Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Any great business has got a very strong why, and the why can't be selling cars and making money. The why has to be something much bigger than that.
Our mission is to become the most trusted auto group in the nation, and our promise is to make confidence happen with every interaction that we have.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Hey, y', all, it's Taylor McAlpine with local LBK. We are here recording our first episode of In Good Company, our new podcast. It is sponsored by the Caminder auto family. So thank you for sponsoring this and letting us borrow one of your awesome cars. We are here at the Lexus dealership today, and we are joined by Steven Cavender, the president and CEO of the company.
So join us as we have a conversation about how the family business has grown over the years, starting in 1939, from one dealership now to 16, and hear how their mission and values and purpose have shaped their company's culture, what that means for their teams, and what that means for the communities they operate in and what that means for us here in Lubbock. So come along, join the story, and know that you're always in good company.
All right, y', all, we're starting our first episode, and here is Mr. Steven Cavender. Hello, Taylor.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Hello, local LBK.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: It is a pleasure to have this conversation with you, sir.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Great to. Good to be with you, my friend.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: So heard you came in town for a speaking event.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Yeah, we had a nice event with the young leaders of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, and I was able to field a few questions from them and hopefully, you know, just encourage them to keep doing what they're doing in this great city of Lubbock, Texas.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Love to hear it.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: So this is our first episode of the In Good Company podcast through Local Decay. So thank you all for your support and letting us do the show.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: You bet, Taylor. So happy to have you here at our dealership. And let's take this beautiful LX for a drive.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: I was about to say, this is a fun car.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: Let's go, man.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: One of the first questions I want to have for you. Do you have any favorite cars, favorite brands?
[00:02:10] Speaker A: Oh, man. You know, we represent 11 brands, and so that's a lot like asking, hey, which is your favorite kid?
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Right?
[00:02:19] Speaker A: So all the brands that we sell. I really like our lineup. We've got a great stable of manufacturers.
So, you know, for the most part, I am a pickup truck driver.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: So it fits my lifestyle a little bit better.
I love. Love being in the outdoors, and I love taking stuff to the Goodwill.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Okay.
We do the same, you know.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: Yeah. When it's time to purge, that pickup truck comes in real handy. Yeah.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: Love to hear it. So for those who don't know you, can we explore who you are as a person?
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Thank you. My name is Steven Cavender and I am a third generation car dealer.
I'm also the president and CEO of the Cavanagh Auto family, which is great, but is a third generation business owner. I, you know, for the most part, grew up in San Antonio, Texas, went to the University of Texas, came back, joined the family business, had the good fortune of watching my grandfather and my dad and my older brother all working together.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Okay. You know, and so the true family business experience.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: The true family business experience. Taylor, you're absolutely right.
Yeah. And then my brother and partner, Rick Cavender, he also is very active in our business and so we're fortunate we actually have a fourth generation coming on.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: Do you really?
[00:03:52] Speaker A: My daughter, Kate Cavender Dawson, will one day take over for me, so.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:59] Speaker A: All good.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Love to hear that. So four generations.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
And very fortunate because, you know, I mean, I was always growing up, I always heard third generation's the one that screws it up, but we haven't screwed it up yet.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: So passing the baton, we did something right.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: So with that, it started in 1939. Did I hear that right?
[00:04:20] Speaker A: You're right. You're right. Yeah. My granddad started at Kavanaghsmobile in 1939. That was his first dealership.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: And how did the family get into the business?
[00:04:29] Speaker A: Well, for the most part, my grandfather was a. Actually was a corporate trainer for Chevrolet Motor division. And back in those days, you know, it was pretty. A lot simpler. Then he had a.
He worked for a gentleman. He was hired away from Chevrolet. He worked as a sales manager. And then that gentleman said, hey, I, I think there's the next New York City of Texas is going to be a place called Flatonia, Texas.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Not many people know about Flatonia, but it didn't turn out to be the next New York City of Texas. So that, that Oldsmobile owner, he went to Flatonia, opened an Oldsmobile dealership there. And my granddad stayed in San Antonio and kind of made his mark in San Antonio. And my dad joined the business, very civic oriented car dealer in San Antonio. And then my brother and, and I came along and it was time for bigger and broader things.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:05:34] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: And so being a family business, there can be some interesting dynamics.
It's all family, it's all people. You have to have Thanksgiving with What was it like navigating those things, especially as you made some changes?
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Yeah, so navigating changes it really and truly with a family business.
We were so fortunate because my brother Rick and I have different talents.
Rick Cavender, my brother, he's our chief brand officer, loves doing things that are very forward with the community.
And so he is the, you know, he serves as the, the chairman of the United Way, he serves as the MC for the food bank gala or whatever non profits are going.
And he loves that. He loves being the face of the Cavanagh Auto family, which is great because it allows me to do things that are more in line with strategy and people development and process maximization, that kind of thing.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: Within a family business. Is it hard for you to understand your strengths and your roles? Because I imagine you could have whatever seat you wanted.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: Well, is important that you, you play to your strengths. Right. And I guess my, my advice to any family business would be let's play to them. Let's play to the kids strengths. Let's know what this kid's strengths are.
Build a team around them that allows them to be strong.
So that's, that's very important. And we've both, Rick and I have had some incredible mentors in the, in the car business. So.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, well, between here and when we get on loop, I wanted to focus on kind of you and your career. And so your career started within the family business when you took over.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Yeah, so I was a.
Worked every department in the, in the dealership, which is important for, for car dealer kids. I mean, that's kind of where your credibility comes.
How can I lead you if I haven't walked in your shoes?
And so from the, from the service department to the used car department, to the accounting office to the new car department and ended up in the new car sales area is a, an assistant manager.
Felt like I did a darn good job there and then became a sales manager. Then an opportunity came. I was at Kavanaghsmobile.
Opportunity came. I was 31 years old. We had a new Toyota dealership.
We were having a lot of challenges with this Toyota dealership.
And one of our factory representatives had enough faith in me to say, hey, I think Stephen would be really be good at the Toyota store.
So I became a general manager at age 31 at the Toyota store.
Just basically brought a lot of good people together, shared some new ideas, different ways of looking at things, and before long we were having some success.
So that was kind of my aha moment.
Hey, you know, I can do this.
I built a good base of knowledge, and we built that Toyota store into a real powerhouse. At the same time, my brother Rick, who's five years older than me, he was over at our Saturn store. We were awarded a Saturn franchise, and he was doing that. And then when General Motors pulled the plug on Saturn, Rick went to our Audi store. I was at our Toyota store. And we were both growing those stores at that time. Yeah.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: And so with that, you've seen a lot of industry change over the years.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, I was. You know, you probably, you probably never drove a DeLorean, but we sold DeLoreans.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: Really?
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Yeah. You might not have ever driven a Fiat, but we, we sold Fiats, we sold Saturns, we sold those mobiles, we had the. The rugs pulled out from under us on all those models.
And so that's a real testimony to. To cavern or auto family resilience.
So and, and really and truly our, our growth trajectory centered, you know, from. From 2005 until 2017, our growth trajectory centered around building dealerships in San Antonio that were so large and attracted lots of talent that we needed a place for that talent to go.
And when you have talented people, you basically look for opportunities for that, for that talent pool.
And started acquiring franchises beginning in. In 2016 with Toyota Cedar park in the Austin area.
Then went to just outside of Houston in Weimer in Columbus, Texas. Some of our team members went there for a Ford and a Chevrolet and Polaris dealerships, which we operate there.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:16] Speaker A: And then from there, it was time to come to Lubbock.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: All right. And great transition. We're actually hitting the on ramp for the loop. So tell me, Alderson, another legacy family business. How did y' all get connected?
[00:11:31] Speaker A: Yeah. So, you know, you probably know Taylor, the Aldersons were. Had been here since 1949.
And it's all about networking, quite frankly. David and I met thanks to a program that the Texas Automobile Dealers association put together. It was called the Future Dealers of Texas. And it was young automotive professionals that were probably very green, but it was dealers Sons and daughters club is basically what it was.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Is that pretty common for the industry to be a family business?
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Yes, it is common to be a family business. And so we would have lots of well known family automotive families would meet and we'd do some lobbying. And David and I kind of matured through the.
As we matured as car dealers, we stayed in touch and we continued working for the Texas automobile dealers and became great friends. Spent a lot of time on the Golf Course outside of work. And then in 2021, I mean, it was.
It was like a.
An incredible honor and a privilege. He called me up. I thought we were going to play in a golf game.
And he said, hey, I'm going to sell my stores. And then I told him, I said, well, pal, I've got.
I know that possibly this group or this group might have an interest. He said, no, I'm. I want to entrust my people to you.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: And I said, wow, okay, well, we will.
That's. That's a great opportunity.
And David and I put a deal together, which made great sense for both our families. And here we are.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: Love to hear it. So that started back in 2021.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: All right.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: And to be handpicked, that's an interesting scenario.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah, it was a huge compliment. But, you know, it's kind of a testimony to the way good car dealers operate.
And good car dealers, it's a people business, so it's kind of all about, hey, if I can't be here, who would? I want to take my place.
And once I met David's team, got to know them, I could see that, hey, there's a lot of similarities between Alderson and Cavender, and this is going to work out just great. And it has.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: Love to hear that. Next two questions. I would love for them to be kind of back to back. One is mergers and acquisition. That's a different style of growth, and it sounded like a new way for y' all to grow, correct?
[00:14:21] Speaker A: Yes. Yes.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: So was that Yalls first?
[00:14:23] Speaker A: Yes. So we had done some acquisitions in the past before coming to Lubbock, and that was kind of the training ground. I mean, our acquisitions in Weimer and Columbus, Texas. Okay, same thing. It was a dealer friend of mine who reached out and. Or actually, I reached out to him because the stores were for sale. I reached out to him, and he said, yeah, that sounds like a.
I'd love to. I'd love for you to take over these dealerships. So that kind of gave me the confidence. Went in there. We did those dealerships. Right. And that's kind of what gave me the confidence to take on six dealerships.
You know, that's. That's where your talent pool has to be very, very deep.
But you also are acquiring talent. Right. And you have to be convinced that that talent will meet with. Will. Will work well with your organization.
And so there was plenty of talent right here in Lubbock for us to feel very comfortable that it was going to be a Good acquisition.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: That's encouraging to hear. The second part of that question is the mission alignment, the value alignment.
Cavenders is known for its core values. Do you mind, Nick, walking us through this?
[00:15:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So any great business has got a very strong why.
And the why can't be selling cars and making money. The why has to be something much bigger than that.
And so we really work on that hard. And our mission is to become the most trusted auto group in the nation.
[00:16:16] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Okay.
And our promise or our purpose? You can look at it either way, because the purpose is a promise is to make confidence happen with every interaction that we have.
Okay. And so let's drill down on confidence a little bit. My granddad back in 1968 coined the phrase confidence is cavender.
And that was our. That was our slogan, really. Okay. For. For 40 years, confidence is cavender. I mean, I had a little league baseball uniform that said confidence on the back of it.
And back when CB handles were a thing, my granddad and my dad.
Well, my dad was Mr. Confidence. So that kind of gives you an idea. Right. But as I drilled down with my team and started talking to them about the importance of purpose and the importance of mission confidence is cavender, we were wondering, what does that really mean?
And one of our associates who's still with us today said, what if we turned it around and said, making confidence happen or to make confidence happen? And I said, that's perfect. That's an active statement.
And confidence can mean so many things as we're interacting with people. I mean, obviously, I want to give our customers confidence.
I want them to know that we are experts at what we're doing and that we are going to absolutely take care of their needs and they can trust us.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Love that.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: But then as a team at a dealership, we've got to work together.
I want my co workers to have confidence that I've got their back and that we're all rowing this boat in the same direction. And I also want them to know they're going to have every resource to be as good at their business as they possibly can be.
I look at every employee as a. Is a team member, but more importantly, is an entrepreneur.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: Okay.
That's a different mindset.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And so if every. If every team member is an entrepreneur, then I've got to give those resources and give that. Give that feeling of confidence and trust that they know exactly what their mission and what their purpose is within our dealership.
And so then you've got your.
You've got Your, your mission. You've got your purpose, you've got your promise. You know, what are your core values? And then we train on that.
We want to be reliably different.
Very, very important.
We want to be undeniably driven.
We have manufacturers that depend on us.
[00:19:19] Speaker B: All of your stakeholders.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: Yes, all of our stakeholders.
And so integrity obviously plays a big role in that.
And then you think about it and your auto group kind of starts to take on a personality.
And that's what I love about our personality. It fits great with Lubbock, Texas.
And that's what really kind of drew me to this, to this market.
If you think about the knowledgeable neighbor, that's kind of where I want our auto group to be.
[00:19:57] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: I want our auto group to be. Oh, my gosh, you know, my father has to go to the hospital. I want to be there, but I've got the kids here. I need to go knock on my neighbor's door and see if she can watch the kids.
And you knock on the neighbor's door, you go, I've got this. Don't worry about it.
We're taking care of it. Right. And now that burden's lifted and now that customer's on the way to the hospital because the neighbors stepped in. Right.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: Do you have a customer story like that?
[00:20:34] Speaker A: Yes, I do have a customer story like that. And it just happened to me last week.
[00:20:40] Speaker B: No way.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've got a.
I've got a.
Okay, I'm going to mention that. I'm going to mention the manufacturer because it's out of San Antonio. It's a Toyota Tundra. And unfortunately, I had a customer going from San Antonio to Colorado.
They had their dog, they had their skis. They were loaded up for a two week trip.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Oh, they were ready for a good time.
[00:21:04] Speaker A: Yeah. And unfortunately, their Toyota Tundra in Lamisa, they're in La Mesa on the side of the road and their Tundra stops. And I get a text.
And when I get that text, I call our dealership in Midland, Texas. Guys, we've got to do something for this family.
And my service director, boss, I've got this. We've got a.
What are they in? I said, hey, they're in a pick a Toyota pickup truck, a Tundra. He said, okay, I'm gonna send a pickup truck to their resc right now. And that's what we did.
[00:21:42] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: That's what we did. And the fact that I was able and I probably could have called a fellow dealer in Midland or Lubbock, but that's not the same level of services. I've got one of my associates who's
[00:21:59] Speaker B: coming to get you when your family gets to take care of.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: That's right. That's right. And by the way, take our car on your ski trip, and then we will ship that car to San Antonio to get it fixed. And so that's what we did.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Are you familiar with the book Unreasonable Hospitality?
[00:22:17] Speaker A: I am.
[00:22:18] Speaker B: That is a case study right there. I love it.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Good stuff.
Good stuff. And really and truly those kind of moments when you can deploy your team to do extraordinary things.
They love doing it, too.
[00:22:36] Speaker B: It gets them excited.
[00:22:37] Speaker A: It gets them excited.
It gets them excited.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: You give them the black and white, the rules of service, how you do business, but then let them have their magic, bring color to the painting.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: That's right. That's right. Because that. That service director who was driving to La Mesa, he knew he was going to be greeted with relief and smiles from that family while he waited on the wrecker to come pick that vehicle up.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: What a fun story. Thanks for sharing.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: Yeah, sure.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: So we were talking about core values, what that means for the company while I was doing research. It sounds like you'll have.
Was it a farm style of mentorship or leadership for developing your team?
[00:23:20] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we have a leadership development program that we started last year, and we have tremendous resources. I've got a corporate trainer, and I also have a curriculum director.
Our trainer came from Whataburger. They do things pretty well.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: All right.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: And so they came to me with an idea that, hey, we've got some people who are really hungry for the study of leadership.
And so twice a year, we assemble 16 of our associates in a class, and it goes a long way. So our.
Our group is about 1700 employees right now.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: So we've got plenty of folks that can. We can put through the leadership training program at the Cavanagh family.
And so far, it's been a huge success.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Glad to hear it.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: And so as you were talking about doing that with your own daughter, preparing the next generation, you're doing that with your leadership throughout the whole company.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And it's a lot of collaboration because we always learn from each other more than we learn from just sitting in a room and looking at PowerPoints.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Who wants to do that?
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Well, we're coming up to another fun spot. Got your Audi dealership over here, so.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:54] Speaker B: Say hey to Chris.
[00:24:56] Speaker A: Exactly.
Audi Dominion. And here's an interesting story about Audi Dominion.
I'm Sorry. Audi Lubbock. Audi Dominion is our store in San Antonio.
[00:25:05] Speaker B: I got it.
[00:25:06] Speaker A: But here's an interesting story about Audi Lubbock. David Alderson calls me when I was in San Antonio and wanted to speak with me and Rick. He said, hey, would you guys vouch for me? Audi is looking to put a franchise in Lubbock.
And Rick and I said, absolutely. Let's let. We'll put in a good word for you.
And so then David lands the Audi Lubbock store.
And little did I know that one day I'd be an owner of that. That store.
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Oh, interesting. Full circle moment.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: Full circle, yeah. Full circle moment.
[00:25:43] Speaker B: So, so far, we've kind of covered the family story, right? Your story within that, the company culture and values.
Talk about Lubbock a little bit. What makes Lubbock a unique market for y'?
[00:25:53] Speaker A: All?
[00:25:54] Speaker B: Well, because y' all have invested a lot.
[00:25:56] Speaker A: We've invested a lot. We've invested a lot. I mean, we've had some pretty significant capital projects. We've totally remodeled our Lubbock Lexus Cavanagh Lexus showroom. We added 16 technical stalls to our BMW store.
Had to totally do a facelift on our Mercedes Benz store. I mean, all total. We've had about $22 million in capital projects bringing the dealerships up to Cavendish standards.
I absolutely want my customers to have plenty of service stalls. I absolutely want my customers to have the finest amenities in the showrooms, and I want my employees to have a great place to work. And so there was a lot of upgrades that we had to do. But I love Lubbock because it really reminds me of where San Antonio was 20 years ago. I mean, you've got a. You've got a really strong chamber of commerce, and I love seeing the young leaders today at the chamber of commerce.
I think you've got an innovative community, Texas Tech for sure.
[00:27:15] Speaker B: All the research going on, Covenant Hospital.
[00:27:17] Speaker A: I mean, you've got innovation in Lubbock, Texas, and then you've got the mainstay, right, agriculture, a great base in San Antonio. We had military. That was kind of our mainstay. And then we built around that. I see you guys kind of doing the same thing. I see Lubbock doing the same thing.
And then I think there is a high level of community involvement and community engagement from the business community.
And I love that because, I mean, I.
I think that, you know, before a. Before a business can do well, a business has to do some good.
[00:28:02] Speaker B: And if I remember that, that's another company slogan, it Is it is.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Yeah. We. We have these little phrases. Right.
And so you've got a really strong United Way here. And we are huge supporters of the United Way.
Loved sponsoring your Habitat for Humanity. I was just with those leaders there.
We've had a couple of sponsorships of their events as well.
And then your Chamber of Commerce, because quite frankly, I mean, that's what it's all about. If we're going to grow a community, we've got to have a great Chamber of Commerce.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Our new leadership is doing wonderful things over there, too.
[00:28:44] Speaker A: I just got through meeting with Nick Dynamic leader.
Lubbock's in great hands with that Chamber of Commerce.
[00:28:53] Speaker B: It's always fun hearing that from the outside.
[00:28:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Let me get. Can I give you an example of the Chamber of this story? Please do. It's 2003. I'm involved with the chamber.
You know, go to the meetings, that kind of thing. And in San Antonio, I get a call from the president of the Chamber of Commerce. Hey, Stephen, I want you to be part of Project Silver Eagle.
It's a Project Silver Eagle. Okay. What is that, Joe? I can't tell you, but here. I need you on the team. Can you come to a couple of meetings? Yeah, sure.
Had to sign a bunch of non disclosure agreements. Wow, this is really getting exciting.
[00:29:28] Speaker B: Top secret stuff.
[00:29:29] Speaker A: Top secret stuff. It's 2003, and I find out that a very large manufacturer wants to bring an assembly plant to San Antonio, Texas. Possibly.
But it might not go to San. It might not go to Texas, it might not go to San Antonio. It might go to Arkansas, it might go to Alabama, it might go to Mississippi. So we're going to have to put a team together, put our best foot forward.
About two meetings later, I learned that that manufacturer's Toyota and they're going to build a manufacturing assembly plant in San Antonio, possibly.
And we landed it.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: Mm.
[00:30:08] Speaker A: And I was the transportation director for the Toyota executives when they'd come to San Antonio to prowl around San Antonio, prowl around Potique, Texas, where the plant is now.
And here we are 20 years later and we build 200,000 Toyotas in that plant.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: It's five over 5 million square feet under roof and directly employs 16,000 jobs from that footprint and affects 40,000 jobs in the state of Texas.
So that just kind of gives you the power of a strong chamber when
[00:30:53] Speaker B: a community works together.
[00:30:54] Speaker A: Yeah, we're talking county judges, we're talking the mayor, we're talking lots and lots of moving parts. And it was. It was such A great education to see all those moving parts in San Antonio working together, and then the celebration to land the plan.
[00:31:11] Speaker B: Love to hear that.
So something you were starting to dive into earlier was the role of philanthropy.
[00:31:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:21] Speaker B: And so what does that look like for y' all as an organization? And then what does that look like here locally?
[00:31:26] Speaker A: So as an organization, and I will, I'd like to brag on car dealers a little.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: Go for it.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Right.
Car dealers in the state of Texas. I mean, we employ.
We employ over 120,000 Texans, if you can believe it. 18% of every retail dollar in the state of Texas flows through a car dealership. Wow.
[00:31:51] Speaker B: Gang.
[00:31:53] Speaker A: So we have a huge impact. But the thing I'm most proud of is the fact that car dealers have historically always been at the center of philanthropic efforts in their communities.
And I feel like for me, growing up as a car dealer's child, I always knew that we were going to be sponsoring the Little League. I always knew we were going to be involved in the United Way. I always knew that if there was a gala, I was probably going to have to be a seat filler.
And so with regards to outreach, that's a very important part of our organization. We actually have a community outreach director.
But here's what I didn't realize, what I didn't realize until later in my career is that it's a tremendous recruiting tool.
I mean, Taylor, think about it, right? All things being equal, somebody who's got a heart that wants to give back.
If I've got a group of team members who not only make confidence happen, but I've got a select group of team members who make kindness happen in the community.
[00:33:14] Speaker B: It's your culture in action. They get a culture.
[00:33:17] Speaker A: And now that potential team member is going to say, well, heck, I kind of like this. Because they're sponsoring the Boys and Girls Clubs of Lubbock, and I was in a Boys and Girls club, I want to be associated with an organization like that. And now I find our corporate outreach is attracting these game changer individuals who see their role in the community as a lot more than just, hey, punch in at the dealership and punch out, go home.
So when you start getting this organic community effort and kindness going within your organization, it's very powerful. And that's really strong team building, for sure.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: Nothing can bond you like volunteering or making an impact.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: Right. I mean, I was working with some of our team members, a company called Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and they build beds, and I was in charge of sanding the rails And I learned so much about my team members as I'm sanding the beds.
You know, we just really bonded, and I saw everybody.
And I saw everybody else bonding together as well. And so that's pretty powerful stuff for a business and a community.
[00:34:48] Speaker B: Love to hear that. For those in our audience that want to engage with y' all philanthropically.
[00:34:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:53] Speaker B: Is that dealership level? Do they have to call San Antonio? How does that work?
[00:34:57] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely at the dealership level. But if they want to go to our. To our website, cavanaghtofamily.com then they will see on the website how to get in touch with us from. For philanthropy and corporate outreach.
Exactly.
[00:35:15] Speaker B: And then what are some of the main causes that you all, as an organization, like to support?
[00:35:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So the United Way is extremely important to us.
The. And through the United Way, that allows us to. To help lots of. Of different organizations as well.
And then with regards to other organizations, you know, our team members and especially in Lubbock sit on a lot of different boards, which is really helpful as well.
So that's all very important to us to be. To be helping at that level as well.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: Love to hear it. Well, we're on our last stretch as we head back to the dealership. What can we expect from the Cavinder auto family? Both everywhere as you're growing and then from here locally?
[00:36:08] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think what you can expect from the Cavanagh family is a dedication to the Lubbock community, a dedication to make confidence happen, to make sure that we bring that knowledgeable neighbor personality to everything that we do. Somebody that you can count on.
We want to do things different. We want to be reliably different.
And so you will see us doing some things out of the box.
Looking.
Looking ahead at the future.
A big emphasis on serving our customers where they are.
Possibly mobile service.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:36:54] Speaker A: Looking at that is a real opportunity for customer convenience.
And then in the Lubbock community, having the physical plant to be able to serve their needs. I can't tell you how important it is for us to be able. When you want to have your car come in for service, to be able to tell you, hey, is today tomorrow or the next day more convenient for you? A week waiting, not out two weeks.
And that's what we've really been working hard to do.
[00:37:29] Speaker B: Have things balanced out since Pandemic and all the supply chain issues? For the most part, yes. Good to hear.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: But boy, I mean, you know, I think about Generation Z, right? And you're probably in Generation Z. Think of the challenges you guys have been faced with at such an early stage in your career. And I couldn't be more excited because you guys have, have weathered Covid, and now we're seeing this incredible push for AI and all the incredible things that AI is doing for us in our businesses.
And you guys are going to be taking AI and using it to the fullest extent to benefit customers, to benefit humanity.
And I can't wait to see, Taylor, what you and your generation do with, with AI. You're perfect. You're. You're perfectly ready to, to. To take our, our society to the next level. For sure.
[00:38:36] Speaker B: It's another tool in the toolbox, and we're just on the front end of it.
[00:38:39] Speaker A: We're just on the front end of it. Yeah. It's a lot like I remember when we had this new tool and it was called the Internet.
[00:38:49] Speaker B: Well, I imagine under your tenure, you've seen that whole change.
[00:38:52] Speaker A: I've seen that whole change.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: Modernizing, digitizing, your whole business model.
[00:38:56] Speaker A: Yeah. And so when the Internet came out, I think a lot like AI, oh, my gosh, we're not going to need car salespeople. People will just be able to. They won't have to come into the showroom. Well, then we had to reinvent ourselves. Guess what? We're going to have to have a digital showroom.
And to make matters even better, we're going to be disclosing pricing, because how are we going to get people to come into our real showroom if our price is not on market?
If we're the highest guy, we'll never see that customer.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: I've heard that's been one of the biggest shifts in the most recent years, the pricing transparency, and that's why the relationship matters.
[00:39:36] Speaker A: Yes.
So it's kind of one of these things. When it first comes out, you get all scared and then you go, oh, my gosh, look at, look at all these people who are communicating with me digitally. It would take me, it would take me six months to see that many people in my showroom is what I'm seeing on my digital screen right now.
And so we always, you know, it seems like fear and trepidation. As soon as it's coming, oh, my gosh, AI is going to. Going to make lawyers obsolete, going to do this, this. But no, we find a way to, to turn it to our advantage and make us, make us more efficient.
[00:40:17] Speaker B: So not quite on the AI side, but using digital technology and things like that. It's been fun seeing your sales managers. As I've gotten to know them. And they're selling cars through TikTok. People are making high end purchases and
[00:40:28] Speaker A: man, are we seeing some individuality and cool creativity from those guys.
Oh my gosh, I love it. And it, you know, it personalizes it and it, I think it kind of speaks to, hey, we want, we want the Cavender brand to have a personality. What a better way to show it than through social media and through TikTok.
[00:40:52] Speaker B: You can be a digital neighbor too.
[00:40:53] Speaker A: Exactly. You can be a digital neighbor too.
[00:40:56] Speaker B: Love that. So we're almost back to the dealership. How can people stay in touch with you and follow the Cavanagh auto family?
[00:41:02] Speaker A: Yeah, so The Cavanaghto family. Cavanaughtofamily.com any of our five dealerships in Lubbock. Of course, we would love to see our folks either in person at the dealership or digitally. Please look us up. Each dealership has a team of professionals that make confidence happen every single day, Taylor. And there's no greater compliment than for a customer to grace us with their business and their interest and consider buying a cavender car.
[00:41:40] Speaker B: Love it. And just so the audience knows, in Lubbock we have your luxury dealerships.
[00:41:45] Speaker A: Right.
[00:41:45] Speaker B: But it doesn't have to just be high end stuff.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: No, it doesn't have to be high end stuff. And thank you for that. Yeah, we've got 16 rooftops.
If you go to the Cavanauto family.com you will see all of our 11 brands, which includes Toyota, which includes Ford, which includes GMC, includes Buick, includes Chevrolet, and of course includes all the luxury brands that we have in, in Lubbock, Texas as well.
So if, if you're so inclined, love to have you on the website, click on the dealership that has the products that you're most excited about and we deliver. So there you go.
[00:42:27] Speaker B: Perfect. And then I'd be remiss without saying service is a growing element. And the new or the used inventory as well.
[00:42:34] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. You know, with used inventory, because we have such scale, 16 rooftops, 1700 employees, $1.8 billion in sales. We take in a lot of great trade ins.
[00:42:48] Speaker B: I believe it.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: And I'm a big believer in certifying our used cars.
So every used car leaves with a complete warranty and has been thoroughly checked out by our expert technicians. So if you want a little extra peace of mind, I think we're the, we're the right auto group for you.
[00:43:09] Speaker B: Love to hear that. In perfect timing, we made it back to the dealership.
[00:43:13] Speaker A: I tell you, Taylor, I have enjoyed this and you're a darn good driver. Thank you, my friend. I really appreciate it.
[00:43:21] Speaker B: Well, we got to take care of our guests and our family, so thank you, Stephen.
[00:43:24] Speaker A: Good luck to you, my friend.
[00:43:25] Speaker B: We'll see you next time.
[00:43:26] Speaker A: Thank you.
