By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

CALERA – Victory GMC was named one of the top dealerships in the U.S. for customer experience.

The dealership was recognized by WomenCertified as a business recommended by women in Alabama. WomenCertified is a company that identifies businesses that “value the customer experience and appreciate the needs and preferences of their female customers,” according to womencertified.com.

WomenCertified selected the dealerships because “ nine out of 10 of their (the dealerships’) female customers would highly recommend the dealership to others,” the website read.

Victory GMC was the only dealership in Alabama to receive the award for outstanding customer experience.

“A generation ago, women needed a husband to buy a car, but we realized how important the female role is in the buying experience as a whole. We adopted early on that we could be different. We just don’t discriminate,” said Breck Dillard, executive manager.

Dillard said women influence more than 80 percent of all purchases.

Customer Service Manager Mary Strehle said people speak about going to a car dealership “akin to going to the dentist.”

“We want to make it a positive experience and want them to come back for service. We want to make them customers for life,” she said. “We want to let people know we’re going to hang in with them.”

Brad Bailey, who handles e-commerce and marketing efforts for Victory GMC, said the dealership is “refreshingly different.”

“It’s hard for us to talk about customer service because it’s not just something we do when people show up,” he said. “It’s ingrained in us.”

The dealership has been open for more than seven years at its current location off Interstate 65’s exit 234 in Calera.

“We’ve had over 200 positive customer reviews,” Bailey said, referring to ratings from Dealerrater.com. “Winning the award was great, but it wasn’t a shock, to be sure. We were doing good customer service. It’s who we are.”