Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates
Selected As Dealer of the Quarter For Q2 2020

Zeigler Automotive Group today announced that it has selected Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates as its Dealership of the Quarter for Quarter 2, ending in June 2020. The program is part of an initiative that recognizes high performing dealerships within the automotive group family. Dealers are chosen based on a number of factors including employee retention, customer service, community involvement and sales.
Exterior of Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates

(August 1, 2020) Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates has been recognized by Zeigler Automotive Group as its Dealership of the Quarter for Quarter 2 of 2020. The dealership, which was acquired by Zeigler in January of this year, has performed remarkably well despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

With 202 cars sold in May and 217 in June, despite the state-mandated appointment-only restriction, Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates didn't miss a beat. In fact, it was even able to break records when it came to parts and service. The luxury dealership serviced 1500 cars, at an average of 70 cars per day in the month of June, delivering 5100 labor hours and 1.487 million in sales for parts and service. 

Not only did they manage to do all of that in record-breaking time, Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates did it with virtually no turnover and the best customer service score in the region with 997 out of 1000 customer satisfaction score (CSI score of 943.71 out of 1000) versus the regional benchmark of 943.71, putting them well ahead by 25.38 points. 

BECOMING PART OF THE FAMILY

When it came to onboarding Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates got the usual Zeigler treatment with the entire acquisition team working tirelessly to ensure all working pieces ran smoothly.  "We have found that communication with the existing employees is imperative.  We need to help them feel comfortable with our culture, team and the overall transition," Mike VanRyn, Talent Development Director.

The team gets full training to become part of the Zeigler family with Aaron Zeigler presenting his vision to everyone and sharing his personal story. This includes a welcome, history and details of the organization, next steps of the journey and time for questions and answers.  

Aside from the initial introduction, the new Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates team members were also able to take advantage of all other ongoing Zeigler initiatives. With COVID-19 in the picture, they saw the usual in person 5-8 guest speakers transitioned into Zoom meeting to ensure everyone was connected and motivated. In fact, Zeigler had 16 guest speakers via Zoom to motivate our leadership teams since March 26, 2020. Other activities include our quarterly leadership workshops, in-person and online sales training,  performance groups, best idea sessions and much more.

In short, when onboarding and beyond, Zeigler Auto Group works to instill its world-class culture, awards, development opportunities, philosophy for customer service as well as opportunities to be recognized for top performance.

New team members have even started participating in recognition activities such Diamond Drops, daily recognition notes, and the PRIDE Awards, peer-nominated awards based on our organizational values.

In fact, Bob Sullivan, the Service Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates recently received a PRIDE Award for his outstanding performance. When asked how it felt to have received such a prestigious award in such a short period of time, he humbly replied: "It felt very touching to have the entire company applauding. Felt like the whole company was performing well and I happen to get it."

"You don't work for me, I work with you." - Mike Conolly

SHARING A LUXURIOUS EXPERIENCE

When visiting Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates customers are always guaranteed a luxurious experience with everything from a meticulously kept showroom to the very best customer service. And while customer satisfaction has always been at the center of everything Zeigler does, it all comes from the philosophy of taking care of the employees. 

"We believe our customers love Zeigler because our team members love Zeigler.  Our people determine our success," said Van Ryn. 

Although Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates hasn't been with the Zeigler family for long, it has already embraced the culture of putting the customer first. One great example of this was when a family was on their way to their vacation spot in Minnesota and their car broke down. With them being out of town during the pandemic and their MB Winnebego not working, the team at Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates got them reservations to a near by hotel, arranged for a loaner and placed all their clothing and other necessities in the car for them. That day a number of techs stayed late to make sure everything was ready for them so they could be on their way as soon as possible. Their vehicle was fixed and  delivered to them the following day.

Another instance was a customer dropping off her car in a tow truck. This seemed like any ordinary day with the team preparing a courtesy vehicle for her except her license was expired. Lory Sedal, the dealer's head porter drove her to the DMV so she could get her license renewed. The customer was so thankful that she baked cookies for the staff.

"This is not a success story, this is a how we got started story" - Bob Sullivan

IT ALL STARTS WITH GREAT LEADERSHIP
Mike Conolly, General Manger
Before working at Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates, Mike Conolly was already part of the Zeigler family, having been hired as the GM of Zeigler Nissan Orland Park in February 2017, bringing over 24 years of experience from a competing Nissan store in the area and over 27 years of automotive experience overall.

A Chicago native, Mike has spent most of his life in the area, attending Xavier University where he majored in HR Management. Always a hard worker, Mike put himself through college loading trucks for UPS.

When it comes to leading his main philosophy is to lead by example and through cooperation. "You don't work for me, I work with you." By taking this approach he says he's seen amazing things happen. "Suddenly a lot of fears are taken away when you look at people as teammates, so you start getting the best out of them and in turn you get the best out of the team as a whole."

When he is not at work, he enjoys sporting events and spending time with his wife, his high school sweetheart, whom he's been married to for 26 years. Together they have three boys, with the oldest employed as a sales rep and the youngest two employed as porters at the dealership.
 
Charlie Trauscht, F&I Director
When Charlie Trauscht was first recruited by Zeigler in 2010, he was already an industry veteran withover 14 years of experience in automotive. After successfully running the F&I department at Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Schaumburg his very first year, he was promoted to also overseeing Zeigler Maserati. For the next 9 years, he went on to manage bothstores while growing his own team, with the vast majority of his hires receiving promotions within the organization, and many still with Zeigler today.

And although it was the dealer group's expanding market diversity that brought him in, it was ultimately the culture that won him over. Today as the Director of F&I of the newly acquired Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates, he still finds the company culture to be one of the best things about his job. 

"When we purchase a new dealership, we are buying into the people. They are the assets. The brand is nice to have, but it's ultimately people who are going to make the most difference to us and to our community."


He also says from his experience that "talent is overrated", especially when compared to passion and integrity. Another quality he looks for is compassion. He hires compassionate people who have values that align with the overall Zeigler culture. 


When he is not at Zeigler, Charlie enjoys spending time with his wife Tracy; with whom he shares two daughters: Morgan, 17 and Charlotte, 12. He also loves sporting clays and traveling. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1993 with a degree in Accounting and Economics.

Bill O'Hara, VP & GM of Operations for Mercedes-Benz/Sprinter of Hoffman Estates 


Before coming to Zeigler Auto Group, Bill O'Hara was already a veteran in the automotive industry -- having held various management positions throughout the years and even owning his own dealership from 1994 to 2012. 


He began his career as part-time porter, while still in high school, in 1977. As he worked his way up through sales and management, he learned many valuable skills about customer service and its importance in running a successful business. Skills that would eventually help him achieve a 2,000 unit sales year for new and used at his own dealership in 1999.


Today he is currently the VP and GM of Mercedes-Benz/Sprinter of Hoffman Estates, INFINITI of Hoffman Estates, and Jaguar Land Rover Schaumburg. Before being promoted to this position in January 2020, he held various leadership roles at Zeigler. 


Upon arriving in 2013, Bill was appointed GM of BMW of Orland Park. Then after Zeigler's acquisition of MINI of Orland Park, Zeigler Nissan of Orland Park and INFINITI of Orland Park in 2015, Bill was promoted to oversee the region as VP and GM of Operations in Orland Park, a position he held until December of last year. 


He says one of the main reasons he enjoys working at Zeigler is the promote-from-within culture  he experienced at the Orland Park locations, something he wants to continue to implement at Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg.

 

"To be a part of Zeigler Auto Group is very special. It's a family-owned and family-run operation. Aaron Zeigler is an amazing CEO and visionary! The culture he has created within our team and with our employees is addictive. We want our people to wake up and be excited to come into work. Promoting from inside our group is very important, it means a lot to me to see our employees grow within our company and reach their personal goals."


Bill lives in Orland Park, IL with his wife Wanda of 32 years with whom he shares three children, Courtney, 29, a Sr. Business Process Associate at Help at Home, Kelly, 26, a ERP Business Systems Analyst at Viega LLC, and Will O'Hara, 31, the current GM of BMW of Orland Park. In his free time this Michigan native loves to spend time with his 8-month old grandson, go golfing, boating; and carry on a 25-year tradition with his son: professional snowmobile drag racing.