Its customers may be changing, but some things at Lakewood Tire Pros will never go out of style.
Owned by Rich and Kim Birsic, the bustling dealership has been a fixture in Lakewood, Ohio - a city of nearly 49,000 people on the western border of Cleveland - since 1987, when Rich and his father, George Birsic, bought it. (Before that, the location was a Firestone store that dated back to the 1930s.)
On the southern edge of Lake Erie, Lakewood is the third most densely populated city in Ohio and a blue-collar enclave for most of its existence. However, its demographics have changed in recent years thanks to an influx of higher-income residents.
“Lakewood used to be a blue-collar city – middle class, with a lot of families,” says Rich, 58, who started his career as an auto service technician. “It’s now upper middle class. We have $100,000 houses all around us that are selling for $450,000. That brings in a different demographic of customer.”
Years ago, he explains, it was common for customers to come into Lakewood Tire Pros, toss their keys to Rich or George and say, “Do whatever you think the car needs.” (George, who turns 85 next year, retired five years ago. “But in his mind, he’s not retired,” Rich jokes.)
Many of the dealership’s newer customers, though more affluent, are “very focused on what it’s going to cost” when buying a new set of tires or having work done on their vehicles. “That seems to be the biggest thing,” says Rich. “Even though everyone’s making more money, everything costs more. Sometimes the car is a lower priority.”
Lakewood Tire Pros’ newer customers also are less interested in the mechanics of their vehicles, says Rich - a mindset that extends to types and brands of tires. “They’re not as brand-conscious.”
“You have to play detective more” when trying to determine customers' needs, says Kim, who handles numerous functions within the third-generation business.
Rich says it took a while for Lakewood Tire Pros to adjust to the mentality of its newer, younger customers, but the dealership has continued to thrive by focusing on customer service.
“I think it comes down to that first phone call,” says Wil, 30, who joined Lakewood Tire Pros as a general service technician in 2015. He now co-manages the dealership with Cleveland tire market veteran Mike Schlegel. “When you pick up that phone, the first words out of your mouth are what’s really going to attract a person.”
“We’re a family-run business and try to treat our customers like family,” says Rich. “We’re dealing with customers I had 38 years ago. Their grandchildren are coming to us. Ninety-five percent of our customers are still from Lakewood. But we have a few who will travel to our store from outside the area.”
One longtime customer regularly makes an 80-mile roundtrip to visit the dealership.
“That’s because of the relationships we’ve forged,” says Rich. “We don’t look to hit a home run” by maximizing customers’ service tickets. “We plant the seed and they come back.”
Recently, a customer called Rich out of the blue. “He said, ‘I just want you to know – I brought my car in last week.’ I thought to myself, ‘Oh, gosh. What’s next?’ But he then said, ‘You fixed a problem that a (car) dealership couldn’t fix after four visits. I want to send you guys a pizza.’
“I said, ‘You don’t have to do that. We’re happy with just a good Google review.’ He wound up sending us a couple of pizzas.”
Other customers “bring baked goods in over the holidays,” says Kim. “They show up with sandwich trays for our guys. That’s the kind of customer we have.”
Family atmosphere
The family atmosphere that the Birsics have worked hard to create also extends to their employees, who Rich calls “a great group of guys. We do so many different things. We’re a little more lenient (than other employers) with days off. If they have a family problem” and need to take time off, “we get it. We’re not going to hammer them for that.
"We offer healthcare. We pay for it 100%. They get the top 5% pay rate for our area. We provide lunch for them almost every day – either I cook or we order out. There’s usually a flat top grill or a crockpot here with something going on. For their birthdays, they get to pick something special.”
Rich and Kim also maintain friendly relations with their competitors. Lakewood's tire and auto service market “is made up of small, independent shops,” he says. "We’re in a three-mile-by-five-mile city. Before COVID-19, we had 17 competitors. Now I can count them on less than two hands. We had all kinds of car dealerships here. They’re gone.
"If I had to go out of business, I wouldn’t have a problem" referring customers to most of Lakewood Tire Pros’ competitors, he says. “With the exception of one or two, we’ve been left with quality competitors. None of us badmouth each other. We aren’t fighting each other. We’re marketing to different people.”
When asked about Lakewood Tire Pros’ future, Rich says the dealership will continue to do what’s made it successful. “As an independent tire dealer, we always ask, ‘Where can we go next year?’ It may not be leaps and bounds. Re-painting the inside of our building is on the agenda ...updating our showroom. Our building is unique, but expensive to maintain.”
However, the structure, with its distinctive architecture, contributes to “our marketability” and has become a landmark along the busy east-to-west street where Lakewood Tire Pros is located.
Rich and Kim plan to provide more training for their five technicians. “Educating our guys is going to be number one for us,” says Rich, adding that Lakewood Tire Pros has been partnering with another shop for training, a team-up that will continue.
He proudly notes that Lakewood Tire Pros had its best month ever in January 2025. April turned out to be the second most profitable month in the dealership’s history. Success, he says, boils down to how you treat people.
“You try to make every customer experience the best. That’s one of the reasons why we’re still here. You don’t need a hard sell. You just need to earn the customer’s confidence. We take care of our customers and they take care of us.”
