MASSENA- It’s not quite the family dinner table, but when Real “Frenchie” Coupal and his son, Scott, sit down to talk about family business they both get pretty excited. 

 Frenchie’s Chevrolet is coming off a record year, and the dealership has also made several improvements that should benefit their customers for years to come.

 “2005 was a very good year.  We had exceptional numbers.  I don’t know what ’06 will bring, but ‘05 was excellent”, Frenchie said, noting the dealership also benefited from General Motors incentive programs aimed at moving vehicles.

 Frenchie’s has also been named one of the top 50 dealerships in the Northeast Region for the sale of GM customer accessories.

 Frenchie, the president of Frenchie’s Chevrolet, has been in Massena for 23 years.  His son rejoined the dealership in May, 2004 and serves as the general manager.

 Scott admits he and his dad had some difficulties working together in earlier years – the typical oil and vinegar mix that frequent many father-son relationships.

 But after spending six years in the Syracuse market, the two men have turned those differences into a strength as they seek to continue to grow the dealership.

 “Our relationship is so much better than before.  We are having fun here,” Scott pointed out.

 “I’m teaching him how to become a dealer,” Frenchie said.

 “And I’m teaching him some of the newer things to be a better dealer,” his son interjected.

 The two men say the combination of the old school and new school approaches has benefited the dealership in a constantly evolving business.

 When Frenchie took over the dealership in July, 1982, he started out with six employees.  Frenchie’s now has 43 full-time employees and seven part-timers.

 The dealership has added two more people to its sales staff in the past year as well as additional help for the customer delivery program and the office staff.

 There was also a 140-foot by 20-foot expansion on the existing building that now houses a training room as well as new office space.  “It’s all about providing privacy for our customers,” Frenchie said, noting they also completed the purchase of a new computer system and phone system.

 Scott said the dealership has also updated its website, which he said has become a critical component in the automotive industry.  “Probably the majority of our business comes from on-line.  We cater to the computer savvy Internet customer,” he said.

 His dad noted he is seeing more and more customers from neighboring counties.  “People are shopping on line.  We’re getting people from Malone, Chateaugay.  They are not that far away, but they are shopping on line,” he reiterated.

 Whether it’s having an expansive on-line presence or continuing efforts to grow customer satisfaction, Frenchie said the bottom line always comes down to meeting and serving the customer’s needs.  “You can’t sit back and wait for people to come in and buy a car.  You have to go out and find them and bring them in,” he suggested.

 Frenchie and Scott agree they have taken steps to help people looking to purchase a vehicle.  Mike Foote has joined the dealership, and his focus is on developing alternative finance plans.

 “He heads our finance and insurance department, and alternative financing has been extremely successful for us.  It just gives customers that have less than perfect credit a chance to purchase a vehicle,” he suggested.

 They have also continued to expand the dealership’s diversity.  There’s now a relationship with Regency Truck and Van Company, the largest volume specialty vehicle manufacturer in the country, according to Scott.

 He noted there is a greater and greater demand for conversion trucks in the market, and he suggested Regency offers the craftsmanship and warranty protection that live up to Frenchie’s expectations.  “It’s turned into a big part of our business here.  The customer wants something personalized; they want their vehicle to be an expression of themselves,” Scott said of the conversion market.

 He also said the dealership’s on line purchasing of vehicles also benefits vehicle buyers.  “It gives us a faster turnaround on our inventory.  We’re able to offer more GM brands for our customers, including the higher end GM models,” according to Scott.

 Frenchie’s purchased a building in back of the dealership for the expansion of its Fisher Plow operation.  “We had a record year there as well.  We stock about 300 plows a year,” Frenchie said.

 The firm is also now selling dump trucks and other large trucks geared for the commercial market.  “Nobody else is stocking them.  It’s a gutsy market, but it is a good market if you develop it,” according to Frenchie.

 A new laser state of the art machine for frame alignment has also increased the collision shop’s capabilities.  “We’re an exclusive Progressive Insurance repair shop.  We’re an authorized agent for many insurance companies because of our state of the art capabilities,” Scott added.

 They also expanded their relationship with Enterprise Rent A Car.  “People can rent cars through Frenchie’s on an availability basis.  Before it was just limited to our service customers,” Frenchie pointed out.

 “There’s not much we can’t do here.  We service all lines of GM products and now we can do warranty work on basically all lines of GM vehicles,” he said.

 And the leadership team at Frenchie’s is continuing to look at ways to generate new business in the coming months and years.

 Frenchie said he already has one idea in his mind.  “I’d like to enlarge the shop inn the back by another 60 feet.  We need four to six more bays to handle customer demand.  It doesn’t stop,” he noted.

 Scott has heard some analysts predicting tough times ahead for domestic vehicle manufacturers.  He said General Motors vehicles continue to sell well in the Northeast Region.

 “We’re going to exploit that and ride it.  The new GM models are exciting.  We’ll probably have a constant stock of 200 vehicles here,” he noted.