Love.
If there was one defining characteristic between what separates a job and a career, it’s love. A job is something you do for a paycheck; a career is what you dedicate yourself to perfecting; what you work at getting better at every day, and something you take pride in.
Neddie Burks has a career at Thomas KIA of Highland.
Burks, a Hammond native, has been with the company since 1997 and has worked his way up to Service Manager, putting in the work and training necessary to turn his job into a career.
“When I started in 1997, I started in Detail,” Burks said about his journey to Service Manager. “Then I went to school and went into Service. I took extra training after that and eventually worked my way up to Service Manager.”
Burks, a lover of both cars and The Region since he was a child, has planted his roots in Thomas KIA, and he prides himself on bringing the same hard work, loyalty, dedication, and love he has put into building his career here to his customers.
“The secret to our success here is simple, it’s keeping the customer happy,” Neddie told IIMM. “NO MATTER WHAT, you have to keep the customer happy.”
Point. Blank. Period.
And to do that, Burks adds, you have to be able to empathize with their situation.
“Listen and understand,” Burks said about his passion for customer service. “You have to put yourself in their position, be able to understand all sides of the situation, but most of all, just listen to what they are saying.”
“It’s the reason we get so many repeat customers here, we listen to them.”
And for all the dedication and work Burks has put into his career, he says treating his customers the right way is one thing that will never feel like work.
“I will always go out of my way to make my customers happy, that’s just who I am.”