By Eric Killough
Freelance Reporter
Special to the Tribune
Willie Johnson has been in the automotive sales industry for 33 years and met Tyler Bartlett when Bartlett was working for him as a salesperson. Bartlett eventually left Johnson’s side to pursue other opportunities in the automotive space but his time working with Johnson was not over. When Johnson set his sights on an available opportunity in Pratt, he called up Bartlett and asked if he’d like to join him in Kansas. Bartlett is now the General Sales Manager at the rebranded ‘Willie Johnson Ford’ dealership in Pratt.
“Mr. Johnson had been running franchise dealerships for nearly 25 years and finally wanted to get into his own franchise dealership,” Bartlett said. “We’ve already doubled sales volume, but most importantly we’ve been bringing in the service. We’re here to make a change. We’re here to let people know that when you come in, you’re going to get the full customer experience that you expect from Ford. You will be greeted and be made to feel welcome.” Bartlett said more local people have been coming in as word spreads about their good deals and great customer service as Willie Johnson Ford.
“We have a quick lube service center that supports our $39.95 oil change on gas engines which includes up to 5 quarts of NAPA synthetic oil, and a NAPA oil filter. As for our service department, we can service any make and model of Ford automobile and have several diesel technicians on staff,” Bartlett said. “As far as new vehicles we specialize of course in Ford. Trucks, SUVs, Mustangs, the fully electric Mustang Mach-E, we do have those in stock. We also have a large inventory of selected pre-owned vehicles.”
Bartlett said a current and “exciting promotion” going on right now is a $1 over factory invoice pricing on all selected new 2023 and 2024 models in stock only.
Owner Willie Johnson is aggressively working to establish his presence in Pratt and has eyes on growth.
“We’ve got expansion plans for this lot. We’ve got to update this facility and that includes potentially adding on to the back of the property,” he said. “To support that growth, we are looking for salespeople and no experience is necessary. I’m also looking for a person to help establish an eBay presence to offload some excess parts inventory. These positions will complement the nearly 20 people we already employ.”
Bartlett invited all to come see what they are all about at the transformed company.
“We are committed to working with you and finding solutions for any financial situation you may face,” Bartlett said. “Whether you have good credit, challenged credit, or no credit, we have partnered with local banks ready to assist you. As for service, we can get anything and everything taken care of that is automotive related.” Johnson said that customer satisfaction is the most important thing to the dealership. “Taking care of our customers. We can do a lot of things for a lot of people, but customer satisfaction comes first,” Johnson said. “I’m from a small town in Alabama and I know how important the local community is. I’ve purchased a home in Pratt; I’ve got two children in Pratt schools, and I’ve already contributed financially to Skyline High School. I am looking forward to supporting this community further. I’m already here, I’m here with the local people. I’m in the dealership every day and like to meet our customers. If there is anything you’d like to discuss I’m always available.”
For sales, Willie Johnson Ford is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Willie Johnson Ford’s service department is led by Service Manager Richard Mowery and is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. through 4 p.m. Willie Johnson Ford is located at 1105 E. First St., Pratt and can be reached by e-mail at wjohnson@williejohnsonford.com or by calling (620) 672-5518. The website of Willie Johnson Ford is at williejohnsonford.com.