WO
ften it takes someone
else to point out our
greatest strengths to
set us on the right path.
Elias “Chuck” Haddad was
in the U.S. for school—Los
Angeles, to be specific— and a
fortuitous trip to a car dealership with a friend wound up
changing his life. He was so
good at negotiating with the
salesman and manager that
the owner of the dealership
offered him a job, and Haddad
accepted.
He worked as a salesman
for just six months before
he was promoted to general
“Customer satisfaction is
our main objective. Without
the customer, there is no
business.”
manager. Still, he had come to
the U.S. for his education, and
so he continued juggling work
and school during the subsequent years. That is, until he
was given a Green Card and
allowed to stay in the States
without attending school. So,
after years of working for others, he was able to purchase a
dealership of his own. He ran
his business in L.A. for four
years before he bought Bakersfield Dodge in 1974.
Located on 24th Street at
that time, Haddad set to work
creating the best dealership
he could. His sons, James,
John, and Jeff, were exposed
to the industry from the time
they were children and even
started washing cars on the
Haddad Dodge
lot during summers as young
boys. They all joined officially
when they came of age and, to
this day, Haddad and his four
sons own the dealerships together.
Over the years, Haddad
Dodge has grown substantially. The business was moved to
California Avenue for a number of years and then later to
its current location at the Bakersfield Auto Mall. In 1998,
the Kia store was added. And
shortly after that, the Haddads, with the Bashirtash
family as partners, purchased
Elias Haddad (left)
Elias “Chuck” Haddad
BMW, Nissan, and Chrysler/
Jeep. In 2012, Fiat and Infiniti were added. Most recently,
Alfa Romeo and Maserati
joined the group. The dealership has also focused on building relationships with other
businesses in the community through its Commercial
Sales department and has re-
vamped the Parts and Service
departments to ensure customers are always satisfied.
Because for Haddad and his
sons, the customer is always
the most important part of
the business. Their focus on
making sure the customer
is treated well explains how
they’ve continued to be so
successful year after year.
But people have also come to
expect fun at Haddad Dodge.
Radio shows, bungee jumping,
games, a flying Elvis...it’s all
been done to make sure people enjoy looking for the car of
their dreams.
Add that to the Haddads’
continuous support of community (caring for rescue
dogs, donating cars to nonprofit causes, and supporting
local schools) and it’s easy
to see why that attention to
service has been recognized.
Chuck Haddad was nominated for Time Magazine’s Dealer
of the Year award in 2006.
Because of that, the entire Haddad family, including
six grandchildren—some of
whom have already started
working at the dealership—
plan to continue a legacy
started by their patriarch,
a man who, through hard
work and a little nudge from
a stranger, was able to realize
exactly which path he should
take in life.
41
YEARS &
GROWING
3000 Harris Road, Bakersfield, CA n 661-398-0264
www.HaddadDodge.net
Established
1974
www.bakersfieldmagazine.net
/ Spring 2015
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