Tami Willett, the current General Sales Manager at Luther Westside Volkswagen in St. Louis Park, is slated to become only the second female General Manager with Luther Automotive Group. Tami will be stepping into the role when Steve Hendricks retires in January.
“Steve has been gracious in having me manage while he’s still here to continue to help me self-correct and give me guidance,” says Tami. She has been in the automotive industry for 22 years, and will start her 12th year with Luther Westside in January.
“Steve has worked for Luther Automotive Group for 38 years and has been at Westside since 2002, and he has created what Westside is today,” she says. “We are the number one Volkswagen dealer in the Midwest.”
Since Tami says there’s nothing to fix, her plans for the future include putting her own personal spin and energy into the dealership, and to keep up with the changing times. “I want to make it fun,” she says.
Tami feels fortunate to be overseeing a great team of people. “We have 20 sales people – eight of them have been here for 10 plus years. My senior female new car sales person has been here over 20 years. So, when people come in, they see a lot of familiar faces all the way from the front of the house to the back of the house.
“We also have lot of repeat customers and a lot of referrals,” she adds. “Our retention in the service department is over 77%. So, 77% of customers who buy a car here service their car here. We always say that sales sells the first car and service sells every car after.” So, it’s extremely important to treat the customer right beyond just the first-time sale.
What she would really like to see is more women on her team and in the industry. “I’m definitely in a male-dominated industry,” she says. “I think most females believe that in order to do this job, you have to know how cars work and be mechanical, but at the end of the day, it’s really a service business. I would love to welcome more women and inspire more women to be curious and ask about it. If they are people-people, this could be the industry for them.”
Out of the 20 sales people on her team, only three are females. And of the 14 managers, there are no women at all.
“From the minute I come to work, I’m engaged with people, whether it’s my employees, my managers, my sales people, or my customers,” says Tami. “I love to serve people, and from the minute I’m here I’m either serving my team or I’m serving the customer.”
She also loves representing the German-built Volkswagen. “If you were to ask the average consumer what the number one brand of vehicle sold worldwide is, 9 out of 10 are going to say Toyota or Honda. But, worldwide, Volkswagen sells more cars than each of them.”
The Tiguan is the number one selling vehicle at Luther Westside. The Atlas, which is a full-sized SUV with a third seat, has really taken off as well, she says.
The dealership is also accepting reservations for its first fully-electric crossover SUV, and has become a special “Lighthouse" dealership for Volkswagen. It’s the first Mid-West facility to have this designation.
“We went through a big remodel for the ID.4 and we have 126 all-wheel drives reserved right now,” she says. “And we have also already sold rear-wheel drives.”
The dealership has plenty of charging stations, and many retail establishments in the area, such as Target and Home Depot, have charging stations available as well, she adds.
“When you look at what you get for the money with the ID.4, we are going to give Tesla a run for its money,” says Tami. “Right now in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they are adding a production line for the ID.4 and stating that in 2023, Volkswagen will start producing the ID.4 right there in the U.S. whereas normally, the ID.4 comes from Germany.”
Like most dealerships around the county, inventory is somewhat lean. “But, we are still the number one volume Volkswagen dealer in the Mid-West,” she says. “We have a better inventory situation than most, and we have good incoming stock.”
Working for the family-owned-and-operated Luther Automotive Group is something in which Tami’s also grateful. “David Luther has 37 dealerships and what I love about working for David is he lets us all work independently. We’re not cookie cutter and we don’t have that sterile corporate feel. We each get to manage our business like it’s our own and create our own story, but yet we still have his core values of how to do business.”
For more on what Luther Westside Volkswagen offers, or if you’re interested in finding your career at its dealership, go to https://www.westsidevw.com/. 2370 MN-100, St Louis Park, MN 55416. (763) 575-8429.