By Myron Love
Age and time have been kind to Denis Verrier. With his full head of wavy, not-yet-white hair and a twinkle in his eye, he looks many years younger than his 83 years.
I can’t say that I remember exactly when I first met Denis. It would have been within a couple of years after I began to write my weekly column in the Winnipeg Free Press in February of 1994. And I am happy to be able to report that, after more than 55 years in auto sales with the Birchwood Auto Group, the personable sales rep has not thought yet of turning in the car keys.
Denis Verrier
As we all know though, there are valleys as well as peaks in everybody’s life journey – and Denis is no exception. He was born into a family of market gardeners based in St. Norbert. His father died when he was just 15.
“After my father died, I had to drop out of school to work with my brother full time on the farm,” he recalls.
To supplement the family income, he found work parking cars at Dickson Motors in downtown Winnipeg. It was tough going, he recounts. After a full day at the dealership, he headed to Daniel Macintyre Collegiate for evening classes. And there was still the farm work that had to be done. Trying to maintain those punishing hours – even for a young man – was unsustainable.
My weight dropped to 100 lbs,” he recalls. “I ended up spending several weeks at King George Hospital regaining my strength.”
After returning to Dickson Motors, he was promoted to the parts department and, later, to an office position. His subsequent move to Birchwood Pontiac was strictly a case of serendipity.
“In 1966,” he remembered, “one of the fellows that I worked with at Dickson motors, Ike Friesen, was hired as a sales manager at Birchwood Pontiac. On a lunch hour, I dropped in on Ike just to visit. He introduced me to (Birchwood dealer principal) Bob Chipman. I wasn’t looking to change jobs, but Mr. Chipman assumed that I was there for a job interview. He offered me a job on the spot, asking when I would be able to start.
“I have been here ever since. I have been very happy here. The Chipman family has always treated me royally. “
As an example of the Chipman Family’s generosity, Denis notes that for years, he used to work ten hours a day, six days a week. “One day,” he recounts, “Mr. Chipman came to me and suggested that I should take some time off. He invited me to go with my family to his place in Florida and stay as long as I wanted. I came back after three weeks, and he asked me why I came back so soon. Well, I had kids in school.
“So, at the end of June, Mr. Chipman presents me with a new car, filled up, and encourages me to go back to Florida. I have been going to Florida on vacation every year since.”
Denis started at the Birchwood store working in the service department. It was in 1969, that he was encouraged to try sales by then sales manager Terry Alcock, and he has never looked back.
He estimates that during his sales career, he has sold more than 14,000 vehicles. He also notes that he earned placement in the GM sales Guild rankings so many times that he was eventually able to designate his own awards – gifts of custom paintings, for example.
For 40 years, he continued putting in 10 hours and more a day, six days a week. It was only in 2006, after an accident with one of his horses (he was also a long-time horse breeder) required that he have hip replacement surgery that he slowed down. “Mr. Chipman encouraged me to take it easier,” Verrier says. “He told me that I could set my own hours. So, I cut back to five days a week.”
In more recent years, he says, he has further reduced his hours to three or four days a week based on appointments with long time clients or referrals.
As noted by former Winnipeg free Press writer Ted Allan, in an article about the distinguished car guy 30 plus years ago, “Verrier combines friendliness, patience, full disclosure, a thorough attention to detail, outstanding customer service and a strong work ethic learned growing up on the farm”.
“I like people, I like helping my customers,” Denis points out in accounting for his longevity in a career where it can be hard to make a go of it. “My customers are like family to me.”
When counseling younger sales reps just starting out in the business, he emphasizes the importance of really listening to the customer, getting to know the individuals and finding out what he wants.
“You need the right personality for this business,” the personable Denis observes. “I can tell quickly if a young sales rep is going to make it work.”
When not at Birchwood GM, Verrier can often be found in his garage working on his beloved Corvettes which currently include a 2007 convertible and 2016 Z06. He once owned nine Corvettes at the same time.
He also has a passion for street rods. In 2010, he was inducted into the Manitoba Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Although one can’t foresee the future, the veteran GM guy intends to continue doing what he loves for as long as he can.
