By Dave DeWitte
When the growing Dave Wright Nissan-Subaru dealership set out to design a new facility, the idea was not only to provide a space to sell more cars, but one that would make customers want to return.
The resulting dealership, to be located at the southeast corner of Boyson and Center Point roads in Hiawatha, will include features like no-appointment oil change service, watering stations for pets and a variety of comfortable waiting areas when it opens this November.
The dealership’s double-digit growth in recent years has left it without any room for expansion at its existing location, which is in separate Nissan and Subaru buildings at 1900 51st St. NE, Cedar Rapids.
As the dealership made plans to develop the site, Mr. Wright wanted both of the dealerships to be in one building to enhance efficiency. His company contracted with The Redmond Co., a Waukesha, Wis., firm specializing in auto dealerships, to design it.
Combining the two dealerships in one facility that would satisfy the standards of both automobile brands was one of the major drivers of the design. Enhancing the customer experience was another.
The firm’s design puts each dealership’s showroom at a different end of the 40,000-square-foot building. The parts department, located in the center, will have separate windows for Nissan and Subaru customers. It will be flanked on either side by separate Subaru and Nissan service departments.
“I wanted it to be very open,” Mr. Wright said. Instead of concentrating customer waiting areas into one space, designers created multiple waiting areas for customers with different needs. One will be an Internet cafe for customers planning to use their computers; another will be a quieter lounge area. A third space will be set up for television viewing, while a fourth will function as a children’s play space.
The idea, Mr. Wright said, is to avoid distractions for those focused on activities such as remote work over the Internet or reading, while providing kids who want to play or adults wanting to watch TV and relax with the freedom to do so.
Plans for the dealership include permanently installed Apple iPad tablets for customer use, and an oil change service with enough capacity that customers can drop in for a change without experiencing a long wait.
The most unique customer amenity will likely be the built-in water dispensers for pets – a little like water fountains for dogs. Mr. Wright said a surprising number of customers come in with their dogs, and the idea is to make them feel that they and their pets are welcome.
“We were planning to put them outside the bathrooms by the water fountains, but it looks like it will be more complicated than that,” Mr. Wright explained. “We’re thinking now they might be right inside the entrances. We have a lot of customers who bring their dogs in.”
It’s a little unusual even to Jerry Martier, manager of design services at The Redmond Co. He said dealership design has moved in surprising new directions intended to enhance the customer experience, with more emphasis now being placed on things like sound and scent to ease the harshness associated with 1970s-style dealership designs.
Scent has been part of the discussion in designing Dave Wright Nissan Subaru’s new dealership, Mr. Wright said. Auto dealers know that it’s impossible to get rid of scents such as new tires or the occasional emission from the service department, but more dealerships are now diffusing pleasant aromas to mask them.
The new dealership will cover six acres and join a cluster of existing dealerships in the vicinity of Center Point and Boyson roads. The site was redeveloped from a grouping of older homes that once occupied the corner.
The new Dave Wright Nissan Subaru will have 480 parking spaces, which will enable the dealership to more than double its inventory from the current 100 Nissan models, 70-80 Subaru models and 130 or more used vehicles it now carries.
Mr. Wright has owned and operated the dealership since 2005.
