal Jones, who has been with the company for over 31 years, as our Parts Manager. Damon Cooper, who has been salesman-of-the-year for several years running, does a great job. I was also able to bring some guys along with me who have hit the ground running. Honda has several redesigned models rolling out for 2016, as well as a new mid-size truck to be released in April. We have a lot to look forward to in 2016 and we are going to have a record year! Thank you again!
Wes Pinson General Manager Orr Honda of Hot Springs
Lizzi Bridges Manager Lake Hamilton Outfitters
> Searcy GM Superstore Searcy
Orr Toyota of Searcy
I wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone at Gregg ORR Auto Group. It’s my pleasure to introduce myself as the new General Manager of ORR Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC store in Searcy since October 2015 recently the General Manager of ORR CDJR in searcy and the previous 5 years at ORR Toyota of Searcy as the GSM. It’s my pleasure to work with this auto group for the last 5 years and proud place to call home away from home. The company stands by it’s employees and helps in any way it can and is a strong competitor in the car industry. I am excited to join the team at Searcy GM we have a great staff in service and in sales and with some changes we have recently made in management I am excited about the direction that 2016 holds and we should grow in leaps and bounds. We had a loss of my GSM (Alex Valencia) got a job offer to be GM at the CDJR store in Searcy and I hated to see him go but I was proud to have him take over that role as GM. Alex was a big part of this store for many many years and will be missed as a great asset to the dealership. Congrats ALEX for the promotion and we all know you will do great in this role at CDJR. The Chevy store is excited about changes that have been made and the direction this store is going in 2016 with changes in vehicles and growth from within. Let’s make it a record breaking year in 2016. Thanks again for everyone in the group and at corporate for helping out over the years and creating such a great career for anyone.
I am excited to be part of the Gregg Orr Auto Collection. I originally started with Toyota in 1984 with Toyota here in Searcy with Capps Lincoln, Mercury and Toyota, where I spent 17 years until the sale of the store. I then went in business for myself and owned and operated pre-owned stores around central Arkansas for the next 5 years until 2006 when I returned to the new car business. I have been in North Little Rock for the past 8 years running North Point Mazda VW. I have been back home with Orr Toyota since the beginning of September and loving every day. We have a great team here with Brad Vaugan as the new car manager, Jason Davis as general sales manager and pre-owned manager leading a great group of sales professionals. We also have an award winning service department lead by Leslie “Judd” Kersey ready to take care of any of our service needs. I feel blessed and fortunate to have been able to come back home to Searcy and Toyota and to do that with a great company like Gregg Orr Auto Group. I look forward to building and growing this Toyota store and serving the great people of Searcy, White county and central Arkansas. We are excited to announce the all-new Orr Toyota of Searcy coming soon. We have begun plans to build a new Toyota store off of 167 North in Searcy. It will be great for the city and our customers and gives us the opportunity to continue to grow in our market. With the new facility we will be able to bring larger and better inventories to the city with much improved service facilities also to better serve our customers. We will continue to operate out of our current location with and estimated completion of late 2016 early 2017. We are all excited, as is the community for the new growth and continued commitment to Searcy.
Aaron Johnson General Manager Orr GM Superstore Searcy
Gregg Orr Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram It’s my pleasure to introduce myself as the new General Manager of Orr Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM of Searcy. I’m delighted to be leading this team of fine sales and service professionals. On October 8th 2007, I became a member of the Gregg Orr Auto Collection. Prior to joining the Chrysler team I served as General Sales Manager for the GM store for several years. I am so proud to be a part of such an organized and professional automotive group. I would like to thank GOAC members, management, and staff for their many contributions, sacrifices and time they have put into making this dealership a success. The Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM team has truly made my transition welcoming and exciting. The key component of any interaction between human beings is sincerity. Each employee at Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram brings a different skill set to the table. As a team we will be voiced as one working toward unbeatable customer service. We do not believe in resting on our laurels. There is always room for improvement and we will always seek it. We will remain proactive in finding ways to grow and develop in order to serve our clients better. Orr has a tradition of success that drives its leaders. We keep our eyes on the prize and relentlessly pursue excellence. We know that the value of our people is truly what separates us from our competitors. We believe we are able to reach our goals through cooperation. We acknowledge each persons contributions and treat others with respect. We look forward to our future in this Searcy market where our support staff knows that there is only one acceptable solution, total customer satisfaction. Bring it on 2016.
Alex Valencia General Manager Gregg Orr Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
Jon Collins General Manager Orr Toyota of Searcy
New Construction 2016 is going to be an exciting year. New constructions include a new brand new Toyota facility in Searcy and a brand new Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership in Texarkana. Both buildings are planned to be complete and open by the end of 2016. The all-new Gregg Orr Marine in Texarkana is now open and operating!
> Shreveport
Orr Cadillac of Shreveport
Orr BMW of Shreveport I just wanted to start out by saying thank you to Gregg and Thomas Orr for giving me the opportunity to be the General Manager here at Orr BMW. It’s a great feeling to work with a group of dedicated employee’s. We’ve made a few changes with Brian Kleinertz and Sonny Cannatela leading the sales team and Lyndsey Griggs taking over F&I. Our sales force is as strong as it’s ever been and we look forward to a strong 2016. BMW recently released the all-new 7 Series and the all-new X1 to go along with the ever-popular new 4 Series. BMW new car sales will be better than ever. We look forward to a big increase in used car sales for 2016. Parts and Service speak for themselves. Brian, Roger and their team have been with the company for a very long time and their customer service is top notch. This coming year they’re finally going to be done with the construction of a new Whole Foods next door. Then our world will be a lot easier. We’ve been dealing with a lot of dust and dirt. In 2016 we begin a facelift on our facility that will be complete by 2018. Thank you to all the employees at Orr BMW for making this a great place to work. We look forward to a recordbreaking year.
Kevin Cline General Manager Orr BMW of Shreveport
The holiday season is upon us once again, which always makes me reflect on the past year at Orr Cadillac of Shreveport. It has been our goal to minimize the assistance of third party companies in the restoration and accessorizing of our vehicles. After adding the automatic car wash /detail shop in 2014, we have followed through with the hiring and training of employees to run our paint booth, window tinting, pin-striping, and glass replacement. We are on our way to being able to complete all these services and more to completely eliminate outside vendors and produce faster results for our customers as well as turning our inventory at a faster rate (not to mention an increased profit in our bottom line). Our next goal is to expand into wheel repair and restoration. We have plans to get this new profit center up and running soon. As we have been expanding our available services, Cadillac has been improving our lineup of vehicles. The 2015 Escalade has been one of the most popular vehicles we have seen in a long time, but it doesn’t stop there. We have already taken pre-orders on the 2017 Cadillac CT6 and have previous SRX customers asking about the 2017 XT5 which will start production in March 2016. We are excited to have several all new Cadillac models in 2017 to broaden our ability to reach an expanded demographic and increase sales substantially. I read a quote once, “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” Our continued growth at Orr Cadillac of Shreveport is due to our amazing team members. This team is one of the best I have ever worked with and I am proud to be a part of everyday. Without the help of each and everyone of them we would not be the top selling Cadillac dealer in Louisiana! We appreciate Gregg Orr putting together this great group of dealerships and allowing us to be a small part of it.
Tim Robinson General Manager Orr Cadillac of Shreveport
Orr Acura Shreveport We are excited about the arrival of the all New Acura NSX that will be the Halo car for the Acura brand. This car breathes. As it inhales and exhales, air flows over and through the NSX with a revolutionary system that creates down force without disrupting design. While it keeps it cool with thermal dynamics, it’s likely to take your breath away. Form and function have fused in an interwoven exterior design where every detail enhances performance. From modern lines to classic proportions, the NSX is as powerful as it is alluring. The steering wheel has more of a racing vibe to it, since it now has both a flattened bottom and top, while the instrument cluster is as high-tech as they come. An all-new, twin-turbocharged, 75 degree V-6 has been developed for the car, with the mid-ship position being identical to the original NSX. The power plant combines both direct injection and port injection, along with Variable Timing Control to deliver optimal camshaft phasing, for precision combustion control throughout the entire rpm band, while also achieving high power output and performance at high engine speeds. Acura says the power plant was crafted to deliver the best balance between power production, overall compactness, and reduced mass. Key design elements that contribute to this statement include a sand-cast engine block, lightweight and compact cylinder heads, thermal spray coating on the engine block cylinder sleeves for higher thermal efficiency, and a dry sump lubrication system that significantly reduces the engine’s center of gravity. Paired with the internal combustion engine are three electric motors, two of which are in charge of powering the front axle. A T-shaped lithium-ion battery sits in the middle, while the third electric motor is integrated between the engine and the rear-based nine-speed DCT. The frontmounted motors, called a Twin Motor Unit (TMU), provides instant torque and AWD traction, improving 0-to-60 mph acceleration times and quarter-mile runs. The NSX also features the most advanced evolution of Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive system (Sport
Hybrid SH-AWD), which is capable of distributing more torque than any other setup the brand has used in its products as of 2015. No fewer than 10 air-cooled heat exchangers will cool the power train, while the V-6 will use three radiators. Further cooling is provided by the twin intercoolers in the side air intakes. Needless to say, the NSX has one hot drive train. Sending the V-6’s power to the wheels is an advanced ninespeed dual-clutch transmission that bring together many new technologies. The gearbox employs an electronicallyoperated wet dual clutch, a high-rigidity shift fork, and an electronic shift actuator for quick and precise shifting. To improve cooling, Acura added two oil “rooms” within the transmission housing. A multiple-plate limited slip differential provides increased traction when accelerating and cornering. The NSX benefits from a total output of 573 horsepower. The mid-mounted V-6 cranks out 500 horsepower from 6,500 rpm and 406 pound-feet from 2,000 rpm, while the motor situated between the engine and the transmission generates 47 horses at 3,000 rpm and 109 pound-feet from as low as 500 rpm. Each of the front-mounted motors send 36 horsepower and 54 pound-feet of twist to the front axle. Performance specs aren’t yet available, but the 573 horses should be more than enough to help push the NSX from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. We can hardly wait for this awesome car to show up at Orr Acura later in 2016! Joel Robinson
General Manager Orr Acura & Infiniti Shreveport
> Texarkana Classic Auto Park Texarkana Greetings from Classic Auto Park! It’s been a great 2015 and a challenging last quarter for us but we will finish with a record year in net profit. We’ve had a few changes in this last quarter and some new faces. I would like to welcome Gary King to our team as new car sales manager for our CDJR franchise. Gary has 20 years’ experience with the majority being in the Chrysler franchise. He brings a lot of knowledge with him and I am looking forward to growing the business with him as our leader for the brand. I would also like to thank all of our long term team members here at Classic, for what has been a very nice year. Jason Kelley, Shane Conway, Tim Wooten, Louis Slimer, Ron Lundy, Lance Peavy and David Howe. Also a special thanks to our inventory manager, Carl Keely. Fixed Operations has had another record year and just keeps getting better. I would like to say thank you to the people that get this done on a daily basis. Scott Thompson, Donny Bond, Jessica Brooks and Donnie Hodum and a host of others including our great service advisers and parts people and technicians. Once of my biggest goals this year has been to make CAP a fun and enjoyable place to work. I feel we have accomplished this and it shows in our results each and every day. One of the most important things I’ve learned in the last 8 years is that we are nothing without a great group of employees, from managers to lot porters. In closing I would like to say that we are looking forward to an even bigger 2016 and also thanks so much to Gregg and Thomas for all of your support over the years. I wish everyone in our company and their families a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
Greg Waits General Manager Classic Auto Park
Gregg Orr Marine Texarkana Hello everyone and I hope that 2015 has been a great year. It has been an exciting year at Gregg Orr Marine. We started the year sharing a location with the Extreme store on Stateline. We are now moving into our new location next to the corporate office the first of December. The new store looks awesome and location couldn’t be better with the I 30 frontage. We are carrying a lot of the same boat lines that Hot Springs has. We have just added Centurion and Supreme wake/surf boats. Centurion was the #1 surf boat in 2015 and is a really nice boat. We also have Glastron ski boats which has been a big name in Texarkana for a long time. Glastron is a great boat that is very affordable. We also have Triton fishing boats along with War Eagle hunting and fishing boats. We have a wide variety of boats to choose from but can always use more nice pre- owned boats. Please keep us in mind if you have a customer that would like to trade in a boat for an auto. I hope everybody has a great 2016!
Jay Freeman General Manager Gregg Orr Marine Texarkana
Classic Kia It’s been a great year at Classic Kia! Marsha Hammond has been promoted to New Car Sales Manager, Aaron Thompson to Finance Manager and I have taken the role of General Manager. We are in our new state of the art facility in Texarkana and our team is growing & learning everyday. Kia is a very fun brand to work with and is growing immensely. Kia has won many awards this year, knocking out other well-known brands. The Soul and Sorento earned top honors in J.D Power’s initial quality study. Soul was named the highest ranked compact multi-purpose vehicle in initial quality while the Sorento earned the highest ranked mid-size SUV in initial quality. I’m very excited for the future of Classic Kia and growing in the year 2016.
Travis Jones General Manager Classic Kia
Classic Car Wash
At the car wash we are focused on bringing in more customers and doing what we can to create long lasting relationships. We want to bring the value of our overall service up to a higher level. It is our mission to provide a full service facility with high quality work and smiling faces that will keep our guests coming back to Classic for years to come. Through the last couple of months things have been picking up. We are focused on producing more detail sales and providing quality experiences for our customers. Our overall customer rating has improved tremendously. Our sales have experienced an increase and our discount days are bringing more and more guests with every week. It has been quite the experience thus far, but I know good things are on their way in the coming months.
Justin Howe Classic Car Wash
> Corporate Accounting The year of 2015 is about to conclude and I hope each and everyone of you have had a year of prosperity and good health. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you that have been studying and training on the new ERA Ignite computer system. Many of you have informed me that the more you learn about the Ignite system, the more efficient you become. This change is providing us with new tools such as the Docu-pad in our Finance & Insurance Department and a new Service Department marketing process which has improved our working relationships with each other and allows us to better serve our customers. So as the New Year 2016 begins, I ask you to continue studying and learning the new Ignite system and most of all, please share your knowledge and experiences with all of us so that we will all benefit. Also, I would like to encourage each of you to share any ideas and suggestions that might improve our operation. Your ideas and suggestions are important.
Rick Wheatley Chief Financial Officer
Inventory Management At the beginning of this year, a new plan was implemented to turn our inventories over faster, track days in stock, and monitor activity on all units daily. Our goal is to keep units for up to 90 days maximum, which lessens wholesale loss, and enhances our opportunities to create gross profit from fresh, exciting inventory, not only in sales, but parts and service as well. All stores have embraced this new direction, decreased wholesale loss, while increasing revenue in all departments, a job well done. As we all know, Pre-owned vehicles are a depreciating asset, so this is a critical daily function in all locations. I’m very proud of the efforts from each of you to manage this area of our business, and have high expectations for 2016 and beyond…
Bill Dykes President of Pre-owned Operations
Service & Parts
Parts Managers: I wanted to send this letter in to say Thank You, for a great 2015. This year you all have done a great job on reducing your inventories to a month and a half supply. To make this happen it takes determination, drive, focus and most important Great employee’s like you. Having said that do you remember where you were when you started in the parts department. You wanted to do anything you could to help your manager or impress them, just to learn more about the business. I would like for all of you to take a look at the counterman that you have now. I have seen some great potential setting right in your parts departments. There is nothing better than to teach and coach your countermen to become parts managers someday. That is the ultimate feeling, and since of accomplishment, to see your former counterman working in one of the other stores in Gregg Orr Auto Collection as a Manager. So I am challenging each of you in 2016! If you are a counterman, wash bay, porter, greeter, advisors, cashiers,ETC. Push to the next level, learn everything you can. And for the Manager’s, if you see a rising star that needs to be evaluated in the group, please let us know. We are always growing somewhere in this group and looking for the right person to put in there. Thank You, for a WONDERFUL year. Let’s have a great and safe New Year’s, and Be the leaders for 2016!!! Service Managers: Thank you, very much for all the help you have done on the loaner vehicles. We all know how easy it is to get in a hole that takes a long time to get out of. With your help, I want to never get in that shape again. You all have done a wonderful job, on staying attentive to your loaners. This is a great assist to us all. It helps us all the way around, from taking care of our customers, when they are getting antsy on the drive or in the waiting room, or I know this never happens “the part is on backorder”. We can keep our customer’s happy, because customers are what keep Gregg Orr Auto Collection so successful. So let us not get complacent, and lose our focus on these vehicles in 2016. You all are doing a great job on keeping them clean, stickered up, and low mileage. So we can rotate them out, so they can be standing tall on the lot. These vehicles are a great selling tool on the service drive, so take advantage of them. And it gives us a great certified used vehicle for the lot. So ladies and gentleman, let’s have a great finish in 2015! I would like for us to stay focused, and keep moving in the right direction for 2016 on these vehicles. And take every opportunity to satisfy a customer or to keep from losing a sale. Remember we have these tools to help us.
Tommy Atchley Vice President of Fixed Operations
Human Resources As you are reading this, we are approaching the holiday season. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that one of the things I am grateful for this year is the opportunity to work with each and every one of you. May you have a wonderful Christmas and the best wishes in the New Year. In the next months, you will see a new and improved employee handbook. As I have traveled to stores, and talked with employees, I realize we need to clarify our handbook so we have made changes. Each and every employee is a valuable member of the Gregg Orr Team and daily contributes to the success of this company. I love being in the stores and supporting this team. In the last year, there has been a change in the uniform selections. As a company, I believe we do listen and address employee concerns from uniform selections to the cleanliness of buildings. Our goal is to always be the very best and all of you are part of that! I know health insurance is an employee benefit that is very important to many of our employees. As a company, we do our very best to provide the best options for all employees. This year we have added long term disability to the types of coverage we are offering. When you look at your job, remember that it is not just your salary, but also all the benefits that you are able to provide for you and your family. Thank you so much for all the graciousness you show when I am in the stores. What a great group you are! Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me if you have a question or concern I an assist you with, I am happy to help!
Chris Franklin Human Resource Manager
Training One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned in the automotive industry is that it requires continuing education, it doesn’t matter what roll you play in the automotive industry you will either continue to learn or you will struggle to succeed. It takes 3200 jobs to build a vehicle; everyone in this economy depends on your success. The most successful people I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past 37 years in this business have these common traits, They continue to improve their personal skills, understand the job they do and how important it is, and realize the effect they have in the overall success of the dealership. Let’s strive to be better today than we were yesterday!
Tony McGee Corporate Trainer
Marketing
Business Development
First off, let me say thank you to everyone this year for being so open and kind to me as the marketing department took a huge transition. Everyone has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Marketing is constantly changing. 2015 has been a year of getting on board and being pro-active with the digital era. We are focusing diligently on paid Facebook campaigns, social media and search engine marketing (SEM). Traditional means of advertising are still important as well. We came out with a new TV campaign later this year with our customers participating in testimonials. We’ve added tons of new billboards in all markets with new designs and locations. The ever-growing Marine side of the business is a very exciting component to work with as well and keeps us learning about new brands & advertising methods. Again, thank you to everyone and I look forward to an even better 2016!
Haley Youngblood Marketing Manager
Blaire Harp Business Development Manager
Customer Satisfaction I would like to take this time to
say
thank you for all being a team player for CSI and the call center. Our call center is here to help each dealership in getting responses to their surveys and to make sure each customer is completely satisfied with their experience. We have a team of three in the call center, Kristi Kilgore, Marcie Landrum and myself, Barbara Bishop who call around 7,000 customer per month. We get to know some of our customers well and believe it or not some really look forward to hearing from us. CSI is a major part of each market ad I truly have a passion for it. Each market usually has target goal and we work to help each store reach that target by reminding the customer about the survey and letting them know that we are here to help them in any way we can. I am blessed to have the privilege to manage this department and have a great team to manage.
Barbara Bishop CSI Coordinator & Client Relations Manager
I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for working with and adapting to all of the changes that 2015 has brought. The Business Development Center is responsible for overseeing Internet sales for each dealership, and 2015 has been a great year. With the help of each dealership’s Internet sales staff and management leadership, we have doubled our sales since 2013. In 2013, we averaged 235 sales per quarter and now we average 480. The Business Development Center is made up of 2 people; Amy Rodgers and myself. We see an average of 1400 leads per month and are continuously growing our conversion rate. We aim to have a closing ratio of 10% and we average 15%. So hopefully this time next year, we will be at 20%. I have been traveling more to all of the dealerships and I would like to thank you all for making me feel welcome. I enjoy these and feel that working closely and developing these relationships is key to our success. I look forward to seeing you all in 2016 and making it the best year yet. The Business Development Center would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Corporate Support Well all, the year 2015 is almost behind us. What another exciting and eventful year it has been throughout the Gregg Orr Auto Collection. On behalf of the entire staff here at the Corporate Office, we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to each of you. We have an amazing team of wonderful employees throughout our group and we are privileged to work with such talented individuals from each of the markets including but not limited to General Managers, Sales teams, Parts and Service, office staff, cashiers and receptionists, each and everyone is a pleasure to work with. Please as your support staff, feel free to call on us anytime. We are here to assist you however we can. Our goal is to achieve absolute excellence in every aspect of our business and working together as a team, the end results will be nothing less. Many standards to the business and operating philosophy of the Gregg Orr Companies are incorporated in the Mission Statement of our organization. Any questions you may have regarding any of these areas, please reach out to us for support. • Employee Practices • Dress Code • Cleanliness of Facilities • Training • Sales • Communication • Service • Hiring Processes • Management Processes • Parts • Clerical Processes • Customer Service • Schedules • Inventory • Time Management • Security These key points, along with many others, are some of the guidelines we use in running successful and profitable businesses. The values we have implemented in this group, without a doubt, make Gregg Orr Companies some of the most professionally operated and successful groups of business you will find. We hope you all have a fabulous remainder of the year and are looking forward to what 2016 will bring. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All !!!
Darla Hart Office Manager
Nicole Forrest Senior Financial Manger