It’s All About the Customer

Automotive icon Jim Pattison chats about the past and future of the industry

Blair Qualey, President and CEO of NCDA BC, recently sat down with Jim Pattison, Honorary Chair of the 100th Vancouver International Auto Show, to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing the automotive industry.

Blair: You got your start many years ago in the automotive business and you’re still involved today, so what are you seeing in the business now, and where do you think it’s going in the future? Jimmy: Well, the car business has been hugely responsible for our company. I worked at a used car lot, first washing cars and then selling cars. Then I got a job working with a General Motors dealership, BowMac McLean in those days, and also at Nash.

In my opinion, the opportunities for young people today, with all the things that are changing, have never been better. Any time you’ve got a big shift in an industry—which is happening now with electric cars and all of that type of thing—it creates a whole new level of opportunity for young people.

The car business changed the whole of North America. Think of all the great things that have occurred with mass production and all the things that came out of the car business to raise people’s standard of living. Cars have made a huge, huge impact on the history of the world.

Blair: Do you see that changing at all now? Jimmy: It’s going to be massively different. You have more people going here, going there, whether it’s long trips or short trips. But it all comes back to transportation, one way or another. So I don’t know how it’s all going to end up, but wheels are going to be important and it’s going to be an exciting time.

Blair: For the benefit of the dealers reading our magazine, what do you think is the most important thing to focus on in the automotive business? Jimmy: That’s easy. Looking after your customer.

Blair: What were your challenges in building an outstanding business all over the world, and what do you see as the biggest challenge going forward? Jimmy: Well, my biggest challenge historically was the world of finance…where do I borrow the money? When I started out, I needed a bank to believe in me, initially for $40,000. Then, as time went on, I got more confidence to borrow more money and I built a track record. So if you’re going to grow, you need financing: you have to spend money to have people to manage the business and you need good-quality people. It all started with borrowing money and I ran the business myself in those days.

Blair: So going forward, aside from financing, which may not be as important to some dealers today, what headwinds do you see out there and what opportunities are there? Jimmy: Well, there are always opportunities. The question is what will work and what won’t? There’s no substitute for hard work. The thing I’ve found is to be honest and work hard, and the harder you work the luckier you get. The people that do the best and are the luckiest get there because they’ve worked the hardest.

Blair: Now in the auto business we have some folks who don’t follow the dealer franchise model and there are all sorts of questions about where the industry is going, like whether it will be direct-selling by manufacturers. You have had a franchise dealer model for many years, so do you still see the value of having dealerships versus corporate stores? Jimmy: Well, you won’t get the same service in a direct model compared to a dealership, where you get to know the people who service the car and people who care a lot about you when something comes up. I can’t imagine buying an expensive item like a car and then when something goes wrong, not having someone to talk to about it.

Blair: So, going forward, where do you see your side of the automotive business? Are you growing? Are you expanding? Are you taking a wait-and-see or a full-steam-ahead approach? Jimmy: We’re still looking at buying franchises that might add to our business. We’re in the market today and looking at what we can add to our group. We’re looking at the right geographic and market fit for new franchises.

Blair: A lot of people I talk to, including government decision-makers and consumers, are talking about the uncertainty in the world, south of the border, in China and Hong Kong, and with things like Brexit. How do you see those things impacting the business going forward? Jimmy: Well, it creates uncertainty. I’ve never seen so much upheaval as we have in the world today, and with uncertainty you lose confidence. I think we’re seeing some of that right now.

Blair: So what do you recommend to car dealers? How are you managing this? Jimmy: We’re managing to deal with it by doing what we’ve always done—which is focus on customer service. Nothing happens until somebody sells something. In some cases, we’re not doing as well as I’d like us to do…but that’s why we have managers to help fix problems. Because when you’re in business, you are always going to have some kind of problem, but the businesses that succeed are the ones that deal with the problems successfully.

Blair: What advice would you give to young people looking at a career in the automotive business? Jimmy: Be 100 per cent honest; tell the truth no matter what. We spend a lot of time in our company talking about the customer, customer, customer to our management team. Always go the last mile for your customer. Some are really unreasonable and discourteous. Just keep going, put your head down, take the abuse and say, “I’m sorry, what can we do to make it right?” Then break your neck to make it right and go the extra mile. That’s the key and that’s what’s built our business—the focus that we’ve had on the customer. That’s all we preach!