Ladies night at John Andrew Ford. Photo / Supplied
More than 100 years' experience selling cars helps when it comes to adapting to market forces and there's nothing like looking back on past experiences to prepare for the future.
Car retailer John Andrew Ford dates back to 1907, when John W. Andrew was first formed as a transportation company.
In 1917 the company was granted a Ford franchise and that was the beginning of a success story.
But there's more to being a successful dealership than just moving metal and reaching an arbitrary number of unit sales.
It's not about margins anymore. It's about return on investment in every respect of the dealership's business and this extends to ensuring customers get a return on their investment, too.
Recently it was the ladies' turn to experience something especially for them. John Andrew Ford put on a Ladies' Night to let women know that buying cars isn't just the prerogative of blokes.
All manner of interesting things were on hand to entertain and educate, along with a bit of fun and competition. Guests were able to test their knowledge on how to change a tyre and if some of the women were scratching their heads, there was a helpful John Andrews staff member on hand to show them the ropes.
For those who had a good idea what had to be done, a competition was organised to see who was fastest wheel-changer in the west.
After the wheel changing had been sorted, the guests moved outside where a rally car was sitting.
This challenge involved getting into the car via a roll cage, which is an effort in itself, belting up (four-point harness) and getting ready to launch.
A bit difficult for some who were wearing skirts. After some of the guests had experienced wheel changes and rally car entry and exit, former All Black Matthew Ridge was on hand to show the dark arts of cleaning a car properly.
Ridge and his crew put to bed the Karate Kid idea of "wax on, wax off" as a means of making your pride and joy gleam. It was a great evening and a popular one to boot, if the huge turnout was anything to go by.
