The staff at Tommy Griner, Rob Nabell, sales, Mike Meeks, sales manager, Tommy Griner, owner holding the Mark of Excellence trophy, Mike Clifton, sales, Mike Marafino, service manager, and Jeff Lapham, finance manager, in front of the Griner Pontiac-Cadillac dealership on Inner Perimeter Road.

VALDOSTA — To be called a master in your trade is to be set above all others. It is an accomplishment that is only reached through hard work — one that a local car dealership recently achieved.

Griner Cadillac, a subdivision of Griner Automotive Group, received the 2005 Cadillac Master Dealer Mark of Excellency Award. The achievement was based on sales performance and customer satisfaction levels, both of which Griner showed excellence. Master Dealers are recognized as being an elite select group of dealers who have earned an impresive distinction.

Owner Tommy Griner has been in the business for more than 40 years. He believes his dedicated employees were the driving force behind the award. They offer good service daily and make every effort to satisfy both sales and service customers.

“We try to do business every day the same way,” he explained. “We want to maintain the designation as Master Dealer and will keep trying to make sure all our customers are satisfied.”

Master Dealers are chosen annually based on statistics from January through December. This year there were only 88 in the country and only three in Georgia. Griner received a trophy made of marble and glass as well as an invitation to the Cadillac Hummer Master Dealer conference at the Ritz Carlton in Lake Las Vegas.

Though there are no direct benefits, customers of Griner Automotive Group can take pride that the company they are working with is making obvious efforts to satisfy them. They can take comfort in knowing the dealership is honored for its excellence with an award that shows success and integrity.

Griner Cadillac is ranked number three out of 30 Cadillac dealers in Georgia, based on sales penetration and services customer satisfaction. Griner stated that his dealerships will be working to reach number one.

In the past, the company has won awards from Pontiac and Nissan, however this is the first Cadillac award.

Griner Cadillac is part of Griner Automotive Group which also includes Riley Chevrolet in Quitman, Griner Nissan in Valdosta and Griner Pontiac Cadillac in Valdosta. Thomas Griner is president of the group that employees 60 employees.



Business Name: Griner Cadillac

Owner: Tommy Griner

Phone: (229) 242-7325

Location: 3685 Inner Perimeter Road

Hours: 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. 5 p.m. Saturday (sales only).