Driven to Serve:
A Philosophy in Action
By Michelle Vasquez | Photography by Suzanne Pack
At Red McCombs Automotive, service has always meant more than selling or fixing a vehicle. It is about building relationships, taking care of people, and contributing to the community the company has called home for generations.
Today, Red McCombs Automotive is the largest automotive group in San Antonio, with 10 locations, two auto body shops and more than 1,000 employees. Owned by Red and Charline McCombs’ three daughters, Marsha, Connie and Linda, it is part of McCombs Enterprises, whose interests extend into real estate, development, energy and more.
The organization has grown, but its philosophy remains rooted in the example set by Red and Charline McCombs: use business as a way to improve people’s lives and strengthen the communities around you. Their commitment to supporting nonprofits and investing in communities helped establish a culture in which service extends well beyond the walls of a dealership.
Seven years ago, that philosophy was given a name: Driven to Serve.
Inspired by Red McCombs’ spirit, Driven to Serve begins with exceeding customer expectations, creating lifelong relationships, and looking for opportunities to do more than what is expected. But its meaning extends further. As Marsha McCombs Shields has described it, the relationship is symbiotic. Employees support one another so they can better serve customers. Customers who feel valued build trust and lasting relationships with the business. In turn, a successful business is able to invest in its employees, families and community.
That philosophy is intended to be lived, not simply stated. Driven to Serve is incorporated into the Red McCombs Automotive identity and reflected in a workplace culture that emphasizes support, service and connection. Red McCombs Automotive has repeatedly been recognized as a San Antonio Express News “Top Work Places,” an achievement the company attributes to that supportive environment.
Ultimately, however, a philosophy is best understood through the people who put it into practice. The seven women profiled here show there is no single way to be Driven to Serve. Their stories reveal service through empathy, listening, understanding, mentorship, education, problem solving and initiative. Their roles are different, as are the customers, coworkers and communities they serve. What connects them is a willingness to recognize what someone needs and respond.
Together, they show how a shared philosophy becomes part of a culture, one act of service at a time. For Amber Kitchen Backman, that act of service begins by giving someone the opportunity to be heard.
As Service Manager at Red McCombs Hyundai, Amber Kitchen Backman works across nearly every part of the service department, supporting advisors, technicians, and customers while keeping repairs and daily operations moving. After more than a decade with Red McCombs, she has learned that finding the right solution often starts by giving someone the opportunity to be heard. “It’s not always about reacting,” Backman says. “It’s about being a good listener.”
That can be especially important when a customer or coworker is frustrated. Instead of immediately responding, Backman gathers information, hears different perspectives, and lets people “unpack it all” before determining what should happen next. “Sometimes that’s all I did, and I didn’t really say anything,” she says. “Most of the time, that’s all that matters: that they feel heard, and that’s part of respecting them.”
For Backman, however, listening is not passive. It leads directly to thoughtful action. She recalls a lengthy conversation with a customer and his wife about a service issue. Backman listened as they worked through their concerns, then developed a plan that included providing a loaner vehicle while their car remained in the shop. As the customer left, his response was simple: “Thank you for listening.”
As the customer left, his response was simple: “Thank you for listening.”
Listening is just as important with Backman’s team. She manages six advisors, each balancing customers, repairs and competing priorities. Paying attention to their conversations helps her understand what is happening, anticipate what may be needed next and keep the work moving. “That’s how we keep things moving in the direction that we want to,” she says. Listening “helps everything flow, the workload, the trajectory of the tickets and the repairs for the vehicle.”
Backman brings that same philosophy to social media, where videos such as her “What is this part?” series combine automotive education with humor and introduce viewers to the personalities behind the dealership. “It humanizes us in a way,” she says.
For Backman, Driven to Serve ultimately begins with how people treat one another, whether at work, with customers or at home. “It all starts with yourself,” she says. And often, the best place to start is simply to listen.
Listening creates the opportunity to understand not only what someone needs, but why it matters. That question of “why” has become central to the way Amanda Lindsey serves customers and coworkers alike.
As the General Manager’s Assistant at Red McCombs Toyota, Amanda Lindsey draws on 25 years in the automotive industry, including 20 years with Red McCombs. She started as a receptionist before moving into business office roles. That experience has given her an understanding of how the dealership works and, more importantly, why each part of the process matters.
“There’s a reason for everything,” Lindsey says. It is a philosophy she brings to customers and employees alike. When new employees have questions, Lindsey does not want them simply following a checklist. She wants them to understand the purpose behind what they are doing.
“They need to know why,” she says. “Why do I need this form? What is the reason behind it?” That knowledge becomes especially important when something goes wrong. For Lindsey, Driven to Serve means “giving our customers our best,” and that includes listening when a customer is unhappy and finding a way forward.
Lindsey recalls one customer who believed she had purchased a particular warranty only to discover that what she had was different. Lindsey stepped in, investigated the situation, and found a solution. The customer still returns to thank her, a reminder that solving one problem can have an impact long after the issue itself has been resolved. That relationship matters because Lindsey never loses sight of why the dealership is there in the first place. “If it wasn’t for customers, we wouldn’t have anything,” she says. “We would not exist.”
“My job description is to help the customers,” she says. “Help the customers, help our employees.”
Lindsey sees her role as helping customers and employees while keeping the dealership running smoothly. Her experience allows her to answer questions, explain processes, and solve issues. “My job description is to help the customers,” she says. “Help the customers, help our employees.”
That spirit of service extends into the community through McCombs’ support of organizations including the Humane Society and American Heart Association. For Amanda, the reason for giving back is as straightforward as her approach to customers. “Because this is where we live,” she says. “You need to help out where you live. You need to bring the community together.”
Whether she is helping a customer, teaching an employee or supporting the community, Amanda’s approach begins with understanding what someone needs and why it matters. “I’m very passionate about what I do,” she says. “I want to be helpful.”
That desire to help can also take the form of sharing what you know. For Cinnamon Maxwell, service means giving others the knowledge and confidence to move forward.
For Cinnamon Maxwell, being Driven to Serve begins with a simple question: What can I do to help?
As Corporate Finance Director for McCombs, Maxwell oversees finance departments across all seven stores, ensuring compliance, supporting training and helping teams navigate the complexities of automotive finance. After 16 years with McCombs, she sees her role as something broader. “Whoever is in need or in front of me, I am there to help,” Maxwell says. “I have the ability, I have the knowledge. What can I do to help you?”
Maxwell describes herself as an “innate teacher.” She wants to make what she has learned useful to others. “I don’t want to be the only one that knows everything or knows how to find things,” she says. “I want to empower you to find it.” That means helping colleagues understand where to find information, work through questions and build on what they already know. “I need to allow them to develop and know what I know,” she says.
That instinct to teach extends to customers. One common source of confusion is credit scores. Maxwell takes time to explain that the score a customer sees through Credit Karma may differ from the score used during auto financing. “If I can teach them that now, if it’s their first time buying a car, they’re going to buy cars in the future,” she says. “It’ll help educate them later down the line to understand their credit score better.”
“I want to empower you.”
For Maxwell, “everything is a lesson.” She reminds her teams that while buying a car is an everyday occurrence for them, it may be a milestone for the person sitting across the desk. “We do this every day, and this could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a customer,” she says. That means slowing down, paying attention, and making sure customers understand what is happening. Over the years, Maxwell has watched grandparents buy vehicles, followed by their children and grandchildren. “They know they can trust us,” she says.
That instinct to contribute extends beyond work. Maxwell is actively involved with New Braunfels Little League, where her 11-year-old son plays baseball. She helps keep games running by managing Gamechanger, recording each play in real time so families can follow the action and the team has accurate statistics after the game. It is another behind-the-scenes role, but one that reflects a familiar philosophy: everyone contributes. “Nobody gets anywhere by themselves,” Maxwell says. “You have to have a very supportive team.”
Whether she is teaching an employee, educating a customer, or supporting her son’s baseball team, Maxwell’s definition of service remains the same. “If somebody comes to me for help and asks for help, or I can see they’re in need of something, then I’ll ask, ‘Is there something I can do for you? Can I help you?’”
Sometimes the answer requires more than information. It requires staying with a problem until a solution is found. That is where Melissa Lopez sees Driven to Serve in action.
During nearly seven years with Red McCombs, Melissa Lopez has seen how many people and processes have to work together to create a positive experience for a customer. She started as a receptionist and moved into her current role as a finance manager assistant, working largely behind the scenes. It is a role built around solving problems.
“My goal is simple: remove the problem from the customer’s shoulders.”
“When I have a problem, there’s always somebody there to help me find a solution or to help me brainstorm a solution,” Lopez says.
That teamwork matters because buying a car does not end when the customer drives off the lot. Paperwork must be processed. Titles and registrations have to be completed. Questions come up. Sometimes unexpected problems need to be solved.
“Driven to Serve to me is ensuring that the process doesn’t just stop at the transaction,” she says. It means customers feel comfortable calling when they need help and knowing someone will be there to find an answer.
Lopez saw that firsthand when a customer had lost an out-of-state title and did not know how to replace it. Instead of leaving the customer to navigate the process, Lopez took it on herself. “I looked up the process, I made the phone calls and, you know, found out how to do it,” she recalls. Her goal was simple: remove the problem from the customer’s shoulders. She gathered the information, worked through the requirements, and streamlined the process. McCombs even covered the fees.
That experience illustrates something Lopez believes is fundamental to good service. Solutions rarely happen because of one person. They happen because people are willing to work together. “If you’re employed with people who don’t know the foundation of teamwork, it makes things harder for everybody,” Lopez says. “Whereas teamwork, everybody builds that camaraderie and finds the solution for any problems that arise.”
For the customer, that collaboration should feel seamless, from choosing the vehicle through receiving the final title and registration. Lopez may work in the back of the house, but she understands that what happens there is part of the customer experience.
For Lopez, that example comes down to being available when someone needs help and being willing to figure out what comes next. “Even when I’m not there, I’m still there,” she says. “Whether the person asking is a customer, colleague, neighbor, or family member, the principle is the same: when there is a problem, help find the solution.”
Finding solutions depends on people who are willing to step in and help. For Amanda Maxwell, that commitment begins with a simple belief: she is in the people business.
As Service Manager at Red McCombs Universal Toyota, Amanda Maxwell leads a team of 78 people and has spent nearly 14 years with McCombs. She started in the express department writing oil changes and grew into leadership under mentors whose lessons she now passes on.
“I’m not in the car business – I’m in the people business.”
“I learned a long time ago that I am in the people business, not the car business,” Maxwell says. “That means taking care of people, customers, employees, making sure that the customers know that you care about them.” For Maxwell, taking care of people starts with setting an example. Early in her career, experienced colleagues taught her not only the business, but the responsibility that comes with it. “They’ve raised me into taking care of people,” she says. “Not just my family, but people, customers, all the guys in the shop. I gotta take care of them.”
That commitment goes beyond the dealership, into family life. When considering adoption, instead of adopting one child, she brought three into her home to keep the siblings together. Today, two still live at home, along with her 24-year-old son and youngest child, who is 11.
At work, Maxwell brings that same instinct to mentor and support others. She works with technical schools and watches young people begin training for automotive careers. Some eventually join her team, where she coaches them as they develop into technicians. “I get to watch them grow,” she says. “And then when they’re ready, they’re done with school, I get to bring them in and mentor them.”
Together also describes Maxwell’s approach to customers. Her goal is to make sure people “feel heard, seen,” and know someone is committed to helping them. And when she does not know the answer, she does not see that as the end of the conversation. “I don’t know. But let’s go find out,” she says. “Let’s find the answer together.”
That willingness to stay with people reflects what Driven to Serve means to Maxwell. “I know that if I take care of my people, they’re gonna take care of me,” she says. For Maxwell, whether at home or at work, the lesson is the same: take care of people, then teach them to do the same for someone else.
Taking care of people also means encouraging them to move forward. For Monica Sosa, Driven to Serve is rooted in recognizing an opportunity to help and taking the initiative to act.
As Mobile Service Advisor and Coordinator at McCombs, Monica Sosa brings vehicle service directly to customers at their homes and workplaces. She coordinates scheduling, parts, paperwork, and the logistics that keep the team on the road. Her service philosophy is straightforward and personal. “Helping others. Really helping others. How I want to be helped and encouraging others to help as well,” Sosa says.
That often means stepping in even when something is not technically her responsibility. “Even if it has no concern with me, I do want to go ahead and help as much as possible.”That proactive approach is essential to mobile service. Sosa makes about 40 outbound calls each day, identifying customers who may benefit from the program. Rather than requiring a dealership visit, her team goes to them. Some services that could mean leaving a vehicle at the dealership for a day or longer can be completed at a customer’s location in about 30 minutes.
Sometimes taking initiative is much simpler. Sosa recalls discovering that a customer had never received a second key after purchasing a vehicle. After work, she drove to the customer’s home and delivered it herself. “I would want to have my spare key just in case of emergencies,” she says. “I figured why not, I mean, just go ahead and help the customer.”
That philosophy also shapes how Sosa leads. She encourages technicians to pursue Ford training and opportunities that can take them further in their careers. “Take the initiative,” she tells them. “Move forward. That is your life.”
Sosa has followed that advice herself. She began in the dealership call center and made her interest in advancement known. That led to an opportunity in mobile service, where, after just two days of training, she took responsibility for building the program. It began with two vehicles and now operates three. In the month before her interview, the team completed 386 appointments, compared with an average of about 280, and Sosa was already looking toward the next level of growth.
But her instinct to serve is not limited to work. Sosa carries extra Pokémon and Disney cards to give to children, with their parents’ permission, simply “to see someone smile.” She also looks for everyday opportunities to help, from assisting an elderly person with a car to offering guidance when someone needs it. “You never know what anyone’s going through,” she says. “It’s always good to take the initiative to be that positive light.”
“I take the proactive approach.”
For Sosa, Driven to Serve comes down to acting on that belief every day, whether the gesture is large or small. That positive light can be expressed in the smallest gestures. For Tiffany Ball, it often begins with something as simple as a smile.
As a Financial Assistant at McCombs Enterprises, Tiffany Ball helps make sure deals are in order, employees are paid, and splits are correct. She has been with the company for 11 years, beginning as a receptionist before moving into her current role. Along the way, she was named Employee of the Year, an honor she attributes in part to the attitude she brings to work every day. “Driven to Serve means for me to go above and beyond with a smile,” Ball says.
“A smile says ‘hello’ and immediately makes people more comfortable.”
For Ball, a smile is more than a sign of happiness. It tells people she is approachable and makes them more comfortable asking for help. “When you see someone smiling, you’re like, okay, yes, I’ll go to them,” she says. “You feel more comfortable with that person.”
What happens next is what matters. Ball believes in helping wherever she can, whether that means answering a financial question, walking someone to the right department, making a phone call, offering water, or finding a snack for someone who needs it. “Even though I get paid for one position, I don’t mind helping others,” she says.
One experience from her time as a receptionist has stayed with her. A woman entered the dealership crying and did not know where to turn. Ball asked what was wrong, listened, offered her water and a place to sit, then connected her with people in finance and management who could help.
The next day, the customer called back. “She was like, ‘I didn’t know what to do,’” Ball recalls. “She was like, ‘You helped me.’” For Ball, her response was instinctive. She imagined how she would want someone to treat her in the same situation. “I put myself in your position,” she says. “What would I want if I walked in and I was crying?”
That empathy is accompanied by something equally important: follow-through. Ball believes trust grows when people know they can depend on you. “When you follow through on what you say, you gain more trust from other people,” she says.
Whether she is helping a distressed customer, assisting a coworker, or serving someone a meal, Ball believes small acts of kindness matter. “A smile can make a big difference in somebody’s life,” she says.
For Ball, taking care of one another is not just good customer service. It is part of being a community. “Because we’re all we have,” she says. “It’s very important to make sure that our community is taken care of.”
