One of only five built, this Ford Saleen 7 resides at the Gullo Family Museum in Magnolia, Texas.

Ford Fairlane

And looking at the size of the “family” now, it was a good decision on the part of Tony Gullo, Sr., president of the Gullo Family of Dealerships. In addition to Toyota, they sell Ford, Mercury, Mazda, and Yamaha ATVs, motorcycles and wave runners – toys for the Texas lifestyle.

Gullo’s achievements have been earned through his solid principles of life. “Success is a steady process. It’s earned by working hard to meet goals, establishing honesty as the best policy and holding true to the golden rule. It’s being willing to go that extra mile,” said Gullo. “Today’s consumers expect to receive excellent customer service and to be completely satisfied by their purchase – and they have every right to expect that.”

After 40 years in the automotive industry, Gullo believes customer service is where he’s seen the biggest changes and improvements. “Customer satisfaction is the name of the game these days, and we work hard to keep our patrons pleased.”

Prevailing Attitude
The Gullo philosophy of customer service prevails at Gullo Ford’s Collision Center, managed by  Billy Coleman since 1998. Coleman, who is proud to be considered part of the Gullo family, started in the business working with his father in antique car restoration. Coleman and Gullo share this passion of collectible cars which is open to the public at the Gullo Auto Museum in Magnolia, Texas.

Coleman worked with his father for 10 years in the restoration business, then spread his wings and went to work in a dealership on the line as a “combo” man. He did both body and paint work. As with many good technicians, Coleman was brought into the office in 1994 to estimate and manage the shop. “It was hard to stay in the office and sit still at first,” remembered Coleman, “but I had a good rapport with the guys in the shop – they knew that I had done the work too.”

The shop at Gullo Ford’s Collision Center is run by a team system consisting of seven body technicians – four lead and three  apprentices – with one lead painter and three apprentices. His team system has worked for years and there is very little employee turnaround.

The lead techs are highly skilled journeymen, two of whom trained with Coleman. Although he expects them to do the job correctly, he doesn’t offer advice unless asked for it. “You can’t dictate your system to everyone, otherwise they won’t take ownership in what they are doing,” stated Coleman. It works, and this crew consistently produces over 200 cars per month out of this wel1-equipped 19,000 square foot facility, maintaining a 96% CSI score.

Gullo Ford currently has eight insurance DRP programs. “It is one of many ways of doing business,” according to Coleman, “and we have good relationships.”