{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Gain Traction","title":"The Tire Sale That Keeps Repair Customers Coming Back","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2033,"description":"Brad Griffin owns Griffin Tire and Auto, with two locations in Charlotte, North Carolina. His family has done business in Charlotte since 1961, the Berkshire location has operated since 1989, and Brad is the third generation around the business. The shops have shifted toward commercial and fleet accounts while continuing to serve retail customers.Brad has made his shops competitive on tire pricing to bring customers back for higher-profit repair and maintenance work, an approach built on customer retention through tire sales. He emphasizes a team, from the counter to the technicians, who can hold a knowledgeable conversation with any customer.In this episode…The oil change is no longer the hook. Intervals have stretched so far that the dependable three-month visit is gone, and the shops that built their traffic on it are watching customers drift to whoever they pass next. Brad makes a sharper play: tires and rotations now do the work the oil change used to do, bringing drivers back on a schedule you can count on.The tension lives in the pricing. Charge what the market expects and you protect margin but lose the relationship. Sharpen the pencil on tires and you trade a little short-term profit for a customer who returns for years of repair and maintenance work. Brad lays out the math that decides which side of that line a shop lands on, plus the staffing, sourcing, and trust decisions that hold the whole model together.Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: [03:07] Brad's background and the family path into the business[05:25] Going to market with tires as the new loss leader[06:46] Staffing and training technicians in a tight labor market[08:26] Choosing tire brands and reading customer value[15:06] How tires build the relationship that drives repair work[17:26] Selling \"happy\" versus running a need-based business[21:40] Customer-first service against the big-box model[23:58] Tariffs, parts sourcing, and the Right to Repair Act[30:05] Closing philosophy on people...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/tr6PtG7h-ZxbdWirvTRIBQOj_H-3QERohPF24jXQEi0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hYTdl/NDdhZjVjNWY0MDRk/MGE0YjRkZTRhNWEw/ZmM4Yy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}