Proud to Be a Tire Dealer: Bill Simon
In 1966, an ad in the newspaper and a $1,500 loan helped a country boy from Oklahoma find work running an Esso service station in Baton Rouge, La. Fifty years later, 79-year-old Bill Simon, founder and president of Simple Simon Tires, has transformed that service station into two successful tire dealerships through hard work, trust
The Refrigerant Revolution
The new R-1234yf refrigerant is more than just a new jumble of numbers and letters on a label. For your shop, R-1234yf means several new procedures, a certification and new equipment in order to properly handle these new systems. The difference in handling and servicing between the R-1234yf and R-134a is flammability. Don’t be alarmed,
The Formula for Success
I’ve always been pretty terrible with numbers. Some people are born with that gene and some aren’t lucky enough to inherit those analytical skills. I’m unfortunately part of the latter group and understanding even simple arithmetic always evaded me. In college, I failed Accounting 101, twice. Luckily, third time was the charm. Grad school hasn’t
Winter Tire Innovations
Winter tires have been around since 1934, when Finnish tiremaker Nokian introduced them for trucks. Two years later, Nokian added sizes for passenger cars. This was during a time when there were still many horses and carts on the roads, and motor vehicles didn’t have today’s handling and braking capabilities. Tires that helped keep trucks
Winning Customer Service
In my October 2015 article “A Winning Workplace,” I wrote about the importance of employee engagement and creating an organization that top talent want to be a part of. In this article, we’ll focus further on the people in your tire business and how to hire to support a world-class customer service organization. Start at
What Employers of LGBT Employees Need to Know
The Terminology In order to understand the issues, we first need to define the terms. According to the American Psychological Association, sex is defined as one’s biological status as either male or female, which is primarily associated with physical attributes. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society
Do You Need a Non-Compete Contract?
Whether your employees work directly with customers or in the service bay, they may come into contact with sensitive, competitive information that they could potentially use to establish a competing business nearby. Non-compete agreements may help your business safeguard trade secrets and other information, but only if they hold up in court. Some things to
Pirelli Bringing Truck Tires to US
Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. is bringing a line of truck tires to North America. The tiremaker announced the new tire line and its new business entity, TP Commercial Solutions LLC, during the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., on March 31. The move to bring Pirelli to the NAFTA region was a corporate decision and was
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
When Yokohama Tire Corp. launched its newest addition to the Geolandar line, the Geolandar A/T G015, the tire was put to the test by a handful of media in one of the toughest terrains in the United States: Moab, Utah. Fitted on Jeeps, the tires crawled up and down the rugged desert terrain, which included
Correcting Blind Spots
You tell yourself, you’re the best tire dealership in your area. But, how do you really know that’s true? Do you have basis for your opinion or is that something you just believe out of self-pride? Odds are you aren’t No. 1 or even No. 2, you just believe your business is on top. We
Letter to the Editor: Tariff – Where Are the Trucking Industry, the Teamsters Union and Warren When You Need Them?
The tire industry is again facing a petition placed to enact tariffs against imported tires manufactured by factories located in China. The Department of Commerce (DOC) has begun its anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of truck and bus tires from China. The government’s investigation of truck and bus tires was initiated
Choosing the Right Brake Pad for the Right Customer
There is one simple piece of advice I try to live by: “Know what you know, and know what you don’t know.” This simple credo can save you from making mistakes and looking like a complete idiot. I am often asked for my opinion of a certain brand or application of brake pads, or which
