Raleigh, NC, April 8, 2009
On April 1st, 2009, Capital Ford began their 25th year anniversary celebration. Tim Michael, Capital Ford’s dealer principal, attributes the dealership’s continued success with great employees taking are of their customers, and in turn, those customers taking care of Capital Ford.
Despite these difficult economic times, Capital Ford is continuing to grow, while some other dealers are failing. While the recession finally shows signs of passing, Tim Michael seems optimistic and believes that the new Ford products coming out will be better and will take Capital Ford to a new level once the economy is healthy again. In the meantime, Capital Ford is continuing to adapt with the current economy by finding ways to be more efficient, from controlling inventory and advertising expenses to concentrating on more ways to take care of their customers.
Tim Michael came to Capital Ford from Parkway Ford in Winston-Salem, where he was the New Car Sales Manager of a number one ranking sales team among Carolina Ford dealers. When Tim arrived in Raleigh, he assumed the role of dealer principal. He officially changed Charlie Wiygul Ford to Capital Ford and began transforming the average dealership into a mega dealership.
Since Tim has joined Capital Ford, they have been the number one dealer not only in the Carolinas, but in the Southeast United States, and the number ten ranking among Ford dealers in the entire nation. Capital Ford was also one of the first dealers to achieve Blue Oval Certification. On April 28th, 2009 Capital Ford will be awarded the PREMIER CLUB for Parts and Service performance in 2008 and the TOP 100 Sales award for sales performance in 2008. They are one of only a few dealerships in the country to receive both awards in the same year.
Though Tim was still in his twenties when he became dealer principal, his youth turned out to be an advantage. He was not seen as stuck in his ways and saw the importance of trying new ways to conduct business, in order to make customers want to do business. Tim’s proudest achievement over the years has been their employee retention, as some employees have been there more than fifty years. Many of these long term employees, as well as Hubert Parks, Junie Michael and Jeff Michael, have all influenced Tim’s business philosophy and work ethic.
Over the years Tim has seen how the automotive industry has changed. The Internet made customers more knowledgeable. The technology of the vehicles was dramatically enhanced. Salespeople and service technicians became more knowledgeable and had more expertise. Today there are also more competitors.
Twenty-five years ago Tim Michael wanted a dealership where employees were proud to work and where customers were proud to refer their friends and families. Today Tim Michael and his employees can look back with pride, and look forward with hope.