Handy Toyota

Employee Spotlight - June 2010
Tom Young - Certified Sales and Lease Consultant

Yet another 19-year Toyota sales superstar is added to the ranks of our exclusive employee spotlight of the month club, and this time it's none other than the Blogmeister himself, Mr. Tom Young.

As anyone who knows Tom will tell you, there is a faint bit of an accent hanging around contrary to his years spent in the Green Mountain State since 1987.  Mr. Young was born and raised in New York City, New York, in the Bronx to be specific, hence the slight accent that makes it's way to the surface unintentionally.

"The funny thing about the Bronx," Tom says, "something we always used to joke about when I was growing up is the 'the' in front of it-nobody knows why!" he exclaims with a chuckle.  "You have Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn? And THE Bronx.  We never understood why!"

Growing up in such a large place, you may find yourself asking how a city-boy like Tom Young ended up in little St. Albans, Vermont as a Toyota sales and lease consultant.  When asked about the curiosity, Tom's quick to let us know what happened.

"Well I never in my life thought I would be a car salesmen.  I managed a Kmart for a while, and got tired of not being my own boss.  Obviously we have bosses here, but we work at our own pace and I work for my own living in a different sense.  I think a lot of people just get tired of the same routine, and meeting a lot of new people and putting them in their dream vehicle helps stay out of that rut."

It would seem Tom fell into a great profession when he moved to Vermont in '87, starting at Handy Toyota in 1991.  Through his 19 years, he's put together an impressive resume, great rapport among the local customers as shown on his personal DealerRater page shown here, and has even become one of the leaders in Corolla sales, a vehicle in particular he has driven for a number of years.

When asked about his dream car, he rolls his eyes and says "Well I'd say a Corolla, but that sounds like a pitch right?"  He laughs and continues "I guess it would have to be something classic - you know like a 1953 Buick - yeah, something classic."  We went on to discuss it's not really a pitch if you love what you sell and sell what you drive, but he stuck with the classic Buick answer nonetheless.

Tom Young's hobbies lie in a variety of areas such as cooking, at which he's quite adept, watching horse racing, and he used to be an avid fisherman but has had little time for it as of late.  He also dabbles in the art of disc jockeying and used to be the DJ for the Handy Toyota company Holiday parties.  Tom also enjoys sports, basketball in particular, and though he is a  New York Knicks fan, believe it or not he is not a Yankees fan.

"That was tough when I was a kid.  Everyone expects you to be a Yankees fan," he reminisces.  "But unlike most anti-Yankees fans, I appreciate what they've done.  I mean, they are the most winning and most consistent franchise in all of sports," he finishes.  It almost sounds as though some of that Bronx-born Yankees-love might have been instilled regardless of his personal choice.

Tom was then asked to let us know which Toyota model, past or present, best describes his personality, and the answer was quick and obvious:  "The Corolla of course!  It's efficient, dependable, long lasting, and it's been around longer than most other continuous models!"

When pressed for another unique bit of information, he discusses that he can deal craps, something that is very uncommon up here.  Just one last unique bit of info for a rather unique man one could suppose.

Come in to Handy Toyota and discuss driving home in your new Corolla with Tom, the Corolla expert.  Feel free to chat with him about cars, the Knicks, cooking tips, or anything Toyota-related, or just send Tom an email by clicking here and your questions or comments will be brought to Tom's attention.  If you'd like to see what past customers of Tom's have thought of his work, check out his DealerRater page by clicking here.