This week, I was invited to attend a local Blog Event at a large Columbus Car Dealer that is increasing their social media presence.
Ricart Automotive, a Family Owned, People Driven company that is now three generations employed held their first Blogger Event in Columbus, Ohio. I’ve never attended such an event and was not really sure what to expect.
I knew there would be local bloggers in attendance but that was all I knew.
I was pleasantly surprised.
I grew up locally and watching the original (Fred) Ricart “We’re Dealin” commercials were a regular occurrence in our household. While the commercials were entertaining to say the least, I had never bought a car from Ricart. As a matter of fact, I really didn’t know much about Ricart or the family behind the name at all, until the Blogger Event.
The company was started more than fifty years ago by Paul Ricart Sr. when he bought a small Ford Store in Canal Winchester. His son’s Paul (Fred) Jr. and his brother Rhett now co-own the company.
Rhett, who oversees the daily operations at the dealership can often be seen riding his Segway on the Mega Mall grounds with his favorite pal Buddy.
During the event, Rick Ricart was able to take time from his busy schedule to stop by and talk about the company, sharing his stories of growing up Ricart. He shared that just because your last name may be Ricart, you still must earn your rank and start at the bottom of the pole in this company.
“I’ve painted every light pole and washed just about every car on this lot” said Rick Ricart (second eldest son of Fred and Lynne Ricart).
He also shared about three years ago, the company decided to make a culture change, becoming employee centric all while breaking the stereotypical “Car Dealers” stigma.
The Ricart company embraced the change, as did their employees. As a matter of fact, due to employee request, Ricart Automotive was able to have a Subway built on the car lot itself. It was still under construction during our visit, but is scheduled to open very soon.
In addition to the Subway, other employee incentives are the employee recognition program. Within each area, peers can vote for one another in the employee of the month program.
One area that Ricart is leading in the auto industry, is the online pictures of the actual cars on their lots. Every car on their lot goes through this process in the 360 photo booth room and driven onto the turntable.
Everything from the car’s tires and treads to the interior and even the sunroof is photographed and placed on their website.
So, when you find your car, you know exactly what it looks like and where to buy it.
In addition to all the business aspects, Rick Ricart and the Ricart Company believes in working hard and playing hard. The employees have fun and enjoy their work all while getting the job done.
Take this nice used car salesman for example …
As I was snapping a few images in the user car showroom, he offered to play Vanna White and well, I took him up on his offer.
He makes a great Vanna, don’t you think??
I was such a pleasant afternoon learning about the Mega Mall Car Dealership that I had only seen in TV commercials from a front row seat!
Thank you to all for your wonderful hospitality!
If ever in the market for a new or used car, be sure to check out Ricart Automotive as your option.
You never know …. “We’re Dealin”
Love that Vanna White pose! 🙂 How kind of him to offer- he’s a great addition to your post. It was good to see you again at the event.