Business View Magazine | April/May 2022

82 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4 khus mandated closings and limitations that month. Initially, the five Bob Penkhus dealers laid off the majority of employees only to re-hire around 80 percent of them one week later. “It only took a few days to realize I had made a bad decision,” says Stryker, “so even though we weren’t doing much business right away, we hired all of our best people back. There was risk because we had to operate within federal and state guidelines.” However, even with the slowdown in sales, the company quickly adjusted. The dealerships were able to keep their most dedicated and talented employees, helping the company to maintain a high level of service. Also during that time, Bob Penkhus dealers excelled at upgrading internal sanitation protocols, and executing the entire vehicle selling process completely online. While the majority of customers come into the dealership, there are still a number of vehicles selling online every week, and dealers continue to deliver purchased vehicles to homes and workplaces. “Whenever we service a vehicle, we still provide a complete sanitation and cleaning of it at no charge to our customers,” Stryker says. “It’s part of our commitment to providing the highest level of service.” The Bob Penkhus Motor Company dealers were also among the first businesses in the Colorado Springs community to offer free services and significant discounts to first responders in the early days of the pandemic – from free oil changes to cash AT A GLANCE BOB PENKHUS MOTOR COMPANY WHAT: Long-time, family-owned business operating five automotive dealerships WHERE: Colorado Springs, Colorado WEBSITE: www.bobpenkhus.com