Just A Car Guy: there is still a Pontiac dealership in Norwell Massachusetts (settled in 1634), and it was founded in 1925, and the founder's grandson's are currently running it, and great grandson's are working there

Monday, June 17, 2019

there is still a Pontiac dealership in Norwell Massachusetts (settled in 1634), and it was founded in 1925, and the founder's grandson's are currently running it, and great grandson's are working there

A fourth generation of Josephs is now working in the business, which was started in 1928 by John and Art’s grandfather Herbert B. Joseph, who handed it down to sons Art Sr. and Philip.

“Everyone starts at the bottom, pumping gas and sweeping floors, like our dad and uncle before us” Art Joseph said, adding that he entered the family business when he was 9. “Now our nephews are doing the same.”

There was a Coke machine that still dispensed the drink in glass bottles, until they couldn’t get any more bottled Coke to put in it a few years ago. Empty glass bottles remain. “We used to have people come by just to buy the Cokes,” said John Joseph, who runs the business with brother Art.

“Change isn’t exactly something we’re big on,” Art Joseph said.

At Joseph’s, there’s no self-service gas.

It only had a 2 car showroom, but it had 3 gas pumps outside, which didn't go away when GM management decided they didn't like gas pumps anymore... however, the family operating this dealership knew from decades of experience, that no matter what GM did to advertise cars, nothing brought people to a dealership once or twice a week like gas pumps... which all dealerships knew since gas stations were invented AT car dealerships about 110 years ago

“The GM area reps hated the gas pumps,” Art says. They told us we had to update, that pumps were not in keeping with the image of a ‘modern dealership.’ ” But the pumps kept customers coming back regularly for a tank of gas, sparking conversations and building relationships that proved a major part of Joseph’s new-car sales success. The logic was simple, according to Art: “Why should I pay for advertising to get customers in the door, when I get them coming in twice a week for free?

More than anything else, the big key to their success was knowing their customers, and they’d often order a car with a particular buyer in mind. A card file of customers with detailed notes, combined with regular visits at the pump, helped them know when the time was right. Then it was a simple matter of choosing the right model, color, and options. “Knowing that Liberty Mutual paid bonuses in February meant it was time to call the Browns,” Art says.

Art Sr, the son of the founder, served in the Philippines with the U.S. Navy Seabees during the Korea Conflict. Art was a long-time supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, having been a troop leader for over 15 years in Scituate.

The brothers have worked at the garage for nearly their entire lives. John began when he was 15, around the time he took apart and rebuilt a 1967 Pontiac Firebird, his first car. Art started at the age of 9. One Saturday morning, he was about to settle in to watch TV when he noticed two lunch bags sitting on the table, instead of the usual one for his father. “The next thing I knew I was here,” he says.'

Art, who learned to drive by the age of 9 or 10, would help drop off cars with his dad. While his father drove a customer’s car, Art followed behind, driving his dad’s Pontiac. This one day caught the attention of the local police. “The first time I was pulled over I was 12 or 13,” Art admits. The officers told him: “We know you’re a good driver. Just stop waving at us.”

Joseph’s is as much a business as it is a living piece of their family history. In the cluttered service area sits their dad’s toolbox, Uncle Phil’s toolbox, and a host of cans, boxes, and parts that look as if they were put down years ago and haven’t moved since. “Everything is exactly where we put it, whether that’s this week or 40 years ago,” John says. Art’s office used to be his grandfather’s, and not much has changed. “I’m sitting here looking at the same paneling,” Art says. “It’s harder to change things in a family business because you know the guy who put it there.”