Brandon Honda again earns DealerRater's “2015 Dealer of the Year!”

We couldn't be happier or more proud to again be recognized as the “2015 Dealer of the Year” among all Florida Honda dealerships for the third consecutive year by DealerRater.com, the largest central collection point for third-party information about automobile dealerships nationwide.  We continue to maintain a huge 99% customer satisfaction rating (4.9 out of a possible score of 5.0) from 1,688 lifetime customer reviews that have been collected by DealerRater since we first opened our doors in the fall of 2011.  

“It’s an incredible honor to again earn this recognition as the #1 Honda dealership in Florida, and we give you our word that we will work even harder to exceed your highest expectations," said owner John Marazzi. "We happen to think we have the best customers anywhere—and we're very appreciative of your generous, positive reviews year after year of your buying and service experiences. Our hats are off to every one of you who has ever taken the time to write a positive review—thank you! It means a lot to each and every one of us!"  

We also recognize our Brandon Honda sales, service and finance teams for this honor. You are second to none. You are passionate about satisfying your customers, and this honor is a tribute to your determination to be great. You come to Brandon Honda every day with an infectious enthusiasm that engages our customers and makes us a great team. Thank you! 

Who is DealerRater®—and why is this such a big deal?

Dealerships can’t buy or influence ratings—except to go above and beyond in consistently providing the best products and services and operating with the highest integrity. 

Since its launch in 2002, www.DealerRater.com rates car dealers nationwide on customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and the overall customer experience. DealerRater then carefully screens all submitted reviews through a four-step process to ensure the integrity and completeness of each review before it is released online. 

Our continued commitment

We at Brandon Honda strive to be what you want in an auto dealership. We try to improve every aspect of our services and internal operations throughout the year to benefit our customers. We empower every employee to continually seek dealership and process improvements to ensure you get extraordinary services.

Sam Raabe, GSM at Brandon Honda achieves Automotive News "40 Under 40" Designation

We want to congratulate our own Sam Raabe who has been designated in 2014 by Automotive News as one of just 40 Automotive Professionals to watch under the age of 40.

This is a fantastic achievement for Sam and as you can see from the Automotive News article below, well deserved.  Click here for the full article. On behalf of our GM John Marazzi and the entire Morgan Auto Group we toast to you Sam!

Great picture Sam and a fantastic job! Success at 33!

Taken from the July 14, 2014 issue of Automotive News: 

Sam Raabe was sick of working nights as a bartender, with no direction to his career. So he started selling cars at Kendall Kia in Miami. It was a way for a guy without a college degree to get a good-paying job and advance quickly.

Within a few years, Raabe (pronounced "Robbie") had risen to finance manager at Honda of Ocala. Now, he's general sales manager at Brandon Honda, a President's Award-winning Tampa dealership.

Raabe's sales tactics require managers to get involved early, "roaming the floor, not sitting at their desks," greeting customers early in the process. After a test drive, that same manager will handle any price negotiations after the first exchange of numbers. That speeds the deal process greatly, Raabe said.

"When the boss comes out, you know you are near the end of the deal, plus it gives credibility to the deal," Raabe said. "It's always the same guy as before the test drive, not some scary new guy."

Raabe also likes hiring sales staff who have never sold cars before. At his store, 70 percent of the staff is new to car retailing.

"They don't have bad habits. They only know our process and don't take shortcuts," Raabe said. That process includes daily inspections of recent trade-ins and inventory older than 60 days, as well as a daily one-hour training session by a manager to teach employees all facets of the business.

The tactics are working. In the six months of 2012 before Raabe took the general sales manager job, Brandon Honda sold an average of 174 new and 110 used cars a month. In 2013, that soared to 242 new and 151 used sales a month. Profits rose 42 percent.

Brandon Honda also is the top-rated Honda dealer in Florida on DealerRater, scoring a 4.9 out of 5 from more than 1,200 customer reviews, in a cut-throat metro market. There are nine Honda dealers within a 45 minute drive of Brandon Honda and four within 30 minutes.

Raabe is not satisfied. His target is 350 new and 250 used sales a month in 2015, with profits up 25 percent this year and 15 percent next year.

Raabe thanks Brandon managing partner John Marazzi for his mentoring and "never give up" attitude. Marazzi's best lesson, says Raabe: "No matter how tough it's going, you can never be afraid of taking risks. You need to take as many risks as possible."

-- Mark Rechtin (taken from Automotive News) 

TAGS: Sam Raabe, Brandon Honda, Honda in Tampa, FL, Brandon Honda, John Marazzi, Honda of Brandon, Tampa Honda, 40 Under 40, Automotive News 

Brandon Honda again named DealerRater’s “Dealer of the Year”

Brandon Honda again named DealerRater’s “Dealer of the Year”  

#1 Honda dealer in customer satisfaction in Florida … for the second straight year!

Our customers are the BEST! Thanks to all of 884 of you who honored Brandon Honda with your business this year and then took the time to write a glowing customer satisfaction review at http://www.DealerRater.com to report your extraordinary experience. Overall, you awarded us an average of 4.9 points out of a maximum of 5 points possible!

I'm especially proud of this award, as it represents your highest praise of our Brandon Honda team. DealerRater is the auto industry's version of the annual “people’s choice awards,” because it comes from YOU. Dealerships can’t buy or influence ratings—except to go above and beyond in creating great relationships with their customers and standing behind their products and services every day.  

DealerRater.com provides a central collection point for informative consumer reviews of 40,000 U.S. and Canadian car dealerships based on customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price, and the overall customer experience. It carefully screens all submitted reviews to ensure the integrity and completeness of each before it is released online. DealerRater.com gets more than 3 million unique visitors monthly to its website and has validated nearly 950,000 consumer reviews, making it North America’s #1 online resource for unbiased third-party consumer ratings of automobile dealerships.

Everyone at Brandon Honda works hard every day to earn your approval and satisfaction with every aspect of our sales and services so you will eagerly tell all your friends about your experience and return to Brandon Honda year after year. Around here, we call it “Continuous and Never-ending Improvement,” or CANI for short. Every employee at Brandon Honda is charged with continually looking for ways to improve every aspect of our dealership to benefit our customers. They are empowered to go the extra mile every day to earn your business. 

Then we stand behind every car we sell with our exclusive "Brandon Honda Promise" that includes eight exceptional guarantees and free services that no other dealer can match, such as an extended warranty and price protection. http://www.brandonhonda.com/brandon-honda-promise.cfm    

We invite you to stop by Brandon Honda to see what a difference a car dealership can make in your vehicle buying and service experience when it is focused so whole-heartedly on providing the best customer experience you can get in Florida.

We’re conveniently located at 9209 E. Adamo Drive in Tampa, FL 33619, one mile west of I-75 on Route 60. Visit our website for a complete list of our broad inventory of new and used cars. For more information, call 813-397-2360 or visit http://www.BrandonHonda.com/.

  

Why would you buy a car anywhere else in Florida? It's worth the drive!

Behind the Scenes with Zeus of Brandon Honda

So it's late and you are having trouble sleeping. The last commercial you saw before tucking in just happened to be a Brandon Honda commercial and now for some strange reason you are thinking about Zeus. While we wish you were thinking about a brand new Accord, you're not. You're thinking about our adorable Brandon Honda Mascot.

"Who is Zeus? And why do I want to shake his paw?" you wonder to yourself. "Surely he's just a marketing ploy right? Has to be just an employee's dog that is brought in to just look cute during the commercials, right?" Think again. Zeus is man's best friend. Well in this case he's the owner of Brandon Honda, John Marazzi's, best friend. Zeus is a rescue dog that John adopted and also the subject of one of my favorite stories in the car business.

Click Here to Watch Zeus Videos, Check The Zeus Facebook Page and Read More! 

As John's business partner in Brandon Honda I get to deal with John on numerous levels. I will never forget the day when I received an e-mail with one of the most unusual (albeit difficult to deny) requests that I have ever received in business. John wrote how he had adopted a rescue dog and how he would like to start bringing him to work and if that would be ok. I had absolutely no problem with this but I did wonder out loud as to why John Marazzi, one of the busiest men I know, would want his dog coming with him to work.

Perhaps I was thinking more less of my own personal experience as a dog owner. I have a beagle named Dempsey and it was easy to imagine my dog yelping all day long running up to customers from service to sales filling the showroom with his howl. But the truth is it only took a few visits to realize why Zeus makes so much sense for John and for Brandon Honda.

Nice to Meet You! 

The car business is stressful; it's easily a 12 hour a day job not to mention time after work returning e-mails and working on future promotion and planning. Zeus has one of the nicest demeanors I have ever found in a dog. Now John deserves some credit for this --- but Zeus surely provides smiles during long and stressful days.

Zeus also reminds our customers and guests that we are after all human. For many of us dog lovers dogs are a conversation piece like children or sports. They are something that binds us together and special friends that we hold dear to our hearts. Buying a car is an activity that can be intimidating and can seem at first impersonal. I'd have to think Zeus is available to take away some of that stress too.

So there you have it folks. The behind the scenes story on Zeus. Surely I've spent many a 12 hour day inside of a car dealership. For many of us we joke that is our second home. But to me --- the business has always been a happy home and I can see it is for Zeus too. How do I know? Well every time I step into John Marazzi's office and have a seat my favorite Brandon Honda greeter comes over...hands me a paw...and then heads back to his bed to relax. Sounds like a good life to me.