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Type of Work:
With
two locations in the Dallas, Texas, area, Park Place Lexus sells new
Lexus vehicles and pre-owned luxury vehicles, services Lexus and other
vehicles, and sells Lexus parts to the wholesale and retail markets.
Web site:
http://www.parkplacetexas.com/SelectLexus.asp
Revenue:
$387 million (projected for 2005)
Workforce:
420 members (employees)
Location:
Plano and Grapevine, Texas
Highlights
- Park
Place Lexus Grapevine location had a New Car Client Satisfaction
Index (CSI) of 99.8 percent in 2004 making it the highest rated
Lexus dealership in the nation.
- The
company's gross profit has increased by 51.3 percent from 2000-2004,
exceeding the Lexus Dealer Average.
For more results
on Park Place Lexus, see below.
Quality
and Improvement Results
- The
CSI for Clients of new cars approaches 100 percent at both locations
placing them in the top 10 percent of Lexus dealers in the nation.
Likewise, Client satisfaction among pre-owned vehicle Clients has
increased from 96 percent in 2000 to 98 percent in 2004 (both locations),
which is the among the best ratings in the southern region.
- PPL
has taken steps to ensure its Clients are just as satisfied after
the sale as before. As a result, its CSI for the Service Department
at both locations is approaching 98 percent, which is among the
best in the southern region. Satisfaction with parts availability
has increased from 96 percent in 2000 to 98 percent in 2005, which
is among the Lexus best. In addition, 96 percent of service
Clients at both locations said their vehicle was ready when promised.
-
In addition to exceptional Client service, PPL provides a free inspection
at 1,000 miles and oil change and maintenance at 5,000 miles to
help reach its goal of increasing Client retention. The percentage
of Clients returning to the Plano service department has increased
from 68 percent in 2000 to 77 percent in 2005. The percentage
of Clients returning to the Grapevine service center has increased
from 69 percent in 2001 to 79 percent in 2005. The percent
of Clients who come back to PPL for service after purchase of a
vehicle for both locations is substantially higher than average
for both the national and local area average. Further, 97
percent of Clients said they would recommend the service department
to a friend or relative.
- PPL's
continued Client focus has reduced the number of complaints that
promises were not met from 130 in 2002 to 3 in 2005, that Clients
were misled by staff from 22 in 2002 to 1 in 2005, and about discourteous
treatment from 28 in 2002 to 1 in 2005.
-
PPL has demonstrated sustained revenue growth from 1995 through
2004. Revenue has increased from about $70 million in 1995 to $350
million in 2004, and the company is on target for $387 million in
2005. This exceeds the Lexus national dealer average.
- A
key measure of market performance for PPL is sales volume.
Out of 213 Lexus dealers in the nation, the Lexus Retail Sales Report
for 2004 ranks Park Place Lexus Plano number 7 with 3,242 new car
sales in 2004 and Park Place Lexus Grapevine at number 27 with 2,339
new car sales in 2004.
- PPL uses Client
service rechecks, the percentage of repair work that returns to
the dealership because of a problem, as a key measure of quality
of service. When calculated as a percentage of the 2,800 service
orders per month, PPL has maintained a level of less than 1 percent
for the past five years.
- PPL
uses the Gallup Organization's Q12 Survey to measure general Member
satisfaction concerning the work environment and to gauge work system
performance. All responses for three questions on work environment
and four questions on work system satisfaction are above 4.0 on
the 5.0 scale. In fact, all but one currently are above 4.5
on the 5.0 scale, well above the 75th percentile reported for national
respondents.
- Both the Plano
and Grapevine locations have maintained a consistently low Member
turnover rate of about 22 percent for the past three years, as compared
to the average turnover in the southwest area of 55 percent.
Processes
- PPL has committed
substantial resources to ensuring that Client relationships, once
established, can be maintained in a way that contributes value to
both parties. This includes the development and deployment
of a Client relationship management database that tracks all aspects
of the PPL-Client interaction and provides the resulting information
to Members.
- PPL uses its
Client Concern Resolution (CCR) process to address any problems
that might occur in any area of the Client experience. CCR
empowers the individual Member to resolve Client complaints on the
spot by allowing each Member to spend up to $250 to resolve a complaint,
or up to $2,000 by committee. In addition, both sales and
service Clients are contacted by the Client call center after each
interaction to ensure satisfaction and to proactively provide Clients
with information on available products and services.
- PPL demonstrates
its commitment to management by fact through its system of performance
measurement and knowledge transfer that provides Members and managers
with key operational information needed to make day-to-day decisions.
Members are provided with critical information about their own performance
and departmental performance for month- and year-to-date in daily
PACE reports. Members and managers use this information as they
operate daily processes, to determine how they are doing against
targets, to make adjustments to achieve these targets, and to identify
opportunities for improvement and efficiencies in processes.
- PPL has identified
competition for talent as a strategic challenge. To address this
challenge, PPL strives to place the Right People in the Right Jobs
with the Right Training. To achieve this, PPL has implemented
an extensive hiring and selection process that includes completion
of multiple aptitude, personality, and behavioral instruments, multiple
interviews, and drug testing for all applicants at all levels.
Based on this process, new candidates or current Members seeking
to change departments or positions may be counseled to be sure they
are placed in the right position.
- PPL has instituted
an extensive training program to ensure that once they have the
right people in the right job, the new Member receives the right
training to ensure they are successful in this job. All positions
at PPL have been analyzed and specific training requirements have
been identified. Each Member has a training plan that includes
classroom training, on the job training, coaching and mentoring,
observations, and assessments. Members also have the opportunity
to plan for their own growth by working with their supervisor to
construct a Member achievement plan aimed at helping them reach
a specific position over time. This focus on personal and
organizational learning is key to PPL's efforts to motivate Members
to excel, which then results in exceptional understanding of Client's
needs and the ability to deliver service to meet those needs.
- To create
a sustainable organization, PPL focuses on performance improvement
through its DRIVE process designed to address specific issues of
performance and then focus on improvement. The process includes
Defining the problem, Recognizing the cause, Identifying a solution,
Verifying actions, and Evaluating the results through an implementation
audit conducted by the Organizational Excellence Department within
90 days. This process has resulted in significant improvements
in cycle time, productivity, and cost control.
- PPL has integrated
its strategic planning process with that of its parent, Park Place
Dealerships (PPD). Strategic planning begins at PPD level,
where the president of PPL participates as a Member of PPD's Executive
Leadership Team. This team develops strategic goals and directions
for all the Park Place dealerships annually. PPL’s president
then brings these goals and directions back to PPL where a customized
strategic plan and action plans are developed. This process ensures
alignment of PPL's goals and directions with its parent and with
its key partner, Lexus. As part of this annual planning and
alignment process, PPL uses information from Lexus on new car allocations,
opportunities identified by Clients and Members, the company's area
ranking in the luxury car segment, and opportunities for potential
growth in parts and service.
- PPL has identified
eight key value creation processes that have direct interface with
Clients, including sales and valet service; significantly contribute
to the delivery of service to its Clients; or provide opportunity
for business growth. For all these key processes, PPL has
identified process requirements as well as process measures to help
them track progress on meeting these requirements. For example,
for the new car sales process, PPL has identified courteous and
knowledgeable sales consultants as a key requirement and measures
its performance on this requirement using specific questions on
the Client Satisfaction Index related to the sales experience and
sales consultant.
Leadership/Social
Responsibility
- PPL uses its
formal leadership system to guide and sustain the organization.
This system links strategic directions, action plans, evaluation
of organizational performance, and Member recognition, and identifies
the role that senior leaders play in encouraging high performance.
Senior leaders communicate with and empower Members through a formal
listening and learning process, the Client concern resolution process,
Member action committees, and the 50/50 committee. In addition,
PPL has instituted a variety of reward programs to help encourage
empowerment and innovation among its Members.
- PPL's governance
structure ensures management and fiscal accountability and transparency.
Organizational performance is reviewed weekly, monthly, and quarterly
to ensure progress is being made toward achieving organizational
goals and that these goals are aligned with the overall organizational
direction. In addition, fiscal accountability is ensured by multiple
internal audits, third-party audit reviews, and frequent inventory
audits. Though not required by law, PPL conducts annual third-party
CPA audits and contracts with a different independent auditor to
complete tax preparation.
- PPL supports
its community via financial contributions, product donations, voluntary
participation, and event support. For example, each year PPL
donates a new Lexus to the Crystal Charity Ball, which supports
children's charities in Dallas County, and the Northeast Tarrant
County Heart Ball to auction. It also provides space at one
of its dealerships for the Dallas Stars (professional
hockey team) annual Charity Casino Night and sponsors the annual
Texas Rangers (professional baseball team) Triple Play charity event.
PPL’s financial contributions to area organizations have grown
from $22,000 in 2001 to nearly $70,000 in 2004. In addition,
Members are encouraged to support the community through participation
in programs such as Adopt-a-Soldier, Angel Tree, Adopt-A-Highway,
sponsored blood drives, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Tsunami Relief,
Lee Denim Day, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. PPL has
been recognized by the American Import Automotive Dealers Association
for its support of charitable organizations.
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Created: 11/22/05
Updated: 11/22/05
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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