service techs. One Weber employee, Tim Brueseke, even earned designation as one of only 20 world-class trained mechanics in the entire state.

  Then there is the on-site collision  repair, which utilizes the latest computerized equipment to return vehicles to like-new condition, and color-match myriad paints and finishes. The ten-bay shop, like Weber’s service department, is one of the area’s preferred auto repair facilities by insurance providers and consumers.

    Weber’s ample parts department –spanning 25,000 square feet, stocks over $2.5 million in inventory. Not only does it function filling orders in-house, but also supplies auto body and service shops throughout Missouri and southern Illinois with OEM parts, sending out eight delivery trucks at least twice daily, as well as servicing DIY customers through walk-up counter sales. If that sounds like a sizable outlay for equipment and parts, it is. Yet Kastner says, “The investment in equipment is an investment in the customer.”

  

Weber Chevrolet

West County dealership is one of the largest in Missouri

BY BETH Wade

Contributing Writer

 

WHILE THE OVERALL ECONOMY

CHALLENGES BUSINESSES

to offer a full complement of services to customers, Weber Chevrolet is accomplishing the task.

 

    This 107 year-old Chevy-only auto retailer, familiarly located at 12015 Olive Boulevard at I-270 in Creve Coeur for the past 40 years, offers Metro area drivers a virtual one stop shop for almost every auto need: sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, a huge selection of certified GM parts, right down to the nitty-gritty of service repairs and a collision center equipped to work on virtually all General Motors’ brands. Why? “Our goal is simple,” states Paul Kastner, general manager, “To give customers the best experience.”

     According to Kastner, Weber Chevrolet made the commitment to be customer focused when the company was still known as Weber Implement (circa 1902). Since then, that focus has resulted in growth, expansion, and a dedication to stay on the cusp of technology. Today, Weber Chevrolet is one of the largest sellers of Chevrolet cars and trucks in the state of Missouri and services approximately 100 vehicles daily in its football-sized service department, where every Weber technician is trained and certified. “It’s almost like becoming a doctor,” said Kastner of the vast training experience characterizing the dealership’s 28

“Bottom line, our success is our  Vis-a-vis, there’s a human factor, people,” stated Kastner.  Kastner says the long tenured employee base is characterized by hard-working, caring individuals. “This is my life,” stated a smiling Tom Hornsey, assistant parts manager. With Weber for 37 years, he’s witnessed company growth firsthand. “Back in the day, the parts department won an award for selling $1 million in a single year.

 

Today, we sell a million a month.” With more than 78,000 parts in stock Hornsey says there’s a good chance the part is available. A cursory tour reveals row after row of crash and mechanical GM certified parts. But while Hornsey and his 21 parts department co-workers may need to keep phone numbers of close friends on a speed dial, they’ve got the names and numbers of longtime clients memorized. Some of whom they’ve worked with for more than three decades. The other departments have similar stories. “Customers ask for us all by name,” Hornsey explained. Sales  data

even supports that Weber, operating four Chevy retail/service centers within 20 miles of each other  (Creve Coeur, Columbia, IL, Granite City and Waterloo)sells, on average, one in every four Chevrolets

on Metro area roadways.

  Tony Ziegler, generals sales manager added there’s a great inventory of new and pre-owned cars, trucks and SUV’s on hand at the 15 acre Creve Coeur site and noted Weber Chevrolet offers extended hours in all departments to mesh with customer schedules. But after all, he says the opportunity to satisfy driver’s automotive needs—on their schedule and at one address, is the point. For more information, visit in persons, online, www.weberchevrolet.net  or phone (314) 567-3300.

LEFT: Weber Chevrolet  in Creve Coeur.

 

 

BELOW:

Weber’s highly respected parts  department countermen

It’s almost like becoming a doctor,” said Kastner of the vast training experience characterizing the dealership’s 28 service techs.