The Herb Chambers Companies

History

In 1983, after founding the largest office copier dealer in the world, A-Copy America, Herb Chambers sold the business to Ikon Office Solutions for $80 million. Ikon is now part of the copier manufacturer Ricoh. In 1984, Chambers was looking to purchase a Cadillac for personal use and while going through the process of buying the car he became so disgusted with the experience, he made an offer to purchase the dealership on the spot for $1.7 million. Chambers found the dealerships during the mid-1980s needed to improve customer service to sell more cars. He was reportedly the first dealer in the United States to clean and vacuum a car after servicing or repairing the vehicle.

After opening the first dealership in New London, Connecticut, Chambers quickly added BMW, Hyundai, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz franchises during the next year.

In June 2012, Chambers began selling Lamborghini, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce brands in a showroom in Wayland, Massachusetts.

In September 2013, Chambers opened his first Volvo franchise in Dedham, Massachusetts.

In the fall of 2015, Herb Chambers opened a Lexus dealership in the town of Hingham, Massachusetts.

Today more than half of Herb Chamber locations sell higher-margin luxury brands such as Lincoln, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. All of the dealerships are within 75 miles of Boston, the sixth-wealthiest city in the country.

In June 2016, Herb Chambers opened a Herb Chambers Volvo Cars and a Herb Chambers Lincoln along the "Automile" in Norwood, Massachusetts. Both dealerships offer cafés or coffee bars in their lounges along with WiFi connectivity.

Dealerships and locations

The Herb Chambers Auto Group currently consists of 55 automotive dealerships throughout Southern New England, with locations surrounding the Boston-Worcester-Providence Combined Statistical Area. The fifty-five dealerships include: two Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealerships, two Hyundai dealerships, two Lexus, two BMW dealerships, two Audi, two Porsche dealerships, two Infiniti dealerships, two Cadillac, two Ford dealerships, two Toyota dealerships, two Scion dealerships, two smart Car dealerships, three Mercedes-Benz dealerships, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, Maserati, Kia Motors, Jaguar, Volvo, Bentley, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover, Sprinter, and four Honda dealerships. The company is also the exclusive, MV-1, A2B Electric Bikes and Vespa Motor Scooters dealers in the Greater Boston area.

Sales strategy

The view at Herb Chambers is that the days of the hard-selling tactics of new and used car sales are over. With the availability of the internet to compare prices, and the availability of independent, third party reviews, the car buyer in now more in charge of the negotiation. Herb Chambers was one of the first dealerships in the United States to use a no-haggle pricing strategy called the "Smart Pricing" program. They also have all used cars undergo a safety inspection before purchase and attempting to insure there is no pressure from the salesperson. The dealer also has a refund program where the purchaser can bring the car back for any reason within the first five days and receive a full refund or within 30 days or 1,500 miles (2,400 km) for a full credit.

Awards and recognition

The Herb Chambers Companies has been given a number of awards, nominations and special recognition in the automotive industry. In 2003, Ward's Dealer Business, a publication of PRIMEDIA’s Ward’s Communications, presented Herb Chambers Companies with the Ward’s Dealer of the Year award "for honesty, exemplary customer service and employee care". Also in 2003, J.D. Power and Associates awarded 7 of the Herb Chambers dealerships with the Certified Retailer award.

In 2007, Ward's Dealer Business recognized the Herb Chambers Companies as the 7th most active auto group based on Internet Sales Volume. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) nominated Herb Chambers Companies as the Massachusetts' nominee for the 2008 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year award.

In 2014, five Herb Chambers dealerships were awarded the DealerRater “Dealers of the Year” outstanding customer satisfaction.

In March 2015, Herb Chambers BMW of Sudbury was awarded a 2016 Center of Excellence honor by BMW of North America.

Charitable contributions

Each year during the running of the Boston Marathon, Herb Chambers hosts three different viewing parties close to the finish line on Boston's Boylston Street. The event raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund and are held at Mandarin Hotel ballroom, and Back Bay Restaurant Group's Abe & Louie’s and the Atlantic Fish Co.

Controversy

In 2005, a Boston Globe report noted that four officials from the Herb Chambers Companies contributed to Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly's campaign efforts when he was attempting to run for Governor of Massachusetts. During this time, the auto dealer group had generated a large number of customer complaints to the Attorney General's office.