There’s a lot to be said for loyalty. Not many Dodge dealers benefit more from the record of 35 years with Chrysler Financial than Crestwood Dodge, in the Detroit suburb of Garden City.

“I was 30 years old when this Dodge store signed on with then-Chrysler Credit,” recalls Crestwood owner Robert M. Robbins. “We have gone through a lot of ups and downs with Chrysler and Dodge, but I have to believe being faithful to what’s now DaimlerChrysler Financial Services has enabled us to keep our owners so loyal. We have the highest sales satisfaction score in the Detroit zone – 98 percent - and the fourth highest service satisfaction rating – 91 percent.”

A Five Star Chrysler Group dealer since the award program was launched in 2000, Crestwood Dodge was recognized on the 35-year milestone by Chrysler Financial's Midwest business center manager, Brad Norman, and the manager of the 37-store Dodge Detroit zone, Peter Guthrie.

Robbins and his general manager, Oneita M. Fellows, one of the Detroit market’s few women in such a position, each received an 18-carat gold Tiffany pen from Chrysler Financial as an anniversary memento. Robbins told the factory officials, “A strong finance company supported by a strong organization can only help us.”

Ensconced in an updated 95,000-square-foot building on Ford Road, a main highway a few miles east of Ford’s World Headquarters complex, Robbins says he holds Ford and GM competitors (not to mention other Dodge stores) at bay by “keeping ahead of the curve on owner communications and F&I programs, service right the first time and the best personnel.” Then he adds, “I have a terrific gal as GM and the sharpest sales, service and F&I managers in this town.”

Sales manager Joe Himmelspach and F&I director Nicholas J. Engels have combined to maintain the near-perfect sales customer satisfaction rating. A “seamless” delivery process follows Engels’ F&I presentations which result in a 70 percent penetration rate on DaimlerChrysler service contracts – despite adoption by the factory in 2002 of a 7-year/70,000-mile basic warranty on all new-vehicle powertrains.

“The 7/70 sounds at first like a drag on adding any more coverage,” says Engels, who has been Crestwood’s F&I manager for seven years, “but we turned it into a sales tool. We ask our customers, most of whom have been with us in Garden City a long time -- if you’re getting powertrain protection for 70,000 miles, why not cover the rest of the vehicle, too?”

Engels is also focusing on window etching and paint protection products in his presentations. F&I provider Dealers Resources, Inc., of nearby Northville, Mich., handles GAP and credit insurance for Crestwood, backing up floorplanning and retail loan and leasing coverage from DC Financial.

The high volume of leasing in the metro Detroit market, occasioned by factory employee business, caused Robbins to adopt a new follow-up system as the number of Dodge dealers in the Detroit zone rose from 20 in the 1960s to 37 today.

“We were taking repeat business for granted after hitting a peak of 2,000 new-car and 1,200 used one year,” says Robbins. “Believe me, there’s another Dodge dealer every six or seven miles, stretching from Toledo, Ohio, to western Michigan, and even up north.” In the tri-county market around Detroit there are 23 Dodge stores, versus 15 in the 1980s. “Our sales this year should top out at 1,450 new and 700 used. Not bad, but we took some customer-friendly steps that have paid off to keep momentum rolling.”

“We contact each customer 30, 60 and 90 days after a delivery or a service job, including the body shop, with thank-you letters and a Crestwood Dodge ‘connection’ brochure,” says Robbins. The brochures are sent to 16,000 customers per mailing and feature specials on pre-owned Dodge vehicles, service procedures with prices compared to those of other shops, F&I accessories specials and maintenance tips. “The 7/70 warranty is played up, and there’s a coupon for 15 percent off on accessories. We offer subprime financing on a toll-free 24-hour line, Xpress Lube, and have now added new tires – a dealer first in this area.”

Most of all, says Robbins, the daily morning sales meetings are focused on full disclosure during all contracts and keeping tabs on all ‘ups.’ “That 35-year record with Dodge and Chrysler Financial means a lot in the Detroit market, where Ford has been here 100 years, GM, 94, and Dodge, 84.”

After touring the spacious Crestwood facility, a visitor watches with surprise as Robbins receives the day’s mail and starts opening every piece. “I’ve opened the mail every day since I took over this place,” says Robbins, proudly. “You find out a lot by doing that.”