Dealerships are judged on how well they treat customers as well as on aesthetic criteria. Unsightly bathrooms or weeds poking up through cracks in the parking lot will raise the eyebrows of evaluators who inspect dealerships. Ford hired J.D. Power to conduct the dealer evaluations, which include extensive interviews with dealership employees and surveys of customers who have bought new vehicles or had vehicles serviced. As a financial incentive, Blue Oval dealers are rebated 1.25 percent of the invoice price they pay for vehicles. The first checks were sent out last week to dealers, a Ford spokeswoman said.
Rebates are retroactive to when a dealership achieved certification.
Some Ford dealers around the country have launched challenges to Blue Oval, arguing that Ford is supporting a two-tier pricing system. Ford maintains Blue Oval is just a dealer incentive program that rewards those dealers that achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. River Oaks Ford was among the first dealerships in the nation to receive Ford's stamp of approval. The Calumet City dealership was notified in June that it was among a dozen dealerships picked by Ford to initially take part in Blue Oval. River Oaks was certified in July.