Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement - S9

OCTOBER 21, 2013 ❙ 9

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and weekly printouts of each department's
results.
"It creates harmony among managers,
helps them learn all the operations," Dunfield says.
Joe Serra says the cooperative approach
stresses profitability while giving young
managers insight into how other departments function. And it prepares them to run
their own stores.
"You've turned six of my managers into
GMs running their own store in the last six
years," Dunfield playfully calls out as Joe Serra walks by during an interview. "How about
giving one back sometime?"
Walking out of earshot, Serra says softly,
"Don't tell Denny, but it's seven we've taken,
not six."
Serra is keen to train his managers at the
plaza because he relies heavily on his general
managers at the outlying locations, giving
them wide latitude on operations but demanding a strong return on investment.
He says: "Trust the guy you put in the
stores."
The managers appear to trust Serra.
At 52, Serra still has the lean and agile look

"With all the brands and
how much technology
each has, this is needed.
Even if you do a perfect
job on [a new-vehicle]
delivery, two weeks later
the customer has
questions."

SERRA

Matt Serra on the need
for Serra's Answer Team

he had as the shooting guard captain of the
1980-81 Albion (Michigan) College basketball team.
The waitress at Little Joe's in downtown
Grand Blanc automatically delivers his "usual" lunch, a no-dressing grilled chicken
breast salad.
He's approachable by all employees. Spotting Serra passing the double-line Fast Lane
at the Buick-GMC store, a worker buttonholes him to explain how rerouting the
pneumatic line on a new tool eliminated a
tripping hazard. Efficiency counts.
"We get 250 a day" who line up to roll
through the line for a $12.95 oil and filter

change and lube, Serra says.
Serra also is a prankster. Most plaza employees root for the University of Michigan
Wolverines and tease Serra about Albion and
his wife's alma mater, Michigan State.
When Appalachian State upset U-M in
2007, Serra recalls: "I bought every T-shirt in
the Appalachian State bookstore by phone
and passed 'em out like party favors. Man,
was I unpopular that week."
Joe Serra's latest innovation is something
called the Answer Team, or A Team, which
provides instruction to customers on auto
technology features.
You don't need to be a Serra customer, and
it doesn't matter whether the Serra dealerships sell your vehicle brand.
Joe's son Matt, 24, has been heading the
new initiative since graduating from Miami
University in Ohio in June.
"With all the brands and how much technology each has, this is needed," Matt says.
"Even if you do a perfect job on [a new-vehicle] delivery, two weeks later the customer
has questions."
The Answer Team is free to anybody who
asks for it, but the younger Serra figures it's
an excellent if indirect marketing tool for the
Serra group.
He says: "It gets them thinking about
you." c

Joe Serra prepares to cut the ribbon during opening ceremonies for the Grand Blanc, Mich., Volkswagen dealership in September 2012.

Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement

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