Chapter 5

Bill Meyer was a little excited as he started his drive down to Florida to see what that part of the country had to offer. He was heading there because it was time for him to do his ‘wintering.’ He was using that term ‘wintering’ synonymously with vacationing. Last year he met some interesting women in Arizona and hoped his time this year in Florida would be just as interesting. He could do without being accused of rape as he had been in Arizona, which had him pack a nanny cam along with his luggage and golf clubs. Going to a new place for a vacation was always a little exciting for him.

He had decided to leave two days after the New Year as Danni had asked him to spend New Year’s Eve with her at her place. Her divorce was not yet finalized because there was still no agreement on a property settlement. Danni’s stockbroker husband was playing games in trying to hide some assets which was causing the delay. She said her investigator had discovered what her husband was doing and she was going to surprise him in front of the judge at the next court appearance. It should make for an interesting time she told Bill.

Bill and Danni avoided going to the country club together to celebrate the New Year because it would tell their friends there that they were seeing each other. They really were physically seeing each other much to their sexual satisfaction. They spent the night at her place welcoming in the New Year. Spent might be the right word because Danni just wanted to make love all evening. In anticipation of what he thought would be happening, Bill had taken a Cialis pill and even that would only enable him to put his shaft into her just so many times even with her oral help. “There were only so many bullets in the gun” he thought.

After the time he had brought Danni home from the club when she appeared to be drunk and she wasn’t, they had developed a relationship where he was seeing her about once a week. She had told him that he was her ‘fuck-buddy.’

The first impression he had when he heard Danni use that term was surprising and a little shocking. But when she calls him that in a quiet voice as she is nibbling on his ear and colorfully describing what she wants her ‘fuck-buddy’ to do to her. It is highly erotic and stimulating to hear her talk that way. Danni was a fast learner on using a man’s ear as sex organ which Bill enjoys immensely. Both of them seem to be satisfied that their sexual needs are being met and neither seems to want more in the relationship. Bill likes Danni but he doesn’t love her.

He wasn’t a great fan of anal sex but with that great ass Danni has, he asked her about doing it and she agreed. It was pretty interesting in making love with her this way because of how she acted when he prepared and penetrated her as this was a first for her.

Afterwards she told him it was something different and her vote was out on doing it that way. If he wanted to do it more that way with her, all he needed to do was to ask. She said she would keep some lubricant for him to use in the night stand next to the bed.

Bill thought her husband was borderline stupid to give up an intelligent woman like this who was close to being a nymphomaniac. Maybe there were other things that she did which Bill didn’t know about that ended their marriage. He did know Danni could have a temper but he thought that most successful attorneys do have a short fuse.

In driving down to Florida he had initially planned in stopping in Evansville, Indiana and visiting Cora who he had met on a cruise along with Lynn and Zoe. These three ladies contributed to a wonderful sexual experience on a recent cruise. When he phoned Cora to tell her of his plans she broke the news to him that she had become engaged over Christmas. She had been dating her best friend’s brother who popped the question to her. Bill could tell by her voice on the phone that she was excited and he wished her well and congratulated her. She was a nice person. He remembered that she was able to deep throat him which at the time was a first for him. Danni was the second woman who could do that to him.

Bill thought about stopping to visit Lynn and Zoe but he wasn’t game for another three-way. Maybe they weren’t either but how do you separate them and just date one and not the other was a problem he didn’t try to solve. He passed on the idea he should contact them.

He took his time in driving down to Florida stopping just short of Atlanta for the night. The next day because of an early start he arrived in the Fort Lauderdale area in the late afternoon. The realtor gave him the key to the condo he rented along with directions on how to find the condo. She said there were written instructions for him in the condo that explained a number of things but if he had any questions to phone her.

He had no problem in finding the condo and liked what he saw. It was nicely furnished with all the amenities. Being on the twelfth floor and facing east gave him a nice ocean view and a nice cross breeze.

Bill first unpacked and then left the condo to find a store to buy some food and liquid refreshments. It was no problem in finding the stores to make these purchases. Tomorrow he thought he would drive around the area to familiarize himself with it. Maybe even look to see if there were any last minute cruise deals since this was a major port for cruise lines. He was a little beat from the drive so he called it an early night and hit the sack.

The next day he did drive around the area and became familiar with it. He stopped at one of the three private country clubs the golf pro from his country club had contacted about giving Bill golfing privileges. Since Bill’s club was rated in the top one hundred private golf courses in the nation, there were no problems in making these arrangements. Bill phoned for a tee time for the next day and was put in with a twosome who had already made a tee time.

Back at the condo he checked his email and then tried to video call his dealership. He could hear it ring and was surprised when Jan answered the call.

She smiled and asked him, “How was the drive?”

“No problem, the excitement of coming here made it seem shorter than it was. I like doing this Skype thing as it gives me a feeling of being there. Anything going on that I should know about?”

“Not really other than Claire sold two more cars. The daycare center has been a big hit. The local paper wants to do a feature on it but I told them I would need to check with you. Any problems with them doing that?”

“I can’t see any. Give them the okay and have them feature Bonnie when they do that. Also ask them to put in a plug for Claire and the car rental operation. Publicity on her car rental operation and the dealership doesn’t hurt. I assume both dealerships know I will do my Monday staff meetings with them by Skype?”

“Yes they do.”

Ending the call he thought that installing video conferencing in his dealerships was one of his better ideas. He could be in touch even if he wasn’t physically there.

Golf the next day was fine. It was a nice sporty course with a lot of water that took a toll on your golf score and golf balls if you didn’t hit the ball straight. He played golf with an older couple who were retired and seemed nice. He hinted around that he was single and would be interested in meeting some single women but they were of no help in how he could do this.

After a drink in the club he walked out to the parking lot to drive back to his condo. As he was walking he saw one lady just standing and just looking at her Lexus SUV. She looked a little pissed.

She was a nicely dressed lady and walking by her he said, “Anything wrong?”

She turned to look at him and said, “Take a look at the front tires, they both are flat.”

Bill did and saw what the problem was. Each tire had from six to ten nails in them. Apparently someone had put washers on nails and stood them up on the road which she must have driven over. He pointed this out to her and told her she was lucky the tires didn’t blow out.

“What a perfect way to end the day. I stopped here to have a late lunch with my friend but she has already left. I’ll just have to phone someone to take care of this.”

Bill watched her as she speed dialed a number on her cell phone and heard her tell what the problem was. He watched her as she made this phone call. He could appraise her and thought she was an average looking tall woman who seemed intelligent and highly organized. He had a good first impression of her.

Ending the call she said, “They will send a tow truck to bring the car in. I can ride in with the tow truck when it gets here.”

“You don’t know me but my name is Bill Meyer. If you want I can give you a lift so you don’t need to wait for the tow truck.”

“Since you are coming from the club I assume you are safe to go with and if it isn’t an inconvenience I would appreciate a lift.”

She introduced herself as Emma Baker and made a favorable comment that Bill was driving a current top end model Lexus. In the car she gave him directions on where to go.

Bill said, “You have got me curious when you phoned because whatever repair shop you phoned, you speed dialed them. I find that a little unusual that you would have that number on your phone. Who did you call if I may ask?”

“I phoned the Lexus dealership I own.”

Bill laughed a little and then said, “You too?”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a Lexus and a Toyota dealership up north.”

“You are that Bill Meyer who opened a daycare center by your dealership. I saw that story in the corporate newsletter. It is very nice to meet you.”

There was some more talk about the dealership and Emma revealed that she had only been managing the dealership for a little less than six months. Her husband was killed when a small plane he was riding in crashed. She had been happy being a third grade teacher but now she found herself in a somewhat uncomfortable position of managing a Lexus dealership.

They arrived at the dealership with Emma inviting him to stop in. Bill said he will but not today. His car needs an oil change so he will stop by tomorrow.

As Bill drove back to his condo he thought about Emma and the tough position she had been put in. Maybe it wasn’t that bad if she had good people like he had working for her and he hoped she did.

The next morning Bill arrived at the dealership at nine. There was a long line of cars waiting at the service bay. After about a half hour Bill was finally seen by one of the two service writers that were there. An older man with a name tag that said he was Jim asked him why he was there.

‘I need to get an oil change.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“I am from out of town; I didn’t know I would need to make an appointment.”

“Well you do and we are kind of busy today. It will take about three to four hours before we can get to you.”

“That’s okay, I will wait.”

This type of service was not making a good first impression on Bill. Before he went to look for Emma he thought he would walk around the dealership and see what he would see. The new cars and the used cars were dirty and could use a wash. It was also his impression that the used cars were overpriced although he would need to check that on the net. There was paper flying around in the used car area. The customer waiting area was small, dark and overcrowded. The coffee machine was a pay one and made bad coffee. He was not impressed by what he saw and wondered what the books would show as to car sales, service invoices and parts sales as well as warranty work.

He asked and found Emma’s office. She was on the phone but she waived him to come into her office and have a seat. He did and while he couldn’t hear the whole conversation he could hear that Emma was apologizing to a customer for something a salesman said.

When Emma ended the call she turned to Bill and said, “This is not a good start to the day.”

“I could hear that, how are things going?”

“You tell me. I saw you talking to Jim our Service Manager but it was another half hour or so before you came in here. What were you doing?”

“I was just looking around.”

“What did you see?”

“Emma, can I be honest with you?”

“Yes you can, please tell me what you saw.”

Bill was honest with her and gave his appraisal of what he saw and what needed to be fixed. He was surprised in that his remarks did not cause Emma to become defensive as she just sat and listened to what he had to say.

“That is a hell of a first impression. I told you my background is as a school teacher so I appreciate hearing you say what you just did. You said you would like to see our sales records, tell me what you want to see.”

He did and she gathered those records and put them on her desk. She told him to use her desk and she was going to check on her car and do some other things. She closed the door as she left her office.

Bill looked at the records and reports and didn’t like what he saw. Both new car and used car sales were less than what he thought they should be. There were other areas that also concerned him.

After about an hour Emma came back into her office and took a seat. Looking at Bill she said, “Okay give it to me both barrels; please don’t hold back and tell me what you think.”

He gave her his honest appraisal of the dealerships performance. While he was doing this he saw Emma’s eyes tearing up. He thought at one time she would break down and cry but to her credit she didn’t.

When Bill was done she asked him what she could do to improve.

This time he gave her his opinion on what he would do if he was her. For the most part his suggestions followed along the line of what he was doing at his dealerships.

When he was done there was a silence in the room. Emma after a while said, “To be honest with you I did a little research on you and your dealerships. I don’t know how your Toyota dealership is doing but if it’s anywhere near what your Lexus dealership is doing I would think it is gangbusters. The Lexus corporate newsletter indicates your dealership is in the top ten in the nation in new car sales. Because of your proven results, I respect what said today about my dealership.”

There was another long pause but she continued “That being said and I know you have told me you have just started a long vacation but I am hoping I can ask a favor of you. That favor is for you to help me improve my dealership. That is another way of saying I am asking you to train me to be a better manager. I know I am asking a lot of you and if you say no I can understand, but I will try to do the things you say should be done. How about it? Can you take some time and train me?”

Her question to him put him in the trick box. He thought about it a while and weighed the pros and cons of doing it. It would be work but if he could help her it would give him a good feeling of accomplishment in helping a person who was in a tough position.”

‘I will do it under a few conditions. The first one is that you are managing this business not me. You can introduce me if anyone asks as a close friend. I will prep you on how to handle certain situations but it is up to you to make these changes and have the employees know it’s your idea to do things differently than they are now doing. Your goal is to increase the bottom line and not provide welfare for your employees. Those being said, now please give me a rundown on your key employees.

Emma did and it seemed to him she had a good feel for her employees but at the same time was afraid to do anything to upset them.

Bill gave her some things to accomplish and changes to implement immediately. The washing of cars and policing the outside area should present no problem. Providing free coffee to the customers would take a few phone calls. Changing the service hours and adding a service writer could meet with some resistance from her service manager so he prepped her on what she could expect to hear from Jim and how she should respond. She also needed to eliminate the need for appointments to have oil changes and establish a goal of having them done in thirty minutes. There were other things Bill was going to suggest be done but this was enough for her to start with. Bill said he would be in tomorrow.

Emma thanked him and said he gave her a few challenges but she would try and do what he suggested.

Bill had a good feeling that evening about taking on this project. It would be easy for him to direct the changes he thought needed to be done but he needed to train Emma to do this which was more of a challenge.

The next day he was at the dealership at eight and noticed the line of cars waiting to see a service writer was much less than what it was yesterday as he saw three service writers. He also noticed that some of the new and used cars had been washed and it looked like there was activity to wash those that hadn’t.

Walking into Emma’s office he asked, how is it going?”

She looked up at him and said, “I am down one employee. Jim the Service Manager said that he wasn’t enamoured by some of these changes and he is retiring. He said Friday would be his last day. He wouldn’t even give me two week notice.”

“Do you have someone trained to replace him?”

“Sara Collins, my sister’s daughter has been with us for almost two years. She is a veteran and a hard worker. She took after my father and is mechanically gifted and relates well to people but she doesn’t know the management side of the service department. Jim’s leaving is going to hurt. I do have some applications on file on hiring a service writer so I can let a mechanic go back to doing the repair work.”

Bill thought about it and said, “Maybe I can do something to help you on Sara’s training. Is there a phone I can use and do you have a directory of Lexus dealers?”

Emma told him to use her office and handed him the directory.

After finding what he wanted in the directory Bill placed a call to Keith Johnson the owner of a Lexus dealership in the Miami area. Bill had met Keith at a conference and thought he was a pretty straight shooter and a nice guy.

He identified himself to the switchboard operator and said he want to speak to Keith. Bill’s call was directed to Keith and he heard, “Bill how is it going up north? Your day-care center is putting some pressure on me to also do it. I see where you have had some snow. It is kind of nice down here and my toughest decision every day is if I should wear short or long pants.”

Bill could hear Keith laughing.

“Ever the jokester Keith, you haven’t changed at all. But your assuming where I am is wrong as I am here in Florida at Baker Lexus.”

“It’s a shame what happened to her husband. I met him and he seemed like a nice guy. Why are you calling if I may ask?”

Bill explained the problem and wondered if Keith could free up someone to come here and train the new Service Manager. Bill said that Sara, the new Service Manager, was sharp and should be a quick learner.

“We Lexus dealers need to stick together and help each other out. I will send someone there and it will probably be Sid Benson who is a good trainer and has over twenty years of experience. He will stay there till the job is done.”

Bill thanked Keith for his help. If for some reason Keith couldn’t help, Bill would have flown down his Service Manager down to do the training.

Bill broke the news to Emma and she was ecstatic as this would solve a problem.

With that problem seeming going to be solved, Bill asked her if she was ready for another big change she should consider implementing. Receiving a positive response from her, he then explained the one price car policy he was doing at his dealerships as it applied to new cars, used cars, and trade-ins. He told her of the advantages of doing it that way and the favorable customer responses to this type of car buying.

Emma understood the advantages but was hesitant to do it. She thought the sales people wouldn’t react well to this as this could affect the commissions they make on selling cars which translates into their total salary.

Bill asked her who was she more concerned with, her salesmen salary or her business success? She understood the business was more important and the correct answer. They roll played what the sales manager response and questions would be and how Emma should address and explain this new policy. This took up considerable time and most of the morning.

After lunch Emma brought in Danny Flowers her Sales manager into her office to tell him that she was installing the ‘One Price Car Shopping Experience.’ Although the door to Emma’s office was closed, Bill could see through the window that this new concept wasn’t going over well with the Sales Manager.

When Danny left the office Bill could see that his face was red. He asked Emma how did it go and she just understated what had happened by saying, “Not well.”

“Just in case he leaves do you have someone who can replace him?”

“Kenny Williams, a neighbor’s son and a recent college grad paid for by the G I Bill, has been with me two years and has done well in sales. He is a little young and he wasn’t able to find a job with a major employer so I offered him a job. He has done well but like I say he is a little young for the position. He is well liked and I think the employees would accept him in that position but he does have a lot to learn.”

“With one price shopping the job of a Sales Manager is made a lot easier than it has been. If Danny didn’t realize what lower prices and increases in volume would have meant to his compensation, it probably is for the best if he does leave. From what you say, Kenny reminds me a little of myself when I started out. If it becomes necessary I will train him.”

It did become necessary because next morning Danny Flowers tendered his resignation along with two of the salesmen. Emma wished Danny well and immediately called Kenny into her office to tell him of his promotion and the installation of the ‘One Price Car Shopping Experience’ she wanted installed. She introduced him to Bill and said he would be responsible for his training. Emma did call an office meeting and announced who was leaving and who was getting promoted.

She checked with Bill who gave her his approval so she was able to introduce him to her employees.

“Some of you have seen this man with me for the last two days and are wondering who he is. His name is Bill Meyer who happens to own a Lexus and a Toyota dealership up north. His Lexus dealership is perennially in the top ten of dealerships in new car sales in the nation. His Toyota dealership also ranks high in new car sales. He has agreed to give us some of his expertise to improve our sales and dealership operation. Some of the innovative things he has done up north are things we can do here to make us the top Lexus dealership in Florida.”