Mynatt dealership fights for reinstatement

By Kirsten Vallekvalle@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 09, 2010

CONCORD
Cyndie Mynatt spends much of her time these days sifting through sales figures, projections and records, piled in stacks around her office, meeting with accountants and marketers, building the case to save her car dealership.
The fight began on a Friday in May, when she learned Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac was one of the about 2,000 nationwide GM planned to shutter as it began bankruptcy proceedings. It continued Monday, when calls went out to the last of the 661 dealers the automaker announced recently it would reinstate. Mynatt’s store wasn’t on the list.
But there’s optimism among those disappointments, from the four dozen employees, longtime customers and Mynatt herself, who owns the dealership her father built into a Concord fixture before he died in 2001.
“When we got the termination letter, it’s like he died all over again,” Mynatt said Tuesday morning in her office, tears in her eyes. “But I’m going to get it back.”
Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac was among the 50 or so N.C. dealerships targeted for closing last spring, and one of a handful in the Charlotte region, said Bob Glaser, president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, though GM hasn’t released that list publicly.
Many have shut down already, a few months after government officials forced the struggling GM into bankruptcy court. But some, such as Mynatt’s, which is set to close in October, are battling for another chance. Congress passed a law in December giving angry dealers the right to arbitration, which Mynatt expects to happen in May. And a few weeks ago, GM executives said the automaker would meet with individual dealers in the next few months to try to settle without arbitration.
For Mynatt, a three-decade livelihood is at stake.
Her father started selling Chevrolets in 1955 in Knoxville, Tenn., and moved 12 years later with his wife, Grace, to a dealership in Hickory, where he became general manager. In the years that followed, the Mynatts tucked away a savings, and in 1976, they bought what would become Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac.
The dealership, situated along U.S. 29 within earshot of Charlotte Motor Speedway, racked up sales and honors, such as the N.C. Automobile Dealer Association’s lifetime achievement award in 2000. The Mynatts branched out to other shops: Pontiac, GMC and Buick next door, which has not been terminated, Nissan in Salisbury and a used-car lot in Kannapolis. And they became prominent in the community.
Ben Mynatt served on the boards of the Salvation Army, Cabarrus County Boys & Girls Club and other organizations. Grace Mynatt was chairman of the Cabarrus Board of Education and is currently a county commissioner.
Cyndie Mynatt, a Duke graduate who began her career at the Mint Museum in Charlotte in 1979, followed suit, serving as chairman of the N.C. dealers association and more than a dozen foundations and boards over the years.
She bought the Chevrolet shop from her brother in 2008 and spent her first few months there trying to reverse lagging sales. She’s had to lay off a handful of employees, though the store became profitable around the time GM fell into bankruptcy, she said.
Mynatt waited a few weeks – long enough to appeal – after the termination letter arrived to tell workers the news. Shortly after, community members started calling: “How is this possible? What can we do?”
More than 1,400 people have expressed support so far, becoming fans of the dealership’s Facebook page and writing letters to employees, elected officials and the new Web site, SaveBenMynattChevy.com.
“Finding a new dealer that could win the hearts of this community like the Mynatts would be impossible,” one woman wrote. “People like to do business with people they like and respect, which is exactly why the Mynatts have been so successful over the years.”
Another wrote, “Best of luck, Ben Mynatt, on the fight of your life!”
Glaser, the dealers association president, said dealerships such as Mynatt’s are crucial to the economic and social fabric of N.C. communities. He said he’s encouraged by the fact that Mynatt is “fighting like heck,” and optimistic about her chances with GM.
“It’s a tragic set of circumstances, anyway, that she was cut in the first place,” he said. “I’m optimistic she can put her best foot forward. … And if all goes well, she’ll get her dealership back.”
Receptionist Judy Pless hopes so. She’s worked at Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac for almost 24 years and called it a mistake to cut a dealership so plugged into its community.
“It’s like a family,” she said, between answering phone calls. “They treat you well, and they care about you, and they care about the customers.”
Commercial and fleet salesman Ray Overby has been at the dealership 14 years and said it’s the best place he’s ever worked.
“It’s just a shame,” he said. “We’ve been here so long and done so much, and just to come in and take our store away – I hope we can get something done, because a lot of people’s lives depend on working here.”
In recent weeks, floor traffic and Internet activity have climbed, Mynatt said, and recent sales figures show sales of GM’s four core brands jumped 32 percent last month nationally over the year before.
She’s convinced she’ll win her case, but if not, she said she’ll continue to give to charity and continue to be a part of the community.
It’s difficult to talk about that, though, she said, reaching into a desk drawer for a tissue. Her father, after all, put everything he had into the dealership.
“It was his life’s dream,” she said. “It’s just who my dad was. You know, it’s more than a business.”
Kirsten Valle: 704-358-5248Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/09/1301550/mynatt-dealership-fights-for-reinstatement.html#ixzz0iNQjfZf8