Joel Mryglod doesn’t have to look far for inspiration.
Hanging on the wall behind the Merit Ford managing partner’s desk is a quote from his grandfather: “If you take care of it, it will take care of you.” Initially meant in regards to vehicles, Mryglod continues to apply those words to many things in life.
“I believe that if a customer wants their vehicle to run well, that if they take care of it, it will take care of them,” he says. “And I’ve kind of taken that model and lived by it. If we want our communities to run well, if we take care of them, they’re going to take care of us, too.”
Merit Ford, located along Highway 9 North in Carlyle, lives by it as well. They like to refer to their customers as “guests,” and Mryglod and his staff are active community members in town and throughout the surrounding area.
“We feel if we support our community, our community is going to support us back,” Mryglod says. “So when someone walks in and asks us for something, we just say ‘yes’.”
A guest will also be welcomed by Trish at the front desk upon entering the dealership, and they’ll hear the music being played by the service staff and smell something good in the diffuser as they’re greeted by Dustin or Faron, the sales team, or Mryglod himself. It’s a fun, light atmosphere, and the facility – built only two years ago – is comfortable and up to date.
More importantly, the Merit Ford sales process is straightforward and seamless.
“Dustin and Faron will help you select the right vehicle that fits your needs and your budget,” Mryglod explains. “It’s a start-to-finish service. We don’t have a finance department, so my sales guys do the financing as well. When you start with one of them, you finish with them.”
Merit Ford sells new and used vehicles and services all makes and models. The service staff can even help a guest customize their vehicle, and they’re always on standby for phone calls and text messages if there’s trouble on the road.
“Some people don’t always like to call,” Mryglod points out. “So we do a lot of texting back and forth with customers. We’re hip like that!”
Merit also provides loaner cars at the dealership’s expense, and Mryglod says his team does a lot of pick-up and delivery – whatever their customers need while their vehicle is undergoing service. It’s those little touches that set the dealership apart, and Mryglod can draw on family experience when it comes to valuing customer service that goes above and beyond.
“I was raised in a family business and we owned the Dairy Queen here in town for a lot of years,” he says. “Just being a part of the place and being very hands-on can add a lot of value. It’s not just the transaction and whatnot. These are people in the community.”
Although they keep typical Monday-Friday business hours and are open Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, Merit Ford isn’t about to leave a customer down and out over a weekend.“There’s always someone around, and you can simply text us and we’ll quite often have someone who’s able to bail you out of a jam,” Mryglod says. “We have business hours, and yet we’re always open.”
Merit Ford, at the north end of Carlyle on Highway 9, can be reached by phone call or text at (306) 453-4444. Additional information about the dealership, their parts and services, and their vehicle inventory can be found on their website.