As Subaru of America’s successful advertising and marketing campaign has made clear, there are many reasons to “Love” Subaru.
Since the “Love” campaign launched in 2008, Subaru of America and its retailers have donated more than $140 million to national charities and over 1,170 hometown charities through its Share the Love Event.
That includes $25 million to the ASPCA, which is especially fitting since 60% of Subaru owners also own dogs. In fact, October is Subaru Loves Pets Month, and participating dealerships are collecting new pet supplies to donate to local animal organizations, providing shelter supply kits for animals awaiting adoption and even hosting adoption events at their dealerships. This year, Subaru has established October 22 as National Make A Dog’s Day.
“Everyone Loves to Be Taken Care Of”
But besides loving the product and the company’s values, Subaru techs will tell you they also love their jobs. That love was evident when NADA spent the day with the technicians at Glenwood Springs Subaru in Colorado.
“I love doing this,” said David Salgado, a 23-year-old technician who has been working at the dealership for two years. “It’s fun, it’s always challenging and rewarding, and it’s a new experience every time.”
Salgado, like many of the Glenwood Springs Subaru technicians started his training in the lube bay before moving up to join the other 11-13 technicians working in the main shop, which has 13 service bays where technicians work on 50-60 cars a day.
“Over half of our shop has been through that program and its working really well,” said Parts and Service Director Justin Eiseman. “I try to find people who are going to be a good fit for the personalities that we have here in the shop. We try to find good people that we can teach the technical skills.”
Those soft skills—being a part of team, getting along with co-workers and providing great customer service—are at the heart of Glenwood Springs Subaru. “Colorado is a state made up of intelligent, hard-working people, and one thing we all have in common is our desire for quality customer experiences,” according to the dealership’s website. “Everyone loves to be taken care of, and when you come to Glenwood Springs Subaru to purchase a vehicle or service the one you already have, that’s exactly what you get.”
Because of that commitment to excellence in all areas of customer-focused performance, Glenwood Springs Subaru was among the dealerships to receive the 2019 Subaru Love Promise Customer Commitment Award.
Valuing Skills that Can’t be Taught in a Classroom
For other Subaru technicians, it’s the chance to solve problems and working on state-of-the-art cars that keeps them excited about the job and its opportunities. “I’ve never had a job like this before, where I could play around and still make money, which is a total bonus,” said 24-year-old Jordan Steckel. “You know, I wake up in the morning, I’m excited to come to work, and I really like that about my job. It keeps me on my toes and it keeps my mind young.”
The dealership and service technicians also value their customers’ time and realize they have a life and passions outside of getting their car fixed, technician Julio Rodriguez said. “Here at Subaru, when people drop off their cars, we’ve got a lot of stuff that they can do, especially with the area that we’re in. We have bikes that people can rent.”
Rodriguez went from a job as a barista at Starbucks to becoming a Subaru technician and says he’s never looked back. “I always loved working on cars. I always worked on my own stuff. I didn’t go to technical school or anything like that. So I started over there in the lube bay for about a year and a half, then slowly just worked my way up. This is what I want to do with my life.” As Eisman noted, his team of technicians come to work every day ready to have fun and maintain relationships. “We can always teach someone the technical skills, but they’ve got to bring the drive, the enthusiasm and the desire to learn.”
