High-end Hyundai buyers enjoy private lounge, dinners and more
Ryan Beene
Automotive News
June 30, 2014 - 12:01 am ET
Tucked away inside Burns Hyundai in Marlton, N.J., is a quiet lounge where the dealership's well-heeled customers can watch CNBC on high-definition big screens from a leather lounge chair while they sip cappuccino or snack on fresh fruit.
To get into the Genesis Lounge, you'll need the three-digit access code. To get the access code, you'll need to buy a Genesis or Equus luxury sedan.
Peter Lanzavecchia, president of Burns Hyundai, likens the Genesis Lounge to airline
club lounges for frequent flyers. Even though it's not required by the factory, he says, the lounge and other red-carpet perks the suburban Philadelphia dealership offers its Genesis and Equus buyers are essential to winning over customers from established luxury brands such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
"We don't want them in the first 15 minutes to have the husband look at the wife and say, 'Honey, I don't think this is the right place for us,'" Lanzavecchia said.
The pampering of Genesis and Equus buyers begins as soon as a deal is reached, when customers are escorted to the private lounge to complete the paperwork in a conference room away from the showroom floor.
Every Equus sale is handled personally by the dealership's general manager. Doing so gives some customers a sense of exclusivity, even though the vehicle they're buying carries a mainstream
badge, Lanzavecchia says.
"We have to make that customer comfortable with leaving their
badge behind," he said.
That effort continues well after the deal is done. Service technicians leave handwritten thank you notes and Godiva cookies for customers after their cars have been serviced. Dealership staffers top off the gas tanks and hand-wash Genesis and Equus owners' vehicles during each visit.
Part of Burns Hyundai's premium experience includes invitations to complimentary wine tastings, strolling dinners or open-bar events at a nearby fine-dining restaurant with which the dealership has a partnership deal.
