New Ziegler Chevrolet general manager believes in PRIDE

The word "culture" comes up frequently in Jose Chavez' conversation.

"I'm a big culture guy," he said. His sense of culture encompasses a wide range of meaning that is essential to his new position as general manager of Zeigler Chevrolet in Schaumburg.

Chavez has only been at the Schaumburg store since mid-August, but already he has made a big impact. In the few short weeks since he has been on board, he said sales have increased significantly, a phenomenon he attributes to creating a culture of happiness where employees love their jobs.

"The culture that exists with the Zeigler Auto Group is very rare," Chavez said. "It is really hard to find a good group to buy a car from, but it's even harder to find one to work for."

Chavez said he decided to join the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Zeigler Auto Group because the company's values parallel his own, namely making things right for customers and more. The company's values, represented by the PRIDE acronym, spell out that attention to detail: passion, reputation, integrity, drive and execution.

At age 34, Chavez has moved up quickly in the automotive business. He got his start only 12 years ago when he was invited to become a car salesman at a dealership in Chicago in an effort to help pay for his studies at Loyola University.

"I fell in love with it," he said. "It's not like sitting behind a desk as there is something different every day. I like helping people in whatever situation they are in. You hear so many stories and people are really grateful when you help them out."

Prior to joining Zeigler, Chavez worked at an Illinois Chevrolet dealership for six years, so he is thoroughly familiar with the brand's vehicles.

"Chevrolet, as a brand, has a good selection of vehicles, from small, two-door vehicles on up to Suburbans and pickup trucks," Chavez said.

Chavez feels several vehicles are standouts in the Chevrolet lineup, his favorite of which is the Cruze.

"It's the perfect-size vehicle as it's not small, it's not large and it is great on gas," Chavez said. "It has a lot of nice features that are standard and you can upgrade a little and still stay within your budget. It connects with anyone, as it's great for a college kid or for an individual who needs a car to go back and forth to work. It fits just about any lifestyle."

Chavez also likes the Trax, the brand's small, affordable SUV crossover, which is available with all-wheel drive. Another favorite is the Traverse, completely redesigned inside and outside for the 2018 model year.

When selling someone a vehicle, creating a culture that makes the buyer feel welcomed and at ease is part of the job.

"It's the second biggest purchase of their lives for most people, and it's very stressful," Chavez said. "You have to make it fun, treat them right and smile. That goes a long way."

That culture of sales start with the employees, making sure that they are happy and having everything they need to do their jobs and satisfy customers.

"I tell them (the staff) to be positive and upbeat, be knowledgeable about the products so they can answer customer questions," Chavez said. "We also have to make sure that we have the right inventory with the right options. That's how you change the culture."

For his part, Chavez said it's important for him, as the general manager, to be at the store every day and stay involved with the customers, as that is part of what creates a winning environment.

Another way that Chavez hopes to create a winning environment and improve the culture of Zeigler Chevrolet is to increase the dealership's visibility in the community and at charity events. For the first event, Chavez turned to longtime sales associate Amber Tortorello for help.

"She knows everyone in the community, all of the police, all of the firemen, everyone," Chavez said.

Tortorello volunteers frequently for an organization called Lemons of Love, whose mission is to create and deliver chemotherapy care packages to patients undergoing treatment a local hospitals, as well as to cancer patients throughout the country. The care packages include handmade items as well as personal toiletries. About half of Zeigler Chevrolet's employees participated in the organization's third annual Pink Lemonade 5K Run/Walk on Oct. 1 to raise money for the group.

Chavez doesn't want to stop there. Although he doesn't have anything finalized yet, Zeigler Chevrolet is planning to be involved local high schools, elementary schools and charity organization that are sponsoring clothing drives, food drives and the like.

"I would even like to do things more on a grass-roots level, like helping out people who have been in hurricanes and other disasters by donating water, food and clothing," he said. "It's important that we all come together for these things."

Spending some of the initial years of his career during the Great Recession has helped to shape Chavez' outlook and philosophy.

"Bad things happen to good people. During the recession we were either seeing people with excellent credit or really bad credit in the 500s as they were in bankruptcy or just coming out of it," Chavez said. "Now we are seeing many credit scores in the 600s, but we have to help people, no matter what it is."

In addition to recently joining Zeigler Chevrolet, Chavez is new to the Northwest suburbs. He and his wife, Anahi, recently moved to Mount Prospect where they live with their 5-month-old daughter, Mia. Chavez likes to spend all of his free time with his wife and baby. Traveling is also one of his interests, although those plans are temporarily on hold due to his daughter's birth.

Auto BiographyZeigler Chevrolet Schaumburg

<b>Jose Chavez</b><b>General Manager</b>1230 E. Golf Road, Schaumburg

(855) 800-6929

www.zeiglerchevrolet- schaumburg.com

<span class="fact box text bold">Sales:</span> 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday

<span class="fact box text bold">Service: </span>7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.