March 21, 2023 12:00 AM

CADA’s top dealership thrives on family values

TLC for everyone is a guiding principle for customer service at Otto’s Subaru in Ottawa

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Otto’s Subaru Dealer Principal Sonia Koller wants customers to feel as if they’re in a “five-star hotel.” Otto’s has been Subaru’s top sales performer in Canada for nine years in a row.

Over decades of learning from her parents and now as dealer principal of Otto’s Subaru and Otto’s BMW in Ottawa, Sonia Koller has found that treating customers like royalty pays dividends.

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The combination of high customer satisfaction, staff retention and consistently solid financial performance earned the Subaru dealership the 2022 retail Laureate award from the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) for outstanding achievement by an individual dealership. The store was selected from among Canada’s 3,200 car and truck dealerships.

How it began

The found of Otto's Subaru and BMW dealerships began as an immigrant’s story. Otto Koller came to Canada from Switzerland in 1959 as an auto technician and in 1964 began selling BMWs from his White Rose gas station years before BMW had a corporate presence in Canada.

Eventually, Otto’s expanded to sell Subaru, Honda, Chrysler and Land Rover.

After Koller died in 1998, his widow, Huguette, and daughter, Sonia, decided to divest the Honda, Chrysler and Land Rover dealerships because those brands required standalone rooftops. They kept BMW because it was Otto’s first dealership and Subaru because they liked both the product and the company’s approach to business.

The two dealerships, plus an Otto’s BMW-branded body shop, employ 188 people.

“Otto’s began as an independent shop built on customer service, and this legacy is reflected to this day in its customer satisfaction performance,” wrote judge Kirk Kristofferson from the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont.

Koller said her guiding principle is advice she received as a child from her father, Otto: “Don’t ever judge anyone. Always take care of everyone the best way that you can, and always appreciate that they came to us.”

Treating people like they are at a “five-star hotel” is a key reason that Koller’s dealerships consistently rate well in customer reviews while maintaining strong sales volumes as well as healthy gross and net profits, she said.

FAIR PRICE, NOT THE LOWEST PRICE

Otto’s has been Subaru’s sales leader in Canada for nine years running and has sold the most parts annually in the years 2008 to 14 and 2016 to 22. The dealership expects to sell 1,740 new and used vehicles this year, while the BMW dealership projects 750 new and 500 used.

And selling that volume does not require predatory pricing, Koller said. With premium customer service, buyers are content to pay a fair price rather than the lowest possible price. “People who just want to be transactional haven’t had the experience of a quality interaction,” Koller said.

The dealership’s employees, she said, are focused on providing a fun experience when a customer walks in the door. It’s a core value established by her father decades ago.

“People aren’t always excited to go into dealerships,” she said. “How do you create a comfortable environment?”

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Koller: “People who just want to be transactional haven’t had the experience of a quality interaction.”

The answer is a lot of little perks, including colouring books and toy bears for children and an on-site baker providing fresh goods at no charge.

Client care is based on transparency and respect, Koller said, including giving the buyer full market value for a trade-in.

Every step of the purchase becomes a celebration. At delivery, the buyer not only receives a thorough orientation to the vehicle but also a custom-designed gift basket.

No pressure is applied during sales, financing or service, Koller said. Rather than tell a customer that a vehicle needs new brakes or tires, for example, technicians provide a colour-coded assessment of wearable parts: Green means they’re good, amber means replacement soon, and red means repairs are urgent.

A full-time client-care manager regularly monitors comments on social media and suggests improvements such as providing more frequent shuttles for service customers.

SALES STAFF ‘HELP EACH OTHER’

Otto’s takes great care in hiring and training staff, said Koller. Beyond having the right personality fit, potential employees must also embrace the company’s vision of collaboration.

“We’re not looking for the lone wolf,” Koller said. While competitive, sales staff “help each other.” New employees often start in the dealership’s entry positions, such as car wash, and work up through reception, delivery and — only when they know both the business and products well — into a sales position.

Diversity is also a high priority. Koller is married to Arief Raun, who immigrated from Malaysia and acts as the company’s “visionary,” mapping out innovative business and customer service ideas. The dealership can communicate in 17 languages and represents several ethnicities, women, new Canadians and the LGBTQ community, Koller said, adding, “People appreciate that.”

Staff who feel they are supported tend to stay longer, Koller said. Fully 23 per cent of employees have been with the dealership for more than 10 years.