ONYX Automotive Wins Big
Story by Daisy Hutzell-Rodman // Photography Provided
BMW takes great pride in their product, so much so that they consider the Center of Excellence award an elite recognition in their company. It’s given to less than 10% of all centers nationwide—and ONYX Automotive, which has been in existence for only two years, was one of the 2022 winners.
ONYX Automotive General Manager Drew Friesen accepted an award for the dealership. He received the award for the Balanced Scorecard at the BMW Central Area meeting in Florida in February. ONYX Automotive was one of three dealers in the Midwest region to be at 100% on the scorecard, which includes volume, percentage of sales, customer retention, Net Promoter Score, and lead conversion.
Friesen said he is proud of the award, but “we couldn’t have done this without the team.” Indeed they could not have. One of the special parts about this award is that it is selected from those people who have achieved 100% on the scorecard.
“When you’re talking about a prestigious brand and you win their Center of Excellence Award, you’ve done something really special,” BMW Aftersales Director Rob Ramsey said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. It would be comparable to a Super Bowl or a World Cup.”
Achieving that 100% mark was a feather in ONYX Automotive’s cap, but Friesen said it took ingenuity, starting with the way the dealership hires people.
“One of the things we did this year was we said ‘are we competitive in the workforce’?” Friesen said. That is a different statement than is usually practiced by dealerships.
ONYX Automotive decided to look at the workforce in general, rather than the dealership industry in specific, and has used incentives such as work/life balance and a great benefits package to make sure he hires, and retains, quality talent. The strategy has worked. ONYX Automotive boasts more than 60% retention, in an industry and era when studies have shown a turnover rate of more than 65% in some departments.
Friesen said it’s about “making sure people have a why…It’s a lot easier to take care of clients when associates enjoy what they are doing.”
Along with having those incentives in place, having the right people in place is important to ONYX Automotive as well, so clients walking in the door know that a service or sales rep has the client’s best interest at heart.
“Being a high producer is great, but we are looking for customer service and hospitality attributes,” Friesen said. “We’re looking for team players.”
A large part of the awards is the volume, and in 2021, ONYX Automotive sold 705 new BMWs. That is a point of pride for the team at ONYX Automotive, who understands that inventory has been tight over the past year.
“We lead the market area in [lot] turnover,” Friesen said. “We are 93% turnover every month.”
In other words, Friesen and his team are selling 93% of the cars on the lot each month. This means ONYX Automotive customers can see great new BMWs each time they return to the dealership.
Sales, however, mean nothing if the service department doesn’t help new owners keep their vehicles running smoothly. Service effectiveness also had a huge impact on ONYX Automotive winning the award.
“Customers buy cars because the service was great,” Friesen said. “When our competition has gone away from courtesy cars and vans, we have doubled-down. I’ve added 20 staff members just to drive cars and provide courtesy service.”
Those courtesy cars and vans once considered common at dealerships have been eliminated in many cases as the tight market needs those vehicles for sales. ONYX Automotive, however, believes this service is essential.
“We leave those cars in there 3-6 months,” Friesen said. “Some people reserve those loaner cars so that, when we retire them from the service fleet, they can buy them.”
Clients often have questions, from why is a light illuminating on the dash to when their car will be ready to take home to whether or not the make and model they want can come in their preferred color. Those being helped at ONYX Automotive can rest assured that their questions will be answered promptly.
“We monitor how quickly we respond to customers,” Friesen said. “We are looking to respond in the shortest amount of time with the most accurate answers possible.”
Loyalty also counts as part of the service portion, and ONYX Automotive has that in abundance. The database of BMWs in Omaha over the last several years shows that 84.2% of customers are returning to their preferred brand of BMW when it is time to buy a new vehicle. Friesen said the average owner buys a new car about every three years, which makes leasing a great option for people as well, and the rate at which people are leasing is 58%, meaning ONYX Automotive has done an incredible job of retaining customers.
“To me, it means that we have the right people in the right place doing the right things,” Ramsey said. “The most important thing is that we’re taking care of things and we’re taking care of the customers. That’s the ONYX image we want. It’s important that we serve our community, and that we do it right. It’s about encouraging and influencing our team with positivity.”
Friesen and Ramsey emphasized it was a collaborative effort of automotive service and client service that enabled ONYX Automotive to win the award.
“For a store in its second year, I think it’s pretty special the amount of work our teams have done to achieve this high of a level of award.” Ramsey said.
As of presstime, the trophy associated with the Center of Excellence Award was not yet at ONYX Automotive, but Ramsey said management is planning an event for the team once the trophy is in their hands, and that they want to repeat the award for 2022.
“It’s not easy,” Ramsey said proudly.
Visit onyxautomotive.com for more information.
