November 04, 2009
Road trip!
After 2,665 miles, I discovered two things: Selling tires isn’t a recession-proof business, and dealers know how to survive and thrive
By: Bob Ulrich
John Zimmer, left, accepts payment for an oil change from Tiffany Bailey, who works downtown.
Did you check the spare tire?” I asked the tire dealer. My wife’s 2007 Saturn Vue had undergone a “used vehicle inspection” in preparation for my trip from Akron, Ohio, to Sarasota, Fla., and back, and I was getting ready to pay the bill.
“They should have,” he answered. Not knowing for sure, however, he walked back to the service area to talk to his technicians.
Shortly thereafter, a service tech asked me for the keys in order to check the compact spare tire. It was a little low, and he filled it to 60 psi, as recommended by the service manual.
A common mistake? I hope not. Still, my dealer road trip in late May and early June was off to a less-than-perfect start.
As it turned out, that was the extent of my troubles over the next eight days.
Mechanically, everything else was fine, according to the vehicle invoice. The tech noticed a slight pull to the right, but the scheduled tire rotation fixed that problem. He also topped off the fluids.
Total cost: $22.74.
Exactly 2,665 miles later, I was back home, but only after visiting independent tire dealers in Cincinnati, Ohio; Florence, Ky.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Acworth, Ga.; Sarasota; Conover, N.C.; and Summersville, W.Va. I also visited BJ’s Wholesale Clubs in Akron; Tampa, Fla.; and Mooresville, N.C.
The trip was everything I had hoped it would be. All seven dealers were accommodating despite my surprise visits. They were willing to share their secrets of success and, in some cases, survival in the face of a brutal recession.
They believe in differentiating themselves from the competition. They take advantage of any opportunity, and cater to the customers like never before. Perhaps they have to — of the nine states I passed through, seven had unemployment rates of more than 10% in June, based on data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January of this year, only South Carolina had an unemployment rate of more than 10%.
My trip wasn’t all business. I attended a Cincinnati Reds home game at the Great American Ball Park (Reds 6, Houston Astros 1), and ate breakfast at the same place Elvis dined in Sarasota in 1956. I also visited my sister in Georgia and my mother in Florida.
But my journey revolved around the tire dealers. These are their stories.
Sign up for our Enews and receive the latest news, trends, and product information right in your e-mail inbox.