My Big Brother The Other Green Isaeff

Sunnyvale, Calif.--If a dealership hopes to flourish in its parts and service endeavors, the two departments need to establish a rapport and work together efficiently. The three-person parts and service management team at Sunnyvale Ford consisting of Parts and Service Director Bruce Isaeff, Parts Manager Michael Peterson, and Service Manager Larry Meola--is well aware of this fact and credit much of their success to a high level of internal communication, cooperation, and seamless interaction.

The three must be doing something right because last year they were the No. 1 Ford dealership in their region, outdistancing the 15 other Ford dealers in their zone in both parts sales and service revenues, as well as retail sales volume, Isaeff said.
We have all been in this industry for a long time he said. So, we know what's important and what we need to do to be effective. Working together as a team is the first thing. From our counter guys to our techs to our drivers out in the field, we are a very close-knit group.

Peterson, 43, has been running the 30,000-square-foot parts department at Sunnyvale Ford for more than five years, he said, and has 22 years of experience in the auto parts industry. He said he supervises 12 employees, including seven countermen, one outside salesman, and four drivers.

Isaeff, 46, said he has been the parts and service director at Sunnyvale Ford for the past six years and has 26 years of industry experience. Doing extra things to help the independent repair shops that Sunnyvale Ford sells parts to is a big reason for the dealership's overall success in wholesale, he said.

Isaeff said he is also proud of the fact that Sunnyvale Ford is one of only two green certified dealerships in Santa Clara County. “Customers like the fact that we're green”& he said. It was a full dealership effort to get there--we had to come up with a recycling plan and then implement it. We had to switch over to low-energy lighting. And we had to work with our facilities people to make sure we are as environmentally responsible as possible.

Sunnyvale Ford is also the No. 1 dealer of Ford hybrid vehicles in the nation, Isaeff said. We sell a ton of Ford Escapes, as well as service them and sell parts for them. The Escape is the only hybrid with an available tax credit right now, so that helps.

Isaeff is constantly stressing the importance of customer service to his staff, he said. I tell everyone here that you can never provide good enough service. You can always do more and be better when it comes to serving your customers. I want to make sure that we never forget that.

Meola, 58, has been running the 30,000-square-foot, 40-bay service department at Sunnyvale Ford for the past six years and has more than 39 years of experience in the automotive service industry, he said. His department did almost $7 million in business in 2007, he said.

Sunnyvale Ford performs a significant amount of fleet work, maintaining and repairing vehicles for entities such as PG&E, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, and the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. Sixty percent of the department's workload is customer-generated retail work, half of which is maintenance and service, with the other half consisting of general repair, Meola said.
Sunnyvale Ford offers a prepaid service plan that customers can buy when they purchase a new car from the dealership, he said. The prepaid plan is very popular because it allows customers to pay in advance for service at a discounted rate, Meola said.