Las Vegas Dealership Profile
Steve Finlay Ward's Dealer Business, Dec 1, 1999 12:00 PM

This store stands out in a city of newcomers Las Vegas casino and hotel workers wear name tags which include their hometowns. Rarely do you come across someone who's a Las Vegas native. That's the nature of a transplant town.

Then there's Tim Cashman, owner of Cashman Cadillac on East Sahara Avenue.

He's a native of Las Vegas. So is his father. His grandfather, a Missouri native, settled near Las Vegas at age 16 around the turn of the century.

Back then Las Vegas was a sleepy little town. The place to be was Searchlight, a mining community on the Colorado River, 90 miles south of Las Vegas. Searchlight is where Mr. Cashman's grandfather started selling cars in 1910.

When the gold ran out, he and a lot of other people migrated towards Las Vegas. Grandfather Cashman started a dealership, and over the years the business acquired all other General Motors' franchises, except for Chevrolet.

The family divested itself of all those franchises, but for Cadillac. There are two Cadillac dealerships in Las Vegas. The younger Mr. Cashman runs them both.

He says, "The manufacturer feels, and I agree, that the right way to sell Cadillacs in this market is to be exclusive and stay focused on the brand and stay focused on the competition. That's Mercedes, Lexus, BMW and Lincoln - not other Cadillac dealerships."

Last year, Cashman Cadillac sold 903 new and 746 used cars. Car sales and all other dealership operations grossed more than $72 million. Vehicle sales accounted for about $54 million.

The dealership employs 180 workers. They are encouraged to focus on aggressive sales and full customer satisfaction, says Mr. Cashman.

"We want to establish a long-term customer relationship, not a one-day relationship," says General Manager Fred Hugelmann.

He says, "We'll do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer."

That doesn't mean giving the store away. But rarely is that what the customer wants anyway, especially one with a complaint.

"A lot of times you hear a customer say, when something isn't right, 'It's the principle of the thing.' So we go right to it and say, 'What is it that you want me to do?' A lot of times, it's less than you think they want."

He notes, of course, that there are two sides to any situation.

A customer may have an opinion as to how he or she thinks a problem might be resolved. "But you have to use your professional ability to guide the customer to a satisfactory resolution," says Mr. Hugelmann.

Mr. Hugelmann came from the back-end of dealership work, starting as a car jockey, then a service technician.

When a customer's car breaks down, he'll apologize, then add, "These things are metal, plastic and wood and made by human beings who are not perfect. But the good thing about it is that we are here to take care of it."

Mr. Cashman grew up working at the family dealership.

"I was showing someone around the parts department today, and it occurred to me that I assembled the parts bins back there as a kid in 1973," he says.

Sixty bays are in the service department. It has a new section for servicing limousines because high-riding Las Vegas has more than its share of those vehicles. The Cashman family is actively involved in community charities and good causes. Mr. Cashman's favorite is Classroom on Wheels, a program which sends volunteers into poor neighborhoods to tutor pre-school children.

The city's Triple A baseball stadium is called Cashman Field in honor of his grandfather, who established a minor league team in town in the 1950s.

"Our business mission statement says we are going to give back to the community which has provided a wonderful living to all of us, family and employees," says Mr. Cashman.