Luxury Automobile Dealerships are interesting places. They are a balance of inviting potential customers to purchase vehicles, letting everyday people/kids in to look at the beautiful cars, making a profit for the owner or investors, and keeping track of valuable inventory.
What is a luxury auto sale? A sale is considered a delivery of a service for a cost. Is there a difference in selling a Toyota and a Lamborghini? They both take you from Point A to Point B, but if you ask the salesperson or general manager, they will educate you on the difference, I’m sure.
If you have multiple luxury high-end automobiles at your dealership, how do you balance all this? You are catering to high-end clientele that can afford to purchase these vehicles, and they expect 5-star treatment, right? How do you balance the risk and convenience?
Can you answer these questions as a general manager of the dealership (if not, hire me and I can help..shameless plug):
What are the security procedures for securing your customers’ vehicles?
How are they checked in when they arrive?
Where are their keys secured? What happens if the keys are lost or stolen by an employee?
Have you read your latest insurance policy line by line? Do you understand it entirely?
Do you have cameras all over the property? Does someone actively watch these cameras?
Does your camera footage have a 30/60/90 day retention?
If a vendor comes onto the property, what is the process? How is paperwork verified before shipping a vehicle?
Do you use artificial intelligence in your business? If so, how? If not, why?
When a customer asks about GPS tracking for their Ferrari/Bugatti/Mercedes G Wagon, what is your recommendation?
How do you securely store a customer’s or a potential customer’s private information?
Have you ever been hacked? Was information exposed?
If a UHNW client requests a private meeting to discuss purchasing a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, etc, has your conference room been swept for listening devices? If so, when was the last time?
If it hasn’t been swept, why not?
Where is the closest fire extinguisher? Is it updated/working?
Do your mechanics have basic first aid training? Have any incidents happened in the vehicle service bays?
Do you conduct a pre-employment background check? When was the last background check redone for employees who have been there 5 or more years?
Do you have an active shooter plan? If not, why? If yes, when was the last time you practiced it?
What is law enforcement’s response time to your dealership?
What is the Fire Department and EMS response time?
How many crimes have occurred within 1/2 mile of your dealership? What were the crimes?
If you host any event, such as Coffee and Cars, what safety procedures are in place if something were to happen?
Have you had a risk assessment done on your dealership? If not, why?
Are customer vehicles stored in a secure area while work is done, or are they left in a parking lot? What if the wheels/rims were taken from the vehicle?
Do you have Security Guards patrol the property? If not, why? If so, have you ever checked on them randomly at 2 am on a Tuesday?
How’s your lighting in the parking lot? Has it been tested with a light meter?
Can you answer every single one of my questions posed above? The above questions may not be something you need to answer today, but what about tomorrow? 3 months from now? Something to think about.
-Colby Pickering is the owner of Blindspot Protection Group in Naples, Florida. Blindspot Protection Group specializes in Risk Assessments, Executive Protection, Secure Transport, Private Investigations, and Security Consulting.