A real life case for ‘shop local’

To the editor:
    I am writing to unabashedly put in a plug for a local business: York’s of Houlton. I recently had the pleasure of purchasing a car from York’s and I was pleasantly surprised — to say the least — at what a pleasure the entire experience was.
    I have never before bought a car from a dealership, having always believed in and feared the stereotypes one hears about the typical “car salesman.” Yet in desperation (I was driving a very tired Suburban) I approached the first woman I saw on the York’s sales floor: Emily Homchuck. Emily isn’t a sales woman but a finance rep. She kindly passed me along to Emily Gardner, the assistant sales manager. The Emilys became my personal “auto angels.”
    Emily G. didn’t give me a hard sell, rather she listened to my needs and diligently worked to meet them. I was allowed to drive potential car candidates for a day or more and the process revolved around me, not the dealership. At one point Dick York came into Emily’s office just to introduce himself and wish me luck in the car search.
    Many of my questions were answered by other salesmen; Mike Brown, the Toyota expert, and Roger Chapman, who knows everything and became my go-to guy: he even removed my old license plates for me in the lousiest weather and gave me a snow scraper when he discovered I didn’t have one!
    When I finally decided to commit to a vehicle, a payment, etc., Emily H. worked out financing better than I expected. Rather than having to finance through the Fresh Start program, Emily put my loan through a bank at a much lower interest rate. I finally got a break and who would of thought it would come from a car dealership! Willis Nason, another finance rep. happily led me through all the paperwork.
    The car I bought had a sizable dent in the side and it was gladly agreed that it would be removed for purchase. Roger Graham, the body shop manager, took photos of the dent and said he would take care of it and indeed, when I returned later that day the dent was gone. I was also having trouble with the windshield washer fluid so took the car into the repair shop three times. Every time I dropped off my car, Roger Chapman would have a loaner ready to go for me. Fortunately, on my third visit it was Angie McGary, a service advisor, who came out to the car to see what the problem was and discovered, alas, that it was me. I wasn’t operating the switch correctly. Angie laughed it off and promised to keep my stupidity to herself: the cat’s out of the bag now!
    I would encourage anyone looking for a vehicle to work with York’s of Houlton. I really believe you couldn’t find a better team of people committed to sincerity, perseverance, and an honor code that defies the car sale/service stereotype. My earnest thanks goes to all at York’s. I look forward to doing business with them in the future.
Jami Cass
Houlton