No dealership has ever received an almost-perfect customer service score in the Lexus brand's 21-year history -- until now.
According to the results of a 2009 survey, Lexus of Chattanooga set a new record by scoring 99.6 out of 100 for customer satisfaction.
Lexus Vice President and General Manager Mark Templin congratulated Evann Gibson, Lexus of Chattanooga's service director, for "taking better care of your customers than anyone in the country."
"This is the highest score ever achieved for a year to date," Mr. Gibson said.
Bob McKamey, owner of Lexus of Chattanooga, said the key to success is treating the customer with the utmost respect.
"Every car has four wheels and gets you from here to there," Mr. McKamey said. "It's become a service business. We expect doctors to be perfect; we should be able to expect the same thing out of an automotive dealer."
Mr McKamey credited Mr. Gibson's leadership for the high customer approval ratings.
"I rarely go anywhere without people commenting to me on his service," said Mr. McKamey. "People send him cakes and pies all the time, but he can't eat them all so he gives them to his staff."
Bill Haisten, president of the Haisten Group and a Lexus driver, said that although his wife likes changing cars, he doesn't want to switch brands because of Mr. Gibson's service.
"The day after Christmas we had a blowout on Interstate 16. We called Evann and he had somebody out there to change the tire in 20 minutes," Mr. Haisten said. "Another time I remember my wife had a flat tire in town, and Evann came over and changed the tire himself."
According to Mr. Gibson, this is standard practice. He keeps a large binder on his desk stuffed with thank-you notes, letters and cards from customers who simply can't believe the lengths the dealership will go to help them out in a pinch.
"Bob [McKamey] gives us such a wide parameter to take care of the customer," Mr. Gibson said. "If a customer calls with a problem, we'll go take a look."
Experts say repeat business is an integral part of any enterprise, and Mr. Gibson's goal is to keep customers coming back, again and again.
Even when the dealership helped its next-door neighbor, Capital Toyota, with recall work, the goal remained the same, said Mr. McKamey, who also owns Capital Toyota.
"We've done a little over 1,000 recalls, and we've only had one customer who was concerned about the situation," he said. "They come in and say, 'We weren't worried, we knew you'd take care of us.'"
Lexus score results
* The Lexus brand conducts periodic surveys to measure service at its dealerships, including feedback on all aspects of experiences by customers. The service score comes from those surveys.
Lexus of Chattanooga service highlights
* No. 1 of 228 dealers for 2009 (99.6 rating)
* No. 8 of 223 dealers for 2006 (99 rating)
Lexus of Chattanooga investment in Chattanooga
* $1 million -- Lexus of Chattanooga built, 1991-1992
* $4 million -- Lexus dealership showroom/service shop expansion, 2004-2005
* Lexus of Chattanooga employs 70 people (32 in service)
Source: Lexus of Chattanooga