CROSBYDrivers eastbound on US 90 and the Beaumont Highway will soon be impressed by a new vista, a new state of the art showroom and dealership in a familiar location. This development brings with it an image of a burgeoning area.
Robert Turner was interviewed about a new dealership building housing showroom and mechanical center for Turner Chevrolet that sits off FM 2100 at 21001 Crosby Freeway, even as he was watching tractor work inside what had been the parking lot.
Standing inside the service department Turner described what is going on inside a fenced area.
As soon as you crest the rise after the river its going to look like a two story building, it is going to have very tall ceilings in about six to eight months.
This is actually phase two of our construction project , Turner answered concerning the starting tractor work, Phase one was to take the area that was green grass and turn it into a parking lot so we could actually relocate some of our inventory from this proposed building site. They have starting excavating that area. We are going to take about four feet of dirt out then we will bring back some select fill and get it prepped and ready for foundation. Once they pour the foundation they will erect steel for the frame.
At the same time, we are putting new light standards, they will all be tied to the new building.
We will do a soft opening to make sure everything is operational before we move on to a grand opening.
Administrating the continued operation of a dealership, keeping ahead of competition on value and building a new dealership has to be a challenge, how does one go about that?
Well, its all about people. If youve got good people that know how to do something and those that know how to take instruction they make the process. I go back to Tom Landry or Vince Lombardy; I use the football example. Those guys understood the game but still had to have the right people because they didnt play the game anymore. But, they knew what needed to be done on the field, the knew how to encourage people to do what needed to be done and what plays to call, things of that nature: Our business is no different, you have to have people that can execute.
The question of how Turner found potential in a dealership that had endured problems became evident.
Job one for me was staffing; finding the right people to come here and work, take care of the community. That is what we did, spend the time and energy to look for the right folks. God knows the wrong folks came through here too many times. I thought this might be the last hurrah, the last opportunity for this community before they said, You know what! General Motors could not appoint a good dealer, dealers couldnt find the right people and we are going to start driving by some towns. Its always a challenge to find someone to come in and repair an endeavor that has been run into the ground but that is what I do best. Im good at looking to see what is possible in a situation that looks impossible to the untrained eye.
The fenced area is to house the new showroom, within that will be new offices.
Where the dealership is now will be retrofitted for service and parts. Where the covered area is now for service drop off, we will have twice this area. As time goes by we hope to add things like a drive through car wash and other amenities. But, first things first, we need to get the main showroom completed, get the remodeling done in service so we can take better care of our customers. After that we will start looking at other opportunities. You know I have other operations. Everything this operation generates we are just pouring right back into it.