For those who may have missed it, the following Bob Levey column (not always favorable to car dealers) ran on Thursday, November 27, 2003:
Please take every cliche about heartless car dealers, find the nearest trashcan and slam-dunk them to oblivion. John P. Stakem Jr. breaks the mold. Bill Howard is eternally grateful and totally amazed.
John showed his caring colors on the evening of Oct. 30. He was on the sales floor at Courtesy Jeep in Rockville when Bill came in. He had a look on his face that said, “I’m in trouble.”
Indeed he was. His daughter is a student at Wootton High School. She was scheduled to receive an award at Wootton that night. Bill figured he could Metro it to Rockville, grab a cab and make it to Wootton in plenty of time. But when he reached that suburban station, no cabs were on the stand. He decided to walk along Rockville Pike and hail one. That didn’t work. Meanwhile, time was ticking away, as time will.
About three-quarters of a mile south of the Rockville station, Bill noticed Courtesy Jeep. He got a brainstorm: Ask to test-drive a car, drive himself to Wootton, then return the car after his daughter had been honored.
John Stakem said he’d do even better. He arranged for a fellow employee to live up to the dealership’s name by driving Bill to Wootton.
No hassles. No fee. No requirement to buy a car from Courtesy someday. Just plain old you- thought-it-had-gone-out-of-style friendliness.
Why did you do it, John? “My mother raised me right,” he told researcher Alex MacCallum. “It’s just one of those things where it wasn’t really a difficult choice. You do what your gut tells you, and my gut told me to give him a ride. I didn’t really think about it.”
Deborah Howard, Bill’s wife, was reluctant to pass this story along to me because, she said, “I imagine that Courtesy Jeep does not want to get into the business of shuttling people around Montgomery County.”
But John wasn’t ducking that possibility. Asked if he was ready to do such a favor for anyone and everyone, he said: “Yeah, sure, I’d help anybody out in that situation.”
Take a bow, Mr. Stakem. Gold may not be a popular color in this year’s line of Jeeps. But the golden rule is shining bright, thanks to you.
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