Belle Tire Distributors, one of the largest independent tire dealerships in the United States, is ISO-certified at all 61 of its retail locations.
"Although we have been recognized a one of Michigan's leading retail tire operations, we felt that implementing a quality management program such as ISO would benefit our entire organization and provide an additional level of quality assurance to our customers," said CEO Don Barnes.
"For us, the process was both new and demanding since the ISO standard has primarily focused on the manufacturing community. Although our existing sales and service processes were well defined, we learned a tremendous amount about how we could do an even better job of meeting and exceeding customer expectations."
The ISO initiative touched every activity of Belle Tire's operations, according to Vice President Jeff Kruze. "We felt we must be able to demonstrate to every customer that Belle Tire is a leader of our industry. In addition, we wanted to integrate our quality motto -- "Customer Satisfaction is the Bottom Line" -- into all facets of our business...."
Belle Tire's ISO 9001:2000 certification, which also included its corporate offices and wholesale operations, is a first for a retail tire organization. Belle Tire's commercial truck centers and Bandag retreading operations achieved ISO certification in 2001.
Belle Tire is the 10th largest independent tire dealership in the U.S., based on number of outlets.
