The Rasmussen Story
Aaron Rasmussen is the Operations Manager of Streetrod Golf Cars, overseeing both the manufacturing plant that produces the custom vehicles in Montezuma, Iowa and the dealership located in The Villages, Florida.
His job is to ensure the products and parts for the cars meet the company’s high standards. Aaron works with Streetrod’s parent company, Pritchard Companies, to make the leadership’s vision a reality. He manages all corporate accounts, marketing campaigns, budgetary needs, and works to bring new innovations to market.
The Golf Connection
Until I joined Streetrod, golf was a social activity done with close friends. Titles, apparel, and equipment didn’t matter, just beers and bonding. Now I work for a company that is located in the largest golf community in the world, The Villages, and see that for many, golf isn’t just an activity, but a way of life.
People drive our golf cars around not just on the course, but to dinner, to grab the mail, or to take a Sunday drive. Understanding that the game of golf goes beyond just the course opened my eyes to new people and way of life.
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What was the genesis for Streetrod Golf Cars?
Streetrod started with an idea that was brought on by a love of hot rods and a vision. In 1995, Craig Schmidt combined those two items and came up with the first Streetrod.
Nearly 30 years later, the company is now owned by Pritchard Companies, a family owned and operated automotive enterprise that opened their first Ford dealership in 1913. Craig’s son, Jesse Schmidt, serves as Streetrod’s Production Manager, ensuring each car’s quality of and designing new lines of vehicles.
What differentiates the company from others in the power cart lane?
The attention to detail given to the cars throughout their entire build is unparalleled. From multiple rounds of hand sanding the in-house formed fiberglass bodies, to show car quality paint schemes, and the selection of specific parts to match the model year of the car being built, Streetrod clearly stands out from other manufacturers.
The cars are built on an aluminum utility chassis which increases the car’s longevity, durability and payload, further differentiating Streetrod from its competitors.
Who is your customer and how do you identify others who may have interest in becoming one?
Our customers are people who take pride in what they own and value true craftmanship. The company’s main sales region is in The Villages, Florida, where the company’s showroom and dealership are located.
In The Villages, you can find all kinds of custom golf carts and enjoy them on miles upon miles of golf cart-friendly roads. Even in an area like The Villages, Streetrods stand out due to their quality look and style.
Ballpark costs for the Streetrod Golf Cars is what? Are the cars primarily leased or purchased?
The cars are primarily purchased and are in the mid to upper $20k range for most builds.
Today's golf world is becoming ever more conscious and in alignment with the environment. What role is the company playing in that lane specifically?
We provide our customers with several options to suit their priorities. All of our builds have the option to be ordered in standard lead acid batteries, lithium, or gas.
When an order for a power car is placed – how long does it take to create the actual specifics for that car?
Most cars will be built in roughly 12 weeks.
Companies routinely tout the importance of customer service. Define the term and the approach followed?
For us, customer service is the entire process from the initial contact made with a customer and continuing throughout the lifespan of the vehicle and full customer journey.
From the time spent discussing configurations and options that go into the design of each car, to delivery, maintenance and sustaining a relationship that comes with owning a Streetrod.
What role does customer feedback have and how do you encourage it to happen?
Feedback is one of the measures we use to ensure our cars are matching the quality that we expect from ourselves. The team at the dealership receives the majority of the feedback on our products because of the relationship they have with their customers.
That feedback is then passed along to me at the factory. For customers who want to be kept up to date on their build or have particular items that require communication with the factory, I work with them one-on-one and stay in contact with them both during the build and after delivery.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally – what would it be and why?
I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that question.
The biggest challenges - short and long term – facing the company are what? And what strategic responses are you implementing to deal with each of them.
An ongoing challenge, that was only made worse by supply chain issues during COVID, is finding parts and fabrication companies to work with. Being a small, highly curated company, many vendors have moved towards only working with large companies or have had to raise prices significantly.
Still, those are the challenges that come with providing the absolute best product on the market, and we’ve gotten very good at addressing them. For us, the thing that matters most is the customer’s experience with our cars!
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