This year, Brasso Nissan is celebrating its 50th anniversary — and one consistent presence has been its owner Einar Brasso.

“We would be one of very few dealerships owned and operated by a single owner for 50 years,” explained Kirby Soon, managing partner. “Mr. Einar Brasso, our founder, mentor and president, remains our moral compass and still initiates innovation in our day-today processes.

You don’t get to 50 years without satisfied customers. Soon said Brasso’s philosophies on customer service have led to that success.

“Einar believes that the business can be summarized with a few key points: sell a good product, at a fair price, treat your customers with respect and hire good people to deliver a customer-friendly experience,” he said. “We have some customers who have bought over 20 vehicles for themselves and for family members over their tenure with us.”

Soon said one of the amazing things about Brasso is that he’s always been ahead of the curve on customer service, innovating and executing ideas that are now industry standard.

“Back in the early 70s, before it was fashionable, Einar had a Service Shuttle bus,” he explained. “In the 80s, before anyone else did it, we had service loaners — that was 20 years before most other people started it.

Today, we have 30 service loaners.” Soon explained that Brasso understood that even small personal touches can have a lasting impact.

“It’s common now, but Einar was at the forefront 30 years ago with something as simple as washing customer’s cars when they came in for service,” he said. And in 1995, Brasso brought in a delivery specialist. Back then, if you bought a car, the person who sold it was also responsible for the transfer. Now the delivery specialist’s sole role is to walk customers through their cars, the features, and ensure that they’re comfortable with their purchase.

“A few years ago, we adopted Express Service. No appointment necessary, we will change your oil and do minor services while you wait. Last year, we had over 9000 customers take advantage of this convenience,” Soon explained.

“All of these value-added services have resulted is strong customer retention. Our Service -Retention score is over 86 per cent, the national average is around 30 per cent.”

But the single biggest change over the past 50 years, Soon explained, has been the internet. Customers have access to a wealth of knowledge, have done the research, know the MSRP, have narrowed their lists, and are wanting to ensure that a vehicle ‘feels’ right.

“Our previous role was to provide information,” Soon explained. “Our new role is to provide confirmation and a positive experience.”

Einar has always said, “ideas and plans are great, but they don’t mean anything if you can’t execute.” To deliver a great customer experience you need trained, talented and committed staff. “We are one of very few dealerships that can boast of an incredibly tenured staff. Over half of our staff have been with us for more than five years. Of them, more than 20 have over 10 years of tenure and many have called Brasso Nissan home for over 20 years.”