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August 15, 201 1
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Dealer Spends Retirement Giving Back By Emily Caswell
Owen Glantz has achieved a lot of success in his life. While the former dealer says there are several business practices that have helped him achieve that success, there is one practice that he says applies to work and play: The Golden Rule. “Treat people the way you want to be treated,” he said. “(With that) I don’t think you’ll ever go wrong.” That’s how he conducted business for 15 years at his store, Auto Credit, in Ft. Myers, Fla. Glantz also believes private giving is better than government spending. He and his store’s employees helped to build at least seven homes through the local Habitat with Humanity chapter. Since retiring in 2007, he’s made charity his life’s focus. Glantz and his wife of 35 years, Linda, donated about $100,000 last year to local charities and have plans to do much the same this year. “It (was) time for us to give back,” he said. When the Glantzes decided to give away such a large sum of money they knew they wanted to do it locally. The
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couple set out and conducted a number of meet and greets until they selected their line up. “We were so impressed,” Owen said of the local charities. “(There) is such a need … more so than ever before.” The giving doesn’t end with cash. Last Thanksgiving the couple worked serving Thanksgiving dinner to about 600 homeless people through CCMI. “It’s gratifying,” said Owen. “That’s our best holiday. “You can only wear one pair of pants at a time and sleep in one bed.” His matter-of-fact attitude about giving is the same attitude Owen had about running a successful and fair business. A self-proclaimed entrepreneur, Owen was working in development management when he decided to follow some of the men in his social circle into the used-car business. “I thought it could be a very lucrative opportunity,” he said. He opened his first shop in 1982 and sold it about five years later to his manager. He opened Auto Credit in 1992. With the help of what Owen calls his “dream team” that dealership grew and flourished and continues to do so today. “Everything could not (have been) better,” he said. However, Owen was ready to retire. In 2007, he sold the dealership to the general manager Wayne Phillips and his wife Dawn. To this day the Glantzes remain close to the Phillips – Owen said Wayne is like a son to him. The closeness with his employees is something, yet again, Owen credits to The Golden Rule.
GOLDEN YEARS: Retired dealer Owen Glantz, right, and his wife Linda present a check to a local charity in Ft. Myers, Fla. Glantz spent his career trying to follow The Golden Rule and now spends his retirement giving back to the community.
Owen said some dealers thought he was crazy. He offered an employee retirement plan, a five-day workweek and a policy in which everyone at the dealership got paid for every car sold at Auto Credit. “You learn through experience,” he said, adding that he operated under the policy, “this is not my business, this is our business.” The practice trickled down to his employees. To be sure of that, Owen said he sent employees to luxury car dealerships to shop and instructed them to
treat their used car customers exactly the way they had been treated at the luxury shops. Auto Credit also offered service after the sale and when a customer couldn’t pay for repairs upfront, Owen worked out a payment plan. “They thought we walked on water,” Owen said of his customers. In return, he was rewarded by repeat and plenty of wordof-mouth customers – “there’s nothing like it,” added Owen. Along with giving back Owen jokes he has three jobs
in retirement: Plan vacations, play poker and do the financial planning to ensure he can do his first two jobs. The charities the Glantzes support include: Suarez and Nations Association Charities, Abuse, Counseling and Treatment Center; Lehigh Acres Community Services; Children’s Network of Southwest Florida; Community Cooperative Ministries Inc. (CCMI); The Salvation Army; Habitat for Humanity, The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida and Harry Chapin Food Bank.
IN THIS ISSUE • A soldier sued a dealership over a spot delivery. – Page 3
• Online tools offer dealers new ways to do business. – Page 8
• Finance companies report strong results – Page 5
• Debit cards can become a store’s calling card. – Page 12
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