Digital Dealer - June 2019 - 22

C O V E R S TORY: Continued from pg. 21

A BIG PART OF WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY DAD,
FOR SURE, IS THAT 100-PERCENT SUCCESS DEPENDS
ON THE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR YOU."
DEALER MAGAZINE: What
attracted you to the family business in
the first place, and when did you realize
it would be your career?
KELLY: I'm an only child. So, it
was always in the back of my mind
that the car business may be a special
opportunity for me. Before joining my
dad's business, I went to Seattle U.
and earned my MBA. I didn't decide
to come into the business until after
grad school. I knew it was this huge
opportunity, and if I didn't join the
dealership, it would have been sold
and not be part of our family anymore.
Ultimately, I wanted to keep
the tradition alive in our
family.
My father is a huge part
of me being here and why
I love this business. He
was very passionate about
the business. It was pretty
much his entire identity.
He was one of those
people who started out as
a salesman and worked his
way through the business to
become a multi-franchise
car dealer.
It's really cool when
we have people who
come to work for us at an entry-level
position and we see them move up
to management. I really believe in
promoting people from within and
giving them opportunities to grow. A
big part of what I learned from my dad,
for sure, is that 100-percent success
depends on the people who work for
you.
DEALER MAGAZINE: When your
father opened Capitol City Honda, it
was one of the first Honda dealerships
in the Northwest. What appeals most
to you about the Honda brand?

KELLY: My father had many
franchises. He worked with Chevrolet,
Toyota, Mercedes, Acura, Nissan, and
Honda. The last two dealerships he
had were both Honda franchises. He
made that decision and decided it was
the strongest of all the brands he had
represented. I am glad he made that
choice because it has definitely been a
great franchise to work with. Honda's
quality and reliability are easy to sell.
The dealership's role is to provide a
relationship with the customer.
DEALER MAGAZINE: What
separates Capitol City Honda from the

is, we always want a customer to
tell their neighbor they had a great
experience at our store. Because it's
such a small community, our goal is to
create customers for life.
The dealership offers many benefits
to customers including a referral
program, lifetime car washes, and
first free oil change. We also worked
with Binary Solutions to offer lifetime
powertrain warranty and ten years of
roadside assistance to our customers.
Our service department is an awardwinning department. They've won
the America Honda Council of Parts
and Service Professional
Award for three years in a
row, one of only 150 service
departments nationally
to win the award. That's
the big one. They've won
other awards, including the
Honda Customer Service
Experience award, which
we won ten times and
Honda Fix It Right the
First Time award for eleven
years. We are a Honda
Xpress Service Elite store.
We have many long-term
employees, including a
master technician who has
worked here for 40 years.
DEALER MAGAZINE: Why is
it important to be a woman dealer
principal?
KELLY: I grew up going to
Washington auto dealer conventions.
The car business was a way of life
for me even on vacation. In that core
group of people, year after year I
saw a very family friendly business
environment. We are fortunate that our
auto dealer association has always been
very inclusive of female role models.
The head of Washington Auto Dealers,

OUR BUSINESS
PHILOSOPHY IS, WE
ALWAYS WANT A
CUSTOMER TO TELL THEIR
NEIGHBOR THEY HAD A
GREAT EXPERIENCE AT OUR
STORE. BECAUSE IT'S SUCH
A SMALL COMMUNITY,
OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE
CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE."

22

JUNE 2019

competition?
KELLY: We're an active part of the
local community. My husband and I
were both born and raised in Olympia.
We grew up in this community, which
is something of an island community
and a small town of about 125,000.
Plus, the company has been in the
family line for over 45 years. It's a
big deal to us that it's a family-owned
business, especially since there are so
many dealer groups now.
We give a lot to charitable
organizations. Our business philosophy

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