You’re a car dealer? For real???

Answer me this, then: What’s the deal with factory invoice?

Whether I’m at a kid’s birthday party or a dinner party, the first thing people ask when they find out I’m a Connecticut Hyundai car dealer is the same: what’s up with the factory invoice?

People ask me time and time again all over Connecticut: what’s up with the factory invoice? Is it for real, or a selling ploy or prop? So to kick off my fantastic video series, Nicer, Newer News with Jill Merriam I’m tackling just this:

What is Factory Invoice & Why You Should Care:

Key Hyundai of Manchester in Vernon, CT

All those pre-party jitters were for nothing!

I was so nervous no one would show up to our little celebration, that winter weather would strike, that people would avoid a Connecticut car dealer celebration on a Sunday afternoon in February. Boy was I wrong!

Key Hyundai’s Grand Opening Celebration had a MORE Love theme, party to encompass Valentines Day and all the hearts and flowers, but mostly to honor the love and appreciation I have for my customers, employees, vendors, family and friends that supported us throughout our huge 6 month long construction project in Vernon at Key Hyundai of Manchester. (HUGE shout out to Claris Construction, a CT company who got the job done on time and extraordinarily well!!!!)

I planned this little soire to share MORE love with the Vernon, Manchester community, but guess what! I was the one showered with love and appreciation! Soooooooo many customers came, that they were lined up introducing themselves to me and each other.

Everyone had a story to share: how Key Hyundai made a difference in their lives.

How a service advisor went above and beyond. How financing helped improve bad credit ratings. How trade-in deals got them into a car they never dreamed they could own. Story after story…it was so heartfelt, the MORE love I expected to give, I received instead!

Senator Blumenthal with me and my brother Jeff!

Legislative bigwigs came, not to toot their own horn, but to toot Key Hyundai’s! The Vernon Mayor, George Apel, gave the most wonderful proclamation. Local congressman showed and even though he RSVP’d only days before, I highly doubted Senator Richard Blumenthal would actually show up.

But he did!

And without pretense, an entourage, or media. Just him, and he spoke with my customers, my employees, and family about business, family, and what he can do to help make CT business a success. Pretty classy, and much more down-to-earth than I ever imagined.

But not as nearly as impressive as the scores of customers, employees and vendors that came to honor the completion of Key Hyundai in Vernon CT. One customer, Sandra Fierstein, said it perfectly when she told me,

“This is so wonderful. Like a family party on a Sunday afternoon!”

Made my day. Thanks everybody, for sharing the love!

Sending some winter warmth to Connecticut

Can you feel it, Connecticut? Are you loving this January sun?

Hartford, Milford, Fairfield, New Haven, Trumbull, Vernon – all of the Key Hyundai Connecticut is experiencing some pretty wacky weather these days! Instead of skiing and sledding, there’s soccer and golf, and quite a few Hyundai and Key-certified used car test drives with windows open, sunroofs cranked and music blasting OUTSIDE! I guess this is our payback to last year’s record snowfall – 55 and sunny on January 31st!

It’s a beautiful weather to check out the cars we have at Key Hyundai. Don’t need to buy now, just stop by on a sunny afternoon and check out what we’ve got: cuz we’ve got a lot (full of nicer,newer cars!!)!

2012: The year of the Key Hyundai Customer

I’ve made this year’s business goal to follow last year’s emphasis on leadership: 2012 is the year of the Key Hyundai customer. Actually, every year is the year of the customer, but this year, I’m focusing specifically on our existing customers, how to nurture and care for them long after they buy a car from us. To create long term relationships, even more than those we have now. I want to sell to my customer’s kids when it’s their time to buy. I want to help families get into bigger cars, or smaller cars, as families wax and wane and needs change. I want to help people get to work, to home, to school, and where ever they need to be to live the life they want to lead.

New customers always expect the deal, the extras, the special offers, discount financing, wheels and deals. But the existing customers deserve all that and more, and Key Hyundai is dedicated to making sure they are the VIPs of our customer base, and we will reward them for doing so not just when they buy a car, but all year long.

Don’t forget: FREE Food, Great Live Music, and Raffles on Feb 12 at Key Hyundai of Manchester!

You’re Invited to the Key Hyundai MORE Love Open House Celebration at Key Hyundai of Manchester, to show off our new place! Stop by on Sunday, February 12th 11-3:00pm for some scrumptious Brunch, great live jazz, raffles for great service deals, and lots and lots of LOVE.

Too often, customers think dealer rated service is a rip off, but I’m here to tell you not only is it not a rip-off, but at Key Hyundai it is an affordable, convenient way to keep your nicer, newer car in tip-top shape.

Our service guys and gals at Key Hyundai pride ourselves in providing top-notch, customized, professional service at quick-lube rates with value and personalized service specific to your specific make, model and lifestyle.

And here’s what I have to say about that:

What does this all mean to Hyundai owners all over Connecticut . . . in Hartford, Fairfield, Trumbull, Milford and Vernon?

It means we know who you are, what you drive, and how to get your car in, out, and on the road again so you can get back to work, life, and wherever your Key car may take you.

It means we know your name when you drive into the Key Hyundai shop.

It means we know if you want a loaner, or a ride, or cream in your coffee.

It means we know you work nights, or weekends, or need that car for Meals on Wheels deliveries or to get your kid to soccer.

We know you as much as we know your car. We know what you drive. And we will keep your car running smoothly with certified, highly trained techs, so you can Drive Worry Free for the life of your car.

We’ve been racking our brains to decide how to best share our joy with the Grand Opening of a long-overdue Key Hyundai of Manchester.

February?

Valentine’s day?

It’s perfect!

MORE love and MORE appreciation of course! And add some great music, delicious food, fabulous prizes and lots of fun and we’ve got ourselves a par-tay!

Our new facility is open and I for one, couldn’t be prouder. It’s everything we hoped for and MORE!

We promised MORE for you Connecticut! MORE options, MORE comfort, MORE solutions, MORE financing, MORE value and while a building certainly doesn’t provide these things alone, it houses the tremendous Key Hyundai employees that do. We’re here to give you, Connecticut, MORE.

Customers have been trickling in and lovin’ the service area. The cozy customer lounge. The nicer, newer building! I’ve been getting tons of emails and tweets about how we’re jazzin’ up Route 83 in Vernon!

Come celebrate the new Key Hyundai of Manchester built to stay, service and provide nicer, newer cars to our community right here in Vernon Connecticut. We ain’t going anywhere!

We’re hosting a MORE Love Open House to show off the new place, relax, and celebrate a job well done. Please join us!

Key Hyundai MORE LOVE Open House

Key Hyundai of Manchester

21 Hartford Tpke | Route 83 Vernon Connecticut

Sunday, February 12, 2012    11-3:00 pm

Music, Food, Fun, Raffles and lots & lots of Love!

Hope to see you there!

Shiny new Key Hyundai of Manchester Service area!

Wowzee wow-wow.

A brand new $2.5 million Key Hyundai facility in Vernon Connecticut to replace an old, tired, 1950s has-been duct-tape together building we’ve been selling, servicing and financing cars out of for 10 years.

Woot!

MORE Hyundai 40 mpgers and a sleek body design that has the cars almost selling themselves. Used car options second to done, and the financing to make it happen.

Woot, woot!

Our Milford dealership has beat their numbers again. And again. And again. Customers are sending in friends and family with a never been done before referral program that PAYS them cold hard cash for their referrals. Fairfield County car buyers flood Milford Key Hyundai for that one-on-one personal attention, and the trade-in offers that can’t be beat. By anyone.

Woot, woot, woot!

An over the top presence in two local malls, letting Connecticut car consumers see up close and personal exactly what Hyundai has to offer. A Pays for A’s program that shelled out nearly $10,000 to local high school students for good grades!

Woot x 4!

And then, the North American Car of the Year: the 2012 Hyundai Elantra.

Wowzee-wow-wow. Happy 2012 Connecticut. Happy, happy, happy Key Hyundai indeed!

Key Hyundai of Manchester Move In January 9th, 2012!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year! What does every Dealer For The People want for the holidays?

Besides world peace, happy customers, loyal employees, and community enrichment?

A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY for Key Hyundai of Manchester!

Which is exactly what we got!!

This is the culmination of our massive, MORE for you $2.5 million renovation project at Key Hyundai of Manchester!

That’s right folks, we’re good to go! This January (our targeted date, by the way) is when we are in our new & improved, MORE comfortable,  MORE convenient,  MORE service oriented, MORE fun, MORE fan-tabulous Hyundai facility!

It’s been a long road, and staying open during the construction hasn’t been easy, but we made it work thanks to the hardest working employees in the car business! In any business! And we could not have done this nor would we want to, without you, the customers that trust us everyday to get them in the car they want at the payment they can afford.

Come visit us on Route 83 on Vernon | Manchester town line, and as of January 9th, we’ll be in and wheeling and dealing in our rockin’ new building!

It’s amazing, it’s better than I ever expected, and will bring your MORE value, MORE solutions, MORE financing, MORE comfort, convenience, and class to Connecticut car buyers.

We’re in January 9th, but the grand opening par-tay won’t be until February and not to worry, you’re invited!

Here are the results:

a quick overview of our phenomenal year at Key Hyundai, not just selling cars, but meeting amazing folks who have a story to tell. An amazing year of resilience against storms, construction, and economic fallout.

And yet our employees, our customers, our friends and family all prevail with a New England hearty work ethic, a devotion to family, and a great sense of humor!

I am forever humbled by my customers, my employees, and the community where I live and work.

Again, a straggler post … since this writing Milford students have been flocking to our Milford dealership, and we have met the most amazing families ever! Check out our Key Hyundai Facebook page for more photos, but here’s the first of many updates on this crazy, popular promotion!

Our never-been-done-in-the-history-of-time-and-maybe-even-longer Pays for A’s campaign is off and running! Our very first scholars from Jonathan Law High School in Milford arrived with their parent and their report card showing off several academic As.

So Key Hyundai of Milford forked over the $$$ to these smarty-pants students!

We paid up! Ten bucks in Westfield Post Mall Milford gift cards for every academic A. These girls cleaned up! And our sales staff is so loving meeting and talking with these students, each and every one is a marvel. We have so much to be proud of in these kids!

Report cards are out for Joseph A. Foran High School as well, and Platt Tech and Academy students can cash in when their first marking period ends in December!

Bring in those As, bring your student ID, and a parent or guardian and Key Hyundai of Milford will Pay for A’s at 566 Bridgeport Avenue,  Milford Connecticut!

Key Hyundai’s first ever Old Car Nightmare video contest netted one group of creative boys, and proud mama Dorothy McCafferty, a October Prize Package valued at over $1000!  The McCafferty’s will share gift certificates to Best Buy (for the TV of their choice!), too much candy for any one family to have in their home, scary horror flicks to watch, car detailing from Key Hyundai of Milford, and the bragging rights for a year!

Thanks to all our Facebook friends for playing along, thanks for your patience as we work out the kinds, and we know each contest will build better relationships with our customers and dish out great prizes!

Please check out our Key Hyundai facebook page to check out the winning Key Hyundai Old Car Nightmare video, as I can’t seem to figure out how to post the video here! (If I figure it out, I’ll be back!)