Car dealership has loyal First Nations customers

Bill Tighe from Village Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Ajax delivers a 2010 Pontiac G5 to client Nichole Laford in M'Chigeeng First Nation.
Bill Tighe from Village Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Ajax delivers a 2010 Pontiac G5 to client Nichole Laford in M’Chigeeng First Nation.

By Marci Becking

AJAX – Car salesman Bobby Dickinson and his team at Village Chrysler Dodge Jeep are extra busy these days and it’s all because they make an effort to find First Nations customers.

“A couple years ago I got a call at 5:30pm on a Saturday from a guy in Wiky who had bought a car from me and he then referred me to three people,” says Dickinson, who is known as “Bobby D” to his sales team at the dealership.  “It just started snowballing from there.”

Bobby D’s car delivery person, Bill Tighe,  routinely makes  600-kilometre trips to deliver new and used vehicles to First Nations on Manitoulin Island – including M’Chigeeng and Wikwemikong – as well as communities like Wasauksing, Garden River,  Nipissing, Rama, and – closer to home – Six Nations.

“Next week we’re delivering to a First Nation in New Brunswick,” says Dickinson.  “Last year we delivered over 100 cars to First Nations.”

Ajax Village Chrysler Dodge Jeep, which has been in the business for over 40 years, set up a booth at this year’s Little NHL tournament in Mississauga – Dickinson says that it was nice to finally meet the people he had only dealt with by telephone.

“Many people came up to me and said – ‘Hi, you sold me a car last year.’ From our contacts at the tournament, we delivered 16 cars in March and 18 in April to First Nations customers.”

He says they will be at next year’s Little NHL, which will again be held in Mississauga.

“I’ve been in the business for 20 years and this is the best satisfaction I’ve had in dealing with customers,” says Dickinson.  “It’s rewarding when I hear from my First Nation clients who are loyal and are recommending me to their brother or sister.   I don’t get word-of-mouth loyalty from anywhere else.”

Dickinson doesn’t understand why more car dealerships don’t make the effort when it comes to satisfying First Nations customers’ needs.

“I’m not sure of the reason, but I’m glad they don’t!” says Dickinson.  “There’s no extra paperwork involved and there are no extra service fees.”

For more information on Village Chrysler Dodge Jeep, visit www.villagebobby.com