The Dealership: Poking Fun at Work While Gaining Viral Fame

Have you ever watched a driver unfamiliar with fullsize pickup trucks attempt a 3-point turn in a new Chevrolet Silverado? Picture 23-year-old Grace Kerber, digital brand creator at Mohawk Chevrolet in Ballston Spa, NY, awkwardly inching forward and back, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, before erratically driving down the road, straddling the center line and making her passenger car sick (See video link below).

“Yes, it is me,” Kerber admits to WardsAuto about her real-life problems moving the Silverado from a parking spot though the rest of the drive was staged. “Everyone basically plays themselves. I’m not quite as extreme as I am in the show. That’s me amplified – a lot.”

Just as the characters in the U.S. adaptation of the British mockumentary “The Office” exaggerated everyday work situations into relatable satire, Kerber and her colleague Ben Bushen, also a digital brand creator at the dealership, plus available colleagues do the same in their series “The Dealership,” which launched in June.

“I’m a big fan of 'The Office,'” Bushen tells WardsAuto. “I watched it when it first aired, and it’s still so iconic. The whole idea of the mockumentary makes people say, ‘Oh my God, that could be at my work.’”

Take their episode, “Heel, Toe, Cowboy,” which both Kerber and Bushen say is their favorite so far. It opens with Kerber’s manager asking about an upcoming Silverado video and her explaining the theme.

In a very Pam-Beasley-like manner, the camera cuts to a conference room where Kerber describes the video setup: “The idea that I had came to me, in a vision, as they usually do…Lots of slow motion, lots of cowboys. And the ‘Rado.”

The camera cuts to outside the dealership where Kerber, Bushen and several colleagues engage in an awkward dance spoof, complete with cowboy hats, Glen Campbell music and red-white-and-blue balloons. Oh, and the Silverado, of course.

“What are you thinking? Good?” Kerber asks Bushen mid-scene.

“Yeah, good,” Bushen responds hesitantly, in character. “You know, it could use a little work.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fantastic,” Kerber answers, returning to direct her co-workers in a dance routine.

The idea for the mockumentary was born when a former co-worker started leaving miniature plastic ducks around the office for people to find.

“We are lucky,” says Kerber about the leadership’s attitude toward the shorts. “They give us a lot of creative freedom, and we just go with it.”

Since releasing the videos on social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, and X, the series has built quite an audience. For example, their TikTok following grew from 3,000 in June to 109,000 a month later, turning the staff into local celebrities in Ballston Spa, a town of 5,500 located 185 miles (298 km) north of New York City.

The videos have garnered thousands of comments on social media, including “Give that girl a raise! I love this series,” “This is my new favorite show,” and “Saw ‘in a vision’ coming from a mile away, and it still killed me.” Even Chevrolet posted, “Watch out Hollywood!”

One fan urged Netflix, which streams “The Office,” to pick up the Mohawk series, writing, “Mohawk Chevrolet needs to get picked up by Netflix ASAP, because I can’t stop watching these.”

The best part? The videos cost almost nothing to make. Kerber and Bushen spent just $10 at a dollar store on a few props.

Want to see the videos? Check them out here and watch for a new one each Tuesday. Below are Kerber and Bushen in an image from "Lemme Drive the 'Rado." Photo courtesy of Mohawk Chevrolet.