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Proud to be Americans by David Greenberg - Family owned & operated since 1926, Jim Douglas Chevrolet is proudly All-American.
The trend is to think in patriotic terms and the economic trend is to buy American. General Motors was the first American automobile manufacturer to respond to the economic fallout of the crisis last fall. On September 18, General Motors announced a zero percent interest plan to help stimulate the economy. This kind of plan is typical of General Motors, which has always been a leader and innovator in the industry.
While some people would dismiss the plan as a public relations ploy, Stacey Gay, the general manager of Jim Douglas Chevrolet in High Springs suggests that while it did get GM a lot of attention, there was more to it than that.
“The folks at General Motors recognized how the economy needed a boost, and they understand how important the auto industry is to the economy,” Stacey said. “The car business puts a lot of people to work in this country. GM had the presence of mind to do this. That’s why they are a leader in the industry.”
But the desire to satisfy the customer doesn’t start and end in Detroit. It carries right over into High Springs.
“We have the same philosophy,” Stacey said. “We will give up profit to make the customer happy. We try to earn their business.”
That’s the way it’s been here since 1926 when Jim Douglas opened Jim Douglas Chevrolet Co. on Main Street in Alachua. Jim Douglas moved the dealership to High Springs. Today the dealership is located on U.S. 441, 905 E. Santa Fe Blvd.
The dealership has stayed in the family for all of its 76 years. Baxter Forrester took over the dealership from his father-in-law Jim Douglas in 1947. Today, Baxter’s son, Jim Forrester, is the dealer; Stacey is the general manager and is married to Jim Douglas’ granddaughter, Mary.
No matter what generation of the family is running the dealership, it operates under a credo set down by Jim Douglas. He believed in the Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you.”
Baxter Forrester no longer runs the day-to-day operation, but still has a hand in the family business. For one thing, he’s the historian, pointing out how generations of families not only work in the dealership, but also buy from it. Often he will see people buying a car, and he tells Stacey about how he sold cars to their grandparents.
He says there are two things that create that kind of loyalty. “We live by the philosophy started by my father-in-law,” he said. “We treat people the way we want to be treated. We try to do our best, and that philosophy is passed on to the employees.”
The second thing is service. That’s what sets Jim Douglas Chevrolet apart. “We are often recognized for our service over our sales,” Stacey said. “Customer service is everything. It’s all part of our effort to keep the customer happy.”
Dealerships all over are crowing about the fact that they are now open for Saturday service. But that’s nothing new for Jim Douglas. “We’ve been open for Saturday service for 76 years,” Stacey said. “Seventy-six years ago people around here were farmers. The only day they could bring the car into town for service was Saturday – the day the family went to market. With his strong belief in customer service, Jim Douglas had to have the service department open on Saturday.”
While service is the bread and butter at Jim Douglas Chevrolet, they sell cars as well as anybody in the business. The dealership sells new and used cars and trucks. And because Jim Douglas is a franchise, it gets its vehicles for the same price as everyone else. While big volume dealers suggest in their advertising that they can get it for less, it’s just not true, Stacey says. With limited overhead, Jim Douglas Chevrolet doesn’t have to realize as much profit as the dealers with the big city showrooms.
Additionally, the dealership has had a website for the last few years. By logging on to jimdouglaschevrolet.com, people can obtain information about used cars, new Chevrolets, service hours, service specials, and even a little history about the dealership.
Last year, Jim Douglas Chevrolet celebrated 75 years in business with a big anniversary party. “We had more than 1,000 people show up,” Stacey said. “We didn’t sell one car. That’s not what it was about. The party was to say thank you to all of our customers and friends. We’ll sell cars and provide service on the other days.”
The festivities included live music, food and door prizes, and has become something of a tradition. Fifteen years ago, 1,000 people came to a 60th anniversary party.
Now with all the focus on patriotism, Stacey sees an interesting coincidence that Jim Douglas is celebrating its 76th birthday and the United States being born in 1776.
“We’re American made,” he said. “The expression ‘baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet’ has never been truer. We are very excited about what we have to offer. We have great trucks, nice cars, and some really eye-appealing products. And with low interest financing there’s never been a better time to buy a Chevrolet from Jim Douglas Chevrolet.”
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