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Steve Germain is Named the 2008 AYES Dealer of the Year

Steve Germain of Germain Motor Company is the 2008 AYES Dealer of the Year. This honor is an annual award sponsored by Dealer magazine and Automotive Your Educational Systems (AYES). Steve earned the award for his commitment to and participation in this program, designed to introduce young people to rewarding careers as automotive technicians.

Germain Motor Company became involved in the program in 1999, for two specific reasons. They felt concern to give back to the community that has done so much for the Germain family. Additionally, the service business is a huge part of the automobile industry, and it’s even more important today than it’s ever been and will continue to be in the future. “There is a tremendous need to get involved in trying to help ourselves attract and retain highly skilled and qualified technicians, and we saw AYES as an opportunity to do that. It would be good for the community and good for the Germain family,” states Germain.

The Germain auto group serviced 160,502 cars in 2007, up 6.4% over the prior year. “Any dealer has to understand the value of fixed operations and the importance of not only generating growth to cover fixed costs, but to generate future sales,” says Germain. “You can’t just continue to sell new and used cars and look at parts and service as the back end; we look at it as the backbone of our business. We know that if people visit our shop five times after they buy a car, the likelihood of them coming back to buy a car jumps dramatically.”

The auto group currently has 12 technicians on their staff in the Ohio region who are currently in the AYES program. Since 1999, they’ve had close to 50 students, and ten of those are currently full-time, highly successful technicians that the dealership has hired as a result of their involvement in AYES. These students come to the dealership with a sincere interest in learning the business. They have knowledge, skill, and develop that skill further during their time with the dealership.

To read the entire interview with Steve Germain, please visit Digital Dealer Magazine's website or click here.

Source:  Dealer Magazine / Digital Dealer