Maserati of San Francisco - Not Just About the Cars
Great People, Great Attitude, Great Setting...

There is a tendency for auto dealerships to cluster together, as if for mutual support. Occasionally you see one of these areas as you drive past on the freeway: seemingly endless rows of apparently identical cars, gaudy palaces of neon with bunting and balloons, each dealer desperately trying to seem different from the next. Since being different from the norm is inherent to Maserati, it should hardly come as a surprise that you rarely find a Maserati dealer in such dispiriting places

Maserati of San Francisco is about as far removed from the ‘auto mall’ mentality and location as it is possible to get. To begin with, the showroom is in a stunning location; just beyond the building is a jogging path and trail which wends around a small inlet in San Francisco Bay surrounded by elegant homes. In the distance Mount Tamalpais rises above the surrounding hills to provide a magnificent backdrop. The dealership, in Mill Valley, is just five miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and ten miles from downtown San Francisco and Fisherman’s Wharf; Berkeley and Oakland lie just across the Bay, while the Napa and Sonoma Valleys and their world-renowned wineries are 25 miles to the north.

We spoke to Rich Sherbert, Vice President and General Manager, and Brad Goldstone, General Sales Manager, about the dealership, and both were understandably enthusiastic about working from a location of this kind. “This is such a spectacular place, with the lake behind us and the mountains in the background – it’s unique,” said Brad. “And on top of that, the people who work here are all special. There isn’t a single person here, right the way up to Rich, who hasn’t either been hand-picked or who hasn’t come to us and pushed hard to work here, because of their passionate interest in Maserati. Our clients enjoy coming here and just hanging out, drinking coffee out by the water and spending time with the people who work here – and we think that’s important.”

“In this market, you have to stand out, because just about every vendor of high-class consumables has come to this area,” Rich explained. “We’re in an area where there is a combination of youthfulness and affluence, where the success of the high-tech sector means that there are an awful lot of people who are capable of considering the kind of product we deal with. We feel we stand out because people love coming here; our guys are ready to welcome whoever walks through the door. We make it fun – I think the guys make it fun to be here, to look at the cars, to buy a car, and to own that car.”

With its combination of sexy Italian design, sports-car performance and handling, true sedan practicality and hand-built exclusivity, the Maserati Quattroporte is the perfect car to be offering to such discerning clientele – and even the people who work at the dealership confess to being excited by it. “You know, it’s funny – I’ve been in the car business for 22 years, and I’ve been working here for the past eleven years,” Brad told us. “If anyone should be blasé about these cars it should be me; but when I’m driving home, and I see one on the road, my first thought is: Wow, a Maserati, and I do think my heart beats a little faster. Of course, after that I try to get a closer look, to see if it’s one I’ve sold!”

The dealership works hard to get the message out about Maserati, holding events with partners who attract a similar type of customer. “We try to pair up with other companies that have a similar lifestyle image to Maserati,” Brad told us. “We look to high-end restaurateurs, jewelers, shopping malls – anywhere that has a similar kind of client, where we can show them a product which matches their needs and interests. For example, we are doing an event with the Fairmont Hotel, which is part of a pretty high-end hotel chain. In addition to normal retail opportunities, we also get involved in a lot of charitable work. In fact we have an owner, Jess Jackson, who actually bought his Quattroporte in a charity auction. We’ve done things in support of Guide Dogs, that kind of thing. We don’t see them as selling opportunities, they just demonstrate that we’re eager to support the local community.”

“We’re now being approached by people who would like us to be involved with their charity events,” Rich said. “People like the image that Maserati has, and they like our people who attend their events, such as Alessandro Ribola, our Marketing Manager. Plus we do activities besides the charity events, just to be part of the community here – for example, recently Brad took a car along to the local grammar school in Tiburon, and just chatted to the pupils about it. Last week I was interviewed by a boy who lives in the Bay area, who was doing a report, and he wanted to know all about the brand, the history and the heritage of the marque. We think it’s important to be involved, and we rarely turn down a request – plus it makes us feel good, too.”

Both Brad and Rich were clear on one thing; while their dealership may be in a wonderfully light and airy building, with a stunning backdrop, it would all count for nothing without a truly outstanding product to offer. Fortunately, the Maserati Quattroporte measures up beautifully, and the forthcoming GranTurismo coupe looks set to add another successful string to their bow. “In this market, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out, and people do want to be different,” explained Rich. ” Around here, the Mercedes SL is a dime a dozen, so for us to have a car like the Maserati, which is user-friendly, spectacularly beautiful and also only hand-built in small numbers, that’s very helpful to us.”

“In a way, the car means we actually see less of our customers!” laughed Brad. “It is so user-friendly, so reliable that people can buy one and drive it away, they can use it as their daily driver and we literally won’t see them until the car is due its next service – it’s not like some more exotic brands where you get to know your dealer because the car always needs something doing, even if it’s spending most of its time in the garage. That’s actually a great compliment for Maserati – most of our customers are too busy driving their cars out there to hang out with us, so I don’t take offense at that. Obviously, if they do come to see us, we’re pleased, we have a great time taking the relationship further.”

When we chat to two people from the same dealership, we sometimes find that there can be subtle differences in how they view things, a different emphasis on the strengths of the dealer. Not at Maserati of San Francisco – both Brad and Rich were full of enthusiasm and praise for their staff, the atmosphere they create and the way people are treated.

“Everyone here is an enthusiast. You can see that from the cars they drive – everyone here is driving some kind of enthusiast’s car,” Brad told us. “They’re not necessarily high-end cars – a Mini, for example. But you don’t drive a Mini because you’re bored with driving, it’s an enthusiast’s car. And they like working here – most people have been here for a while, myself included. Alessandro Ribola has been here for six or seven years, for example. We’re all comfortable working here, and that helps make it a welcoming place for anyone who walks through the door.”

“We don’t think it matters who they are, whether they are a genuine prospect looking to buy a car or a tourist, someone who may never get to this level,” Rich continued. “Our people embrace them exactly the same. We call it ‘taking the tour’ – we show them the cars, tell them a little bit about the marque, its history and heritage, then about ourselves and the history of the store. About the only time this won’t happen is if we’re busy, and everyone is already spending time with someone. We actually get complimented on it; often, as someone is leaving, they’ll make time to find Brad or myself and thank us. Sometimes they say that they hadn’t come in before because they were expecting us to be stand-offish, waiting around making sure no one touches the cars. In fact, it’s the exact opposite – we try to make it a very warm and friendly place to do business.”

The dealership has seen consistent sales increases, and the introduction of the Quattroporte Automatic has them on track for a three figure year. They are both looking forward to the introduction of the GranTurismo sports coupe, and see nothing but more great cars in their future. “The GranTurismo will be very helpful in growing both the brand and our dealership,” said Rich. “It’s a beautiful car, and we’ve already had a lot of interest in it. Maserati has put out some good web sites about the car – such as GranTurismo is Back – and the sites are generating phone calls about both the car and the brand.”

“But whatever happens, we’re determined to make sure that it doesn’t change how we treat people,” he continued. “We’ll still give people a warm welcome, we’ll still have people like Brad who want to share their passion for the brand and their in-depth knowledge about the cars.”

Why change a winning formula? Maserati of San Francisco has an appreciative clientele, warm and friendly staff and an impressive high-ceilinged showroom set against a picture-perfect backdrop. Combine all that with the stunning performance and practicality of the Quattroporte, and the forthcoming GranTurismo sports coupe, and it’s clear: the future for the friendly folks in Mill Valley is so bright, they may just have to wear shades.