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 and customer education

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Brad Griffin on LinkedIn
• Griffin Tire & Auto Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• "The best tire is the one that fills the need of the customer and provides a profit to us."
• "We joke that we're the dentist that you can't feel."
• "The tire seems to be the easiest way to show value, because, quite frankly, most people don't know enough about their cars to understand the repairs."
• "Focus on taking care of the customer, value their dollar, value their time."
• "Everybody who walks through those doors doesn't come because they have to, they come because they want to."

Action Steps:

1. Audit your current loss leader this week and rebuild customer retention through tire sales by pricing tires and rotations to pull drivers back on a predictable schedule.
2. Stop quoting premium brands your volume cannot support; stock a strong tier-two or tier-three line with a comparable mileage warranty and sell it on dollars-per-mile value.
3. Run the used-versus-new math for a customer at the counter tomorrow to show why a cheaper used tire often costs more per mile than a new one.
4. Coach every person from the counter to the bay to explain a repair in plain terms, since that conversation is what earns the next visit.
5. Track repeat-visit rate by customer, not just ticket average, and make protecting the customer's time the metric your team manages to.

Tim Szabo is the owner and president of Trail Tire stores in Edmonton, Alberta, and Hoosier Tire Western Canada. He grew up working in his father’s repair shop, became a journeyman technician at 21, and has spent nearly three decades in the automotive industry.

His experience spans vehicle repair, shop operations, customer service, and business ownership. That background gives him a clear view of how long car loans and repairs are changing customer behavior, maintenance decisions, and the role independent shops play in keeping aging vehicles on the road.

In this episode…

Eight-year auto loans have changed the repair cycle. Drivers reach the five-year mark still owing years of payments just as suspension work, fluid services, leaks, tires, and other major expenses begin appearing. Trading the vehicle often means carrying negative equity into another long loan, so repairing and maintaining the current vehicle becomes the more practical path.

That shift creates a new responsibility for multi-location operators. A declined repair no longer means the customer sees no value in the work. Many customers lack a clear picture of what the vehicle is worth, what they still owe, and what continued neglect will cost. Shops that explain those numbers, document developing problems, and present financing without pressure become trusted advisers rather than another unexpected bill.

Customer education also protects future revenue. Clear recommendations, digital inspection records, and documented “next time” items give customers time to plan. They show exactly how a small leak, skipped service, or delayed repair turns into a larger failure. The shop earns trust by helping customers avoid the same financial situation again.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:02] Tim Szabo’s automotive background and career path

[05:03] Long car loans reshape vehicle repair decisions

[08:20] Trail Tire’s approach to customer financing

[14:34] Deferred maintenance reduces vehicle value

[18:36] Customer education prevents repeat repair problems

[22:47] Education as the foundation of a successful shop

[25:05] Digital records strengthen transparency and trust

[27:09] Tire preferences and budget tire demand

[29:46] Business lessons from Ford v Ferrari

[35:01] Tim’s guiding philosophy and closing advice

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tim Szabo on LinkedIn
• Trail Tire Tamarack Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “Mileage doesn’t kill cars, neglect does.”
• “People’s vehicle is their freedom.”
• “The customer needs to know everything we’re doing, so that we don’t hide anything from them.”
• “Educating your customer is a key foundation in owning a successful shop.”
• “You never get in life what you deserve, you only get what you negotiate.”

Action Steps:

1. Review how service advisers explain negative equity.
2. Create a standard process for presenting repair financing.
3. Document every developing problem.
4. Build a maintenance plan around long car loans and repairs.
5. Track declined work and revisit it at every visit.

Jim Noblitt is the District Manager at Auto Care USA in Houston, Texas, with more than four decades of automotive experience. He entered the industry in 1979 as a mechanic’s helper, advanced into technician and dealership roles, and later helped launch Cornerstone Automotive; a business that contributed to the early operating model behind Christian Brothers Automotive.

Noblitt went on to build and operate Mission Car Care in Katy, Texas, for 20 years before selling the business in 2022. His experience as a technician, owner, consultant, and multi-location operator gives him a practical view of recovering lost profit in an auto repair shop through disciplined processes, stronger financial controls, and better use of shop data.

In this episode…

Revenue does not disappear only through weak sales or low car count. It also disappears through unreturned cores, defective parts, missing credits, incorrect shipments, and paperwork that never gets reconciled. Noblitt estimates that these overlooked details can represent four to five percent of annual sales losses, money the shop has already earned but failed to collect.

Multi-location operations carry even greater exposure because the same process failure repeats across every store. A return shelf filled with aging parts represents trapped cash, and an unverified credit slip represents money that has not reached the bottom line.

Shop metrics expose another layer of lost opportunity. An extremely high close ratio often signals that advisors are presenting only the customer’s original concern. A very low close ratio signals that customers are receiving large estimates without clear priorities. Digital vehicle inspections, average written repair orders, and close ratios reveal whether advisors are identifying needed work, communicating value, and separating urgent repairs from services that belong in a future visit.

Recovering lost profit in an auto repair shop requires owners to study what the numbers are saying, assign accountability for routine financial controls, and correct small operational gaps before they spread across multiple locations.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:17] Jim Noblitt’s four-decade automotive industry career

[03:25] Advancing from technician to dealership operations

[04:12] Helping shape Christian Brothers Automotive’s early model

[08:46] Building and selling Mission Car Care after 20 years

[12:20] Applying decades of experience through shop consulting

[14:24] Recovering profit through stronger parts return controls

[18:55] Using shop metrics to diagnose operational weaknesses

[22:54] Why experienced shop owners still need business coaching

[24:34] Leadership built on fairness, trust, and quality work

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “The numbers will usually tell you where your holes are.”
• “Knowing your numbers is so important.”
• “You’re presenting all the facts now.”
• “Nobody cares like the owner, you know.”
• “Do a good job and treat people the way you want to be treated.”

Action Steps:

1. Audit every return shelf tomorrow morning.
2. Assign one person to own parts returns and credits.
3. Create a weekly return-credit report for every location.
4. Review close ratios beside average written repair orders and DVI results.
5. Build recovering lost profit in an auto repair shop into the management scorecard.