Newtown Resident Heads Flagship Saturn Dealership

By Nancy K. Crevier

“I stood at the flagpole in Newtown, and I thought, ‘I’m going to build an even taller one,’” said Todd Ingersoll, Newtown resident and owner of the Saturn dealership in Danbury. So as customers approach the new flagship store at 84 Federal Road, they look up, up, and up at a 150-foot flagpole marking the entrance to Saturn of Danbury and then out across a rippling plain of Saturn vehicles flanking the driveway leading to the main building and service garage set back on ten acres of property. The flagpole is dedicated to the men and women serving in the armed forces, said Mr Ingersoll, a former Navy man, whose dealership also offers free servicing to cars owned by the husbands, wives, sons, or daughters of service people stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. It is just one example of the exemplary service that Mr Ingersoll said sets Saturn dealerships apart from all other car dealerships, and the attitude that will make his state-of-the-art building completed last October a successful feather in GM’s hat.

On Wednesday, July 30, Mr Ingersoll hosted Saturn Corporation general manager Jill Lajdziak and vice president of General Motors vehicle sales services Mark LaNeve of the Detroit office and members of the media to showcase the store that will serve as Saturn’s new beacon.

“There is an expectation from our customers on how people are handled when they are car shopping,” said Mr Ingersoll, and that is partly what led the 17-year veteran of Saturn to decide his dealership would be one of the first to sport the new design concept being touted by the corporation.

Following extensive research that borrowed the best ideas of high-end retailers such as Whole Foods, Apple, Urban Outfitters, and Ralph Lauren, Saturn’s dealership designers created an upscale, contemporary atmosphere that blends the service and sales areas into one big welcoming space. The revitalization, Ms Lajdziak told the media, focuses not only on the new products that have pushed sales up over nine percent since June of 2007, but on innovative methods that create an even more comfortable level of car shopping for clients. “We innovate at every turn not only in our product, but in how we handle our customers,” stressed Ms Lajdziak.

“When Saturn decides that this is what a dealership will look like, a dealer has to go with that design,” said Mr Ingersoll. He was, however, in on the design phase from the beginning and was on the team that worked with the furnishings. He is more than pleased with the results, as are Ms Lajdziak, who made several site visits during the construction, and Mr LaNeve, who viewed the project for the first time on July 30.

“It’s magnificent,” commented Mr LaNeve as he toured the 25,000-square-foot facility under the guidance of Saturn manager of retail services Chris Bower and Mr Ingersoll. “We have found over time that the operator, location, and facility are the most important factors, in that order, and sometimes we get lucky and get all three at once, like with Todd,” said Mr LaNeve.

The huge Saturn logo atop the new curved façade of the building, lighted and changing color after dusk, leaves no doubt in the customer’s mind as to where the front entrance door is, said Mr Ingersoll. Customers step across a low-emissions stone carpet to be greeted by a receptionist at the welcome desk. Saturn has flipped the traditional car dealership layout by placing the customer/ sales representative consultation desks centrally, with the vehicle models at the perimeter of the facility.

The desks, explained Mr Bower, are purposely “neutral” spaces, with no desk drawers or sales rep personalization allowed, a system that provides the customer with the feeling that they are as much in the “driver’s seat” at the interactive station as is the sales person. Two chairs on each side of the table are meant to take away the aura of power that the conventional two on one side and the sales person’s one chair on the other tends to convey. “We want the customer to feel empowered, that this is their space,” emphasized Mr Bower.

Taking cues from museum displays, lighted pillars present Saturn information cards, and a hands-on accessory display with a flat screen computer allows customers to browse the many options offered and create a digitalized image of their dream vehicle.

The desire to expand upon the company’s trademark customer friendly environment is reflected in the access to the Internet available at each consultation table and through props like the large-scale magnetic color and fabric samples that can be laid on display vehicles or taken into different lighting to allow the customer an authentic look at the options available.

The sharp, clean lines of the furnishings lead customers from one zone to another within the dealership, whether waiting in the living roomlike area complete with flat-screen television showing movies as a car is serviced, seated on one of the webbed-seat chairs made from recycled seatbelts while browsing Saturn literature, or chatting with a sales person in a cozy configuration of upholstered chairs.

The tradition of celebrating each new Saturn owner has taken on a new look, as well. Instead of the corner-curling Polaroids posted on the wall, a slick, rotating exhibit of digital photos shows off the excitement and pleasure of those who have joined the Saturn family. And elegantly draped beneath a bright red cloak, each new Saturn waits in the alcove of the display room until the moment when its new owner arrives and it is unveiled. “A new car is a big moment for people, and we think that should be recognized,” Mr Bower said.

Even the service garage has been configured to accommodate Saturn customers’ comfort. Sensors in the ground trigger garage doors to open as the driver approaches the fully air-conditioned building, eliminating any inconvenience of exiting the vehicle in inclement weather. A service desk is located immediately inside the huge, wide-open service facility where information is promptly taken. From the garage zone, the customer can conveniently enter the comfortable waiting room through glass doors, above which yet another bank of flat-screen televisions display service menus, or a glimpse at the weather channel or stock market ticker for customers waiting in line. Twelve service stalls stretch from front to back of the vast garage, with vaulted ceilings emphasizing the spaciousness.

All of this comes at no small cost, although Mr Ingersoll and GM representatives did not provide an exact amount. In a time when the slumping economy is on most people’s minds, though, Mr Ingersoll said that he has taken on the extensive project with a confident attitude. It is a confidence that comes, perhaps, from being not only the owner of Saturn of Danbury, but as the owner of Saturn of Waterbury and from his experience as manager of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Saturn of Harlem in New York. GM initially bankrolled the new facility, but now that it is completed, Newtown Savings Bank will be financing the project for him, said Mr Ingersoll.

“You can’t play to a down market,” said Mr Ingersoll. “If sales are down, service may be up. I’m an entrepreneur. You have to find a way to make things work. What we’re seeing is a tough market, but [at Saturn of Danbury] we’re seeing an increase in our sales, up two percent,” he said. Area dealerships are generally seeing a downswing of about six percent, he added.

The certainty he feels about the product he sells and the pride he has in the new setting for that product is reflected on Mr Ingersoll’s face as he moves about the showroom, and in his words.

“Now we have a world-class facility that displays the world-class products we have,” said Mr Ingersoll. “I think we have the right brand for the times.”