In 1950, Joseph Herr Jr. and Harold West set up shop under a tent near the corner of Clark Street and McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, NY. Their goal: to sell Ford vehicles to the Hamburg community.
The dealership soon moved to a more permanent location down the road on Clark near Buffalo Street. They remained there until 1966, when they opened the doors at 5025 Camp Road in Hamburg where it remains to this day.
South Buffalonian Brad Hafner joined as a salesman in March of 1959. Brad’s dedication and creativity helped the business boom. He became a partner in 1970, sole owner in 1975 and chairman in 1997.
In 1975, Hamburg native Scott Bieler joined the Sales Team at West Herr Ford. He went on to become number 1 Ford salesperson in New York State. Scott was named partner in 1983, president in 1997 and became majority owner in 2000.
John Wabick & Bill Loecher also started in sales at West Herr Ford in 1981 & 1982 respectively. They were made vice presidents in 1988 and as of 2000 became partners.
We have built our reputation on excellence, customer satisfaction and understanding our roots. All our owners and partners live in Western New York and actively manage the 14 locations on a daily basis.
At West Herr, we pride ourselves on dealing fairly and honestly with our customers and employees. This philosophy is shared throughout all levels of our organization and is the key to our success. In 2009, we serviced nearly 280,000 vehicles and sold or leased almost 25,000 new and used vehicles. As a result, we are consistently ranked among the top dealers in the nation in sales volume. Our customer and employee satisfaction efforts have earned us countless awards and recognition, including the Business First “Best Places to Work in Buffalo” five years straight.
Employing nearly 1,100 Western New Yorkers, West Herr is the number 1 largest automotive group in New York State and 22nd largest in the nation.
West Herr is continuously recognized, by nearly every major vehicle manufacturer we represent, for the quality of service our staff delivers to our customers. These achievements are attributed to the high level of dedication put forth daily by our team.
The West Herr Automotive Group is 22nd largest automotive group in the nation. With over 1,100 employees in the WNY area, the West Herr Automotive Group is now the largest group in New York State, selling approximately 25,000 new and used vehicles annually.
The West Herr Auto Group has earned the distinction of being the Best Place to Work in WNY for five yearsin a row by Business First in the category of companies with 401 and more employees. Business First asked the employees to identify the companies that are succeeding in retaining and recruiting good people and making them feel engaged in their work.
The West Herr Automotive Group received the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007. This award is given for excellence in marketplace ethics and commitment to customer satisfaction, and is rarely given to the same organization twice. West Herr is the only company in the nation to have received this prestigious award four times.
The West Herr Automotive Group was the recipient of the 2008 Buffalo Niagara Business Ethics Award in the large business category. Sponsored by the Buffalo Chapter, Society of Financial Service Professionals, these annual awards recognize companies that demonstrate a strong commitment to ethical business practices in their everyday operations and in response to crises and challenges.
President Scott Bieler was named Executive of the Year at the 2009 Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Executives (BNSME) awards. Sales consultants Jeffrey Wabick and Tom Bull were also honored by the BNSME.
West Herr Honda in Lockport won the Honda President’s Award in 2009 in just their second year of operation, a rare feat in the industry. The award criteria evaluates performance based on customer treatment, sales, and training.
General Motors Corporation awarded the Mark of Excellence Award in 2005 to West Herr Chevrolet of Hamburg and West Herr Chevrolet of Orchard Park for their superior performance in overall customer satisfaction and sales. Of the approximately 4,300 Chevrolet dealerships nationwide, only 4% met the stringent requirements to receive this honor.
West Herr Jaguar has received the Pride of Jaguar in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003, 2004 and 2005, and 2006. The Pride of Jaguar is based on customer care, sales and marketing and business management.
West Herr Ford of Hamburg and West Herr Ford Lincoln Mercury in Amherst were both awarded the 2009 President’s Award, presented by Ford Motor Company in recognition of outstanding customer satisfaction through progressive management, dedicated employees, and high standards of operational excellence. Ford Hamburg has won the award 18 times, Ford Lincoln Mercury has won 9 times. This award is given to only the top 2% of dealerships in the country.
West Herr Ford of Hamburg and West Herr Ford Lincoln Mercury of Amherst both have achieved Ford Motor Company’s Blue Oval Certification. Blue Oval Certification is recognition of the high level of customer satisfaction achieved by dealerships with every purchase, lease and service experience.
West Herr Subaru has achieved the Subaru Stellar Performer Award in 2003, 2004, 2005 and again in 2006. This process recognizes those dealerships that have achieved a high level of customer satisfaction through continually striving to improve dealership processes, and is granted to only a few dealerships nationwide.
Saturn of Orchard Park won the Saturn Summit Award in 2006 and 2007. It is the most prestigious award that Saturn presents, and only dealers with exceptional customer satisfaction are considered.
