church," says Peter Battle, general
manager of the dealership's customer
service division. "But once the church
and school were permanently closed,
it became just a building, and we were
glad to be able to put it to good use for
our community."
Despite the dwindling number of
neighbors, this is one of the top Ford
dealerships in the country—ninth
largest as of 2017. From their location
on highly trafficked Telegraph Road,
members of the Milliken family have
created a culture that produces high
levels of loyalty among customers and
employees alike. For 20 years running,
Pat Milliken Ford has earned the
Ford President's Award for customer
satisfaction.
It was a desire to maintain those
satisfaction levels that led them to
consider acquiring the former parish
property. "We were bumping into
ourselves (in the old space)," says
Peter. "We were at capacity and knew
that the only way to better care for our
current customers and gain additional
business through walk-ins and
direct repairs was by improving our
throughput." The Pat Milliken team
St. Hilary Church and School closed in 2014
due to changing demographics and declining
population. It has been converted into a
dedicated dealership and collision repair center.
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