Past Winner Stories
J.D. Byrider Systems
www.jdbyrider.com
Headquartered in Carmel, J.D. Byrider was founded in 1989 by James DeVoe. Its mission is to serve customers with special financing needs who are routinely ignored by other dealers, and to ensure that they receive the same quality service in every Byrider dealership. However, two developments challenged the company's ability to continue to grow. First, a series of events in the industry -- including inattentiveness toward customer satisfaction by some Byrider franchisees -- led to media coverage that encouraged misunderstandings and misperceptions about the Byrider business model. Secondly, founder and CEO James DeVoe was killed in a March 2006 aircraft accident. The company faced a crisis of confidence -- among its franchise system and among its own employees.
Byrider compares itself to Blockbuster, which burst on a video business that was fragmented and lacking in professionalism and changed the paradigm. Byrider is emulating that model in the buy-here, pay-here used-car industry. From the quality of its facilities, to the warranties and maintenance it provides, Byrider seeks to set the gold standard, and wants its customers and others to know it.
Throughout its campaign of self-improvement and "correcting the record," Byrider benefited from newly motivated leadership within its own ranks. The founder's son, James DeVoe Jr., stepped forward to assume his father's position. He successfully assured franchisees, employees, financial institutions and other partners that "Nothing has changed -- it's business as usual at Byrider."
Response was immediate. In the year after Jim DeVoe's death, Byrider licensed more than 30 new locations to existing franchisees -- a confirmation of their faith in the company. Customer satisfaction ratings reached an all-time high. Today, some 700,000 vehicle sales after the founding of the company, daily monitoring of customer satisfaction shows an average rating of 95 percent, there are franchisee- and company-owned J.D. Byrider dealerships in 30 states, and more than 5,000 people -- many of them repeat customers or referrals -- trust Byrider with their business every month.
When J.D. Byrider, the nation’s oldest and largest used-car franchise and financing system, suffered the death of its founder and CEO during a flurry of bad publicity about the company’s business model, the entire company suffered a crisis of confidence. Decisive action and a proactive media campaign turned things around.
Headquartered in Carmel, J.D. Byrider was founded in 1989 by James DeVoe. Its mission is to serve customers with special financing needs who are routinely ignored by other dealers, and to ensure that they receive the same quality service in every Byrider dealership. However, two developments challenged the company's ability to continue to grow. First, a series of events in the industry -- including inattentiveness toward customer satisfaction by some Byrider franchisees -- led to media coverage that encouraged misunderstandings and misperceptions about the Byrider business model. Secondly, founder and CEO James DeVoe was killed in a March 2006 aircraft accident. The company faced a crisis of confidence -- among its franchise system and among its own employees.
Byrider went on the offense, taking every media opportunity to explain the truth about its business model and about how it provided important services to people who would otherwise be without the transportation they needed to keep their jobs and to advance in life. The company responded aggressively to misdeeds by franchisees, some of whom lost their right to carry the Byrider name.
The company established close communications with state attorney general offices wherever it did business to ensure that it could respond immediately to any consumer complaint. Byrider expanded and improved its customer service survey system, calling hundreds of customers every day throughout the nation to confirm that it was serving them appropriately. They also launched a new website for consumers that disclosed all customer comments -- positive and negative -- collected by the national daily survey system, enabling public access to information that was previously for internal use only.
The company established close communications with state attorney general offices wherever it did business to ensure that it could respond immediately to any consumer complaint. Byrider expanded and improved its customer service survey system, calling hundreds of customers every day throughout the nation to confirm that it was serving them appropriately. They also launched a new website for consumers that disclosed all customer comments -- positive and negative -- collected by the national daily survey system, enabling public access to information that was previously for internal use only.
Byrider compares itself to Blockbuster, which burst on a video business that was fragmented and lacking in professionalism and changed the paradigm. Byrider is emulating that model in the buy-here, pay-here used-car industry. From the quality of its facilities, to the warranties and maintenance it provides, Byrider seeks to set the gold standard, and wants its customers and others to know it.
Throughout its campaign of self-improvement and "correcting the record," Byrider benefited from newly motivated leadership within its own ranks. The founder's son, James DeVoe Jr., stepped forward to assume his father's position. He successfully assured franchisees, employees, financial institutions and other partners that "Nothing has changed -- it's business as usual at Byrider."
Response was immediate. In the year after Jim DeVoe's death, Byrider licensed more than 30 new locations to existing franchisees -- a confirmation of their faith in the company. Customer satisfaction ratings reached an all-time high. Today, some 700,000 vehicle sales after the founding of the company, daily monitoring of customer satisfaction shows an average rating of 95 percent, there are franchisee- and company-owned J.D. Byrider dealerships in 30 states, and more than 5,000 people -- many of them repeat customers or referrals -- trust Byrider with their business every month.