We sat down for an interview today with record setting Rich Berkey leading Thomas Honda Of Johnstown on its own record pace.
When sitting down with Rich Berkey today I was under the impression that we would be rushed and this would be a short interview. I was under this impression because I could see that he was super involved in a number of things. This was not the case. As soon as I had his attention I was suprised at the concentration shared and sincerty during the interview. Rich shared with me that his day was going well and we began…
The first question that was asked him was if he could tell us a little about himself. Rich answered that he was 45 years old, had three children and one grandchild. He had started working for Honda in 1989. “It was fate that I began working for a car dealership.” Rich said, as he began to tell me the story. Rich was born and raised in Central City in Johnstown, Pa. He owned his first Honda trail bike at 12 and his first Honda vehicle at 16. Since he had a backround in mechanics he went to Vo-Tech to train and become a mechanic and even was a student teacher there.
“Then I met a girl and my plans changed. I moved with her to Ohio and started selling shoes at Kinney’s.” Rich stated as he described the change in course of his life. When he began work at Kinney’s it did not take long for Rich to start getting promoted. He had always thought about and wanted to move back home. Eventually Rich got sent to Elyria, Oh. After only a few months he heard rumors of his next promotion and moving again. His son Brandon was 3 months old at the time.
In somewhat of a disgust, Rich and his wife, went on vacation and came back home to Johnstown, Pa. While he was here he was looking around at job possibilities in passing. He had stopped to see a friend at Dewer’s and saw another friend, a childhood friend named Calvin, who worked a Honda dealership in Windber. He mentioned that they had job opportunities at this very Honda store. They loved Rich from the beginning and asked him to move back. “It was fate.” says Rich. He moved back in July 1989 and has worked here ever since.
Rich says he sincerely enjoys helping someone who comes in find the car they are looking for and the car they will be happy. He says to many times people are forced into situations that they don’t want to be in but Rich thinks it a challenge to help a customer get what they want. He enjoys selling the best product out there and truly believes in it.
Rich lends the record braking year he’s having to the Honda product having a high value. Customers know they aren’t throwing their money away and that’s why even in such tight times customers are willing to come in and buy a Honda. He says he also thinks that as their internet program gets stronger it only helps us because we are so competitively priced that many other dealers when people compare us online can’t match up.
When asked what he would say to somebody who looks down on the car dealership and car salesman he stated that the industry standard is to treat people like terribly. Not every place is like that. Here at Thomas Honda of Johnstown we provide a service to the people. We find them the cars that they are looking for. This being our job it is in our best interest to treat the customer as good as possible. Rich says he is not selling you just one car, he is trying to build a relationship and keep you as a customer for life with the knowledge that you will get the best deal and we will help you. Literally help you.
I would like to thank Rich Berkey for his time and thank all of the readers for their time.
