COVID-19 Corporate Updates

   

ALL DEALERSHIPS OPERATING IN ACCORDANCE STATEWIDE MASK MANDATE

KAYSER FORD LINCOLN: OPEN ALL DEPARTMENTS 

KAYSER CHRYSLER CENTER OF WATERTOWN: OPEN ALL DEPARTMENTS

KAYSER CHRYSLER CENTER SAUK PRAIRIE: OPEN ALL DEPARTMENTS

S&L MOTORS: OPEN ALL DEPARTMENTS

JULY 31, 2020 Gov. Evers' Emergency Order #1 - Statewide mask mandate and face covering FAQ list.

 

APRIL 27, 2020 SPB Memo on Kayser return to business under current conditions. 

APRIL 17, 2020 -Gov. Evers' issues altered Safer At Home Order - EFFECTIVE UNTIL MAY 26, 2020

APRIL 7, 2020 - SPB Memo on Resuming Operations - EFFECTIVE 4/8/2020

MARCH 25, 2020 - 

Temporarily Suspending Dealership Operations thru April 7

To protect the health and well-being of our Kayser Teams, their families, our guests and the communities we serve, all Kayser dealerships will be temporarily suspending dealership operations at the end of day, Wednesday March 25, thru Tuesday April 7.  

Under Gov. Evers' Safer At Home Order designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, auto dealerships are designated an "Essential Operation" and allowed to remain open. While we believe our work is indeed essential to the communities we serve, we further believe our responsibility to ensure the safety of our Kayser family must be paramount to profits during this extraordinary public health emergency.  We have committed to provide our teams with the financial security they deserve during this period of temporary suspense, allowing them the peace of mind to do what's right and adhere to the Governors order to stay "Safer at Home" with their families.

During this time, we will continue to provide safety-critical maintenance and repair work to our local law enforcement, first responders, health care providers, and others who rely on their vehicles to perform their important, mission-critical work in response to this global crisis.  

We look forward to greeting you again when the crisis has ended.  We understand this may present a hardship for some of our valued guests, but we hope you will appreciate why we must take this action now, to do our part to protect our Kayser Family and limit the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.  

Stay Home and Healthy, 

The Baxter Family

"We ask that our Kayser team members and guests take seriously the Governor's order to stay home and use this opportunity to stay close to family, spend quality time pondering what is truly important and recall your priorities, reflecting on how they may be impacted by this crisis, discuss with your children that the resolve of our great country is again being put to the test and how, together, we will undoubtedly prevail" Sean Baxter, President, Kayser Automotive Group

March 24, 2020 - SPB Memo on Temporary Suspension of Operations - EFFECTIVE 3/25-4/7

March 23, 2020 - Gov. Evers' Emergency Order #12: Safer At Home Order (full details)

March 19, 2020 - Families First Coronavirus Response Act

March 18, 2020 - SPB Memo

March 17, 2020 - Kayser Team Member Leave Plan

March 16, 2020

Attention Kayser Team Members,

In the midst of unprecedented disruption to our daily lives and the safety and security of our families, we

continue to stay vigilant in how we are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Since our last update, we have

seen state-side schools closures, closing bars and restaurants, public event cancellations, federal interest rates

dropped to zero, emergency legislation regarding employee sick leave, and the recommendation from

President Trump this afternoon that all contacts be limited to less than 10 people. To say this situation is

fluid is quite an understatement. We continue to monitor developments and plan our response with the

safety and well-being of our teams in mind.

At present, we are proceeding with a conscientious "business as usual" posture. Based on current federal,

state and local guidelines, we believe this measured response continues to be appropriate. Strict adherence to

the stated Best Practices, repeated below, will ensure we are proceeding with an abundance of caution. Please

revisit these items often and respectfully, hold each other accountable to these practices.

We are aware that many of you may have significant concerns regarding your risk of potential exposure while

at work and the impacts that coming to work may present for your families who are at home. Additionally,

we recognize that some of the measures taken at the local, regional, and state levels, specifically regarding

school closures, may present additional complications for those affected. We are sympathetic to these

concerns and you have our commitment to react compassionately with regard to how you choose to address

your personal situations.

At this time, if you feel you must stay home from work to address issues related to COVID-19, please bring

your request to your immediate supervisor, and we will consider such requests in accordance with our

standard company policies related to requested time-off.

There is Federal legislation pending that will directly impact those affected by required quarantine due to the

exposure to coronavirus, caretaking for someone quarantined due to exposure to coronavirus, or caretaking

of children resulting from school or day care closures. Should this legislation become law, we will provide

further details to you and are committed to assisting you in receiving all available benefits associated with

your individual situation.

Please take this virus seriously. To date, thankfully, we continue to not have any team member infected. In

the event we do, rest assured we will take appropriate action as prescribed by the CDC and our local

healthcare professionals. If you or someone you have been in close contact with receives a positive diagnosis

for COVID-19, please alert your manager immediately.

Sean P. Baxter

President

COVID-19 Response

Best Practices

Personal Hygiene Best Practices:

 Avoid shaking hands

 Frequently wash hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer

 Avoid touching your face

 Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue then immediate throw away

 Routinely disinfect your work areas

 Avoid unnecessary touching of work spaces, desks, phones, computers, doors

Dealership Environment Best Practices:

 Suspend offering popcorn in guest lounges

 Avoid meeting in groups, instead use email, texts and phone

 Increase available hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes throughout dealership

 Increase frequency and thoroughness of regular dealership cleaning.

 Increase disinfecting of all guest touchpoints multiple times daily

 Treat all vehicle interiors of service guests and test drives before and after with disinfecting wipes

March 12, 2020

 

A note from Sean P. Baxter,

 

At Kayser, we place a very high priority on the safety of our team, our guests and our vendors.  In light of the rapidly developing situation involving COVID-19 (Coronavirus), we have spent the last several days and weeks monitoring information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State Department, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

 

It is important to us that you feel confident doing business with Kayser.  That is why we are taking proactive measures at our dealerships to do our part to prevent the continued spread of COVID-19. 

 

·         We have increased the frequency and thoroughness of our dealership cleaning, including extra sanitization of high traffic areas commonly touched by team members and guests. 

·         We have asked our teams to wash hands with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer frequently.

·         We have provided additional hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes throughout our dealerships.

·         We will be treating vehicle interiors with sanitizing wipes before and after service visits and test drives.

·         We will be minimizing situations where people are crowded together, like meetings and instead use phones, email, and text messages to communicate when possible.

·         We have also asked our teams to refrain from shaking hands during this time. 

·         Unfortunately, we have also suspended our signature free popcorn.

 

This situation is changing rapidly and we are committed to vigilance in response to COVID-19.  As we learn about the potential dangers regarding the virus and how it could impact our dealerships and our communities, we will evolve our response accordingly.  To date, we, thankfully, have not had any team member infected.  In the event we do, rest assured we will take appropriate action as prescribed by the CDC and our local healthcare professionals.  We are committed to doing our part to prevent the continued spread of the virus. 

 

At this time, Kayser dealerships remain open for business and thank you for the continued opportunity to earn your business.  In the event you feel more comfortable avoiding in-person interactions, we are always open and available to you, 24/7, at kayseronline.com. 

Thank you for trusting us with your business for over 95 years.  Rest assured during that time we have responded to and overcome myriad of real and perceived crises and COVID-19 will be no different.  We will continue to update you as we navigate these challenging circumstances with your safety and confidence at the forefront of everything we do.       

 

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out.  I hope all are well.

 

Best regards,

Sean P. Baxter