Dealer Spotlight: John Hennessy, Riverview Ford

When John Hennessy worked for his father, River Oaks Ford founder Joe Hennessy, they worked very well together but struggled to agree on the level of customer attention that was needed to run the business successfully.

“My dad was more of a matter-of-fact guy,” Johns explains. “He would get annoyed with me when I would spend what he felt was too much time talking with our customers.”

Today, as the Dealer Principal of Riverview Ford which moved from Calumet City to Oswego in 2009, John has grown the business with the principal, ‘we don’t sell cars, we build relationships.’” In fact, he piloted a new customer service program using local retirees that helped the dealership grow by nurturing long-standing relationships.

Long before COVID, he saw a need to continue to service loyal customers from the former south suburban location. He received phone calls from generational customers who shared that they weren’t receiving the same treatment from other south suburban dealerships, but unfortunately Oswego was just too far for them. So, John hired one, then several, and today has seven retired ‘ambassadors’ who choose their own hours and are on call a couple of days each week to pick up customers’ vehicles and bring them to the far west suburban location – at no charge. Often, they will stay and visit with customers who have come to view them as friends.

“When we started this service, the reaction and appreciation from our Calumet City area customers was overwhelming,” Hennessy says. “They just really didn’t expect to be treated so well, and my business and reputation has grown because of these guys.”

Hennessy also exclusively hires staff that are equally committed and genuine, including his son Sam who is poised to enter the business when he finishes at Bradley University next year. Recently, Sam approached his dad saying, “I see how you help so many people, and I’d be honored to carry on the tradition.” Hennessy plans to rotate his son through the dealership departments and then send him to NADA school.

Hennessy’s devotion to customers and subsequent revenue data has not gone unnoticed. For four years in a row, 2021 to 2024, he earned the President’s Award from Ford Motor Company, the highest honor a dealer can receive.