F&I and Showroom, November 2015
F I Dealer of the Year 12 F I and Showroom November 2015 Theres only one rule employees of Davis Moore Automotive follow and it propelled the 60 year old operation to the magazines F I Dealer of the Year award By Gregory Arroyo THE TORCHBEARER T he year was 1976 Dawson Grimsley 19 years old at the time had just started as a lot attendant at Wichita Kan based Davis Moore Automotive when the groups dealer at the time the late Grant Davis gave him words of advice hed live by for the next 40 years He said I want to make something perfectly clear If your words no good youre no good Grimsley now president of Davis Moore Automotive recalls Those words may sound like some folksy motto befitting this Midwest operation but everyone from the lot attendants to the groups management team knows its more than that And as Grimsleys soon to be successor his stepson and group vice president Sean Tarbell says its not uncommon for customers to get free window tinting a free tank of gas or even a 400 CD player if Grimsley discovers a customer didnt get what was promised Thats his way of encouraging the guys to make sure they do it right the first time because its going to cost your department money which in turn costs you money Tarbell says There were other words of advice Grimsley took to heart such as Davis belief that Davis Moore should always hire from within Remarkably up to half of the groups current employees were around when Davis passed away 15 years ago It was Grimsley who Davis tapped as his successor He wouldnt do it alone however as Davis also made Tarbell and Stuart Ray the former dealers longtime financial advisor co owners of the 60 year old operation Grant definitely had a succession plan in place says Ray who served as Davis accountant through the 80s before officially joining the group as CFO in 1992 Davis is remembered as always being upbeat fair and in the showroom greeting customers And he always knew exactly how many vehicles his stores had sold What sticks out to PHOTO COURTESY OF SQUID INK CREATIVE Sean Tarbell vice president Dawson Grimsley president and Stuart Ray treasurer are the co owners of Wichita Kan based Davis Moore Automotive
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