It’s 5:30 on a Monday morning and raining like crazy. Thick gray sheets of rain threaten drivers, but Dan “The Car Man” DeBlasio insists on traveling 60 miles north from his Conroe home to Madisonville. By 6:30, he pulls into Henson Ford and picks up a freshly cleaned vehicle, which he fuels before driving it to a customer’s home. Thanks to Dan’s passion for service, she’ll be able to drive a demo to Houston to see her sister in the hospital, and Dan will return her personal car to the Henson dealership for a minor repair. When she gets her car back Monday night, this customer will also be delighted to find the $25 gift card Dan left for her inside the car.
Dan DeBlasio believes in impeccable service and luxury pampering for automotive customers. He’s a people pleaser who likes nothing better than to pull up in a customer’s driveway, hand them the keys to a new vehicle, and have them sign off on the best automotive invoice of their life—while he drives away in their old trade-in. No one steps into a dealership for hours of aggravation, and no one haggles, argues, or wastes one moment in a frustrating dealership situation. Henson Family Dealerships of Madisonville has extended its reach to Montgomery County, and it’s using Dan DeBlasio as “Henson Direct” to cater to customers and make car buying easier.
“Though the original dealership is in Madisonville, we’re offering Montgomery County and The Woodlands a new deal now,” DeBlasio says. “I come and see you, put the deal together in your place of business, bring you the vehicles and pick up your trades, so there’s no need to come to Madisonville. We do everything for you. I’m considered a fleet or commercial dealer, but I also serve private or individual customers.”
Thanks to a longtime partnership with Henson Family Dealerships of Madisonville and a friendship with owner Fred Henson, Dan caters to car-buying customers in the Woodlands, Montgomery County, and Houston areas—and anywhere else in Texas. He works through Henson Direct, a two-year old offshoot of the well-established Henson Family Dealerships, which feature three sites with Chevy, Buick, GMC, Ford, Dodge, Ram Chrysler Jeep, and Buick products. The Henson family has been in business nearly 22 years, and its service credo and competitive pricing are top selling points. Though headquartered in a small town, Henson Direct is making a name for itself in a big-city market.
“A lot of people like Henson Direct’s personal service,” DeBlasio says. “There’s no pressure, waiting around, or playing games. If someone wants to buy a vehicle from me, I give the Henson VIP price. There’s no haggling; we’re going to give you our very best price, and I encourage everyone to shop that price around. Very few dealers have the low overhead we have in Madisonville; we can afford to be competitive.”
DeBlasio is quick-witted, energetic and courteous, and his enthusiasm for automobiles is contagious. As a self-described “car guy,” DeBlasio says he “got crazy for cars at age four or five, and started going to the race track with my dad by age eight. I worked for dealers growing up, and I started detailing cars at dealerships. I learned everything from service to parts to selling.” Born in Pennsylvania, he left the north for warmer years in Florida and Texas, working in his own service station, automotive repairs, and finally parts sales.
“I’ve always had my hand close to the car business, but I loved racing more. I was a racer like my dad and worked in racing industry sales for 32 years.” Fast cars are still a passion, and in his spare time, DeBlasio likes to go to car shows, sometimes showing off the 1965 Pontiac GTO he restored and parks in his garage.
“Being a car guy makes this job a great fit,” he says. “This job is so much fun for me—it’s like a hobby. I sell for all three Henson franchises and stay certified for each make and model. I have whatever information a customer needs.
“In addition, I have the pleasure of working with Fred Henson and his wife Liz. You will not find better people. They truly care about their customers and employees, which makes me happy and makes me want to work harder for them.”
The Hensons’ special business venture and friendship with DeBlasio began 12 years ago in Ennis, on a rainy day at the Texas Motorplex drag strip. “It started raining that day,” remembers Fred Henson, “and you just can’t race in the rain. There are no rain tires in drag racing!”
With races halted, DeBlasio wandered around the track, looking to buy a trailer for a new racecar. He met Henson and struck up a conversation, “I remember Dan coming over and visiting,” Henson says. “We had a lot in common with racing, since Dan had done this since he was a young man. He impressed me with his friendly manner, and he was very outgoing. I knew after talking to him that he’d been an outside salesman for performance companies for a long time. He never changes. He’s just a great guy, and people love him.
“We created Henson Direct because nothing takes the place of personal service,” Henson says. “It’s perfect to have a guy like Dan DeBlasio calling on people and visiting businesses. These customers are short on time, and it’s Dan’s job to get in there and do all the work for them. We saw a need for that, especially with Exxon moving so many people into The Woodlands. Dan lives near The Woodlands, and we thought it would be a perfect fit.”
“Many of my buyers work for the oilfield,” DeBlasio says. “In The Woodlands, we serve customers in the industry, with some moving from overseas. I have several commercial clients in the oilfield industry that buy anywhere from 25-40 trucks a year from me to replace their aging fleets. Last year, we were lucky and got the reference for a new startup company that bought 36 trucks in two and a half months.”
New car sales from the factory are just one part of direct service, as Henson Family Dealership also offers used car sales, trades with other dealerships, and access to the service and collision departments. DeBlasio also makes it a point to spend personal follow-up time with customers, teaching them the newest features of the vehicles.
“We want to do whatever we can do to provide good service,” DeBlasio says. “We’ve been delivering cars for free in the tri-state area for 15 years: Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. If someone wants to test drive one, we’ll bring it. If they want to test drive one somewhere else, they can still buy one from us. We will provide the vehicle however they want it, and we are willing to trade with every dealer in about a 1,000-mile area, or we can order direct from the factory. We ship cars all over the country.”
“Henson Direct benefits customers by saving them time,” owner Fred Henson says. “Most people are not short money; they’re short time. So we save them time, as well as the aggravation that comes with buying automobiles from some dealerships. Though we’re 100 miles from Houston, we’re able to have a presence right there, with Dan sitting one-on-one across from the customer.”
“I get letters and emails from people talking about how Dan is taking care of them, and our customer satisfaction level is through the roof for Henson Direct! This service is open to anybody. Dan DeBlasio has an email address (dan_deblasio[at]hensonmotors.com), and anybody can contact him. He’s especially tuned in to businesses and their financing needs. He’s out there in the field to save you time. Meanwhile, you can just keep working and making money!”
Dan DeBlasio agrees. “Our customers are loving this, and I’m having a blast,” he says. “We like making automobile purchases easy and enjoyable! I’ll do whatever it takes!”
Postcards Magazine
936-293-1188
PO Box 690
Huntsville, TX 77342
