Tried and True: Central Tire & Auto's Family-Oriented Model Spans Generations

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Transitioning a family-owned business from its founders to a younger generation can prove to be a challenging proposition – one marked by raw emotions as well as a shift in leadership style.

And yet the baton can be passed successfully, as evidenced by Central Tire & Auto Service, an independent Goodyear dealer in Sinking Spring, Pa., that is now entrusted to the fourth generation of the same family.

The business was started in 1917 by Oscar Mogel, the great-grandfather of current manager Megan Hines. Originally located in Reading, Pa., the company moved to suburban Sinking Spring just over 20 years ago.

“Through the years, and as different generations of the family took over, we grew from just selling tires and the other household items that sold in most Goodyear stores,” says Hines.

It was strictly a wholesale and retail tire dealer until the third generation took over, when automotive service was added to the mix. Today, as the fourth generation prepares to take the reins, the seven-bay Gemini automotive care center’s business is about 75% service, 25% tires. New services are being added, such as vehicle customization and polycarbonate headlamp restoration. The most recent hardware investment has been a new Hunter automated tire changer to do larger wheels, as well as to improve productivity.

Extended Family
Berks County, where the store is located, is very family-oriented, according to Hines. The area still has some manufacturing interspersed with white-collar jobs, which are primarily in banking services, and a population of about 10,000. Having multiple generations of store ownership resonates with many of Central’s customers, since they also span multiple generations of the same family.

A strong sense of family also ties the business with its customers. “Treating customers the only way we know how – like family – has become our mantra,” Hines explains. “We look at their cars as if they were our own, letting them know we will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.” This extra effort can also include help with pricing or payment arrangements.

Central Tire’s nine employees have developed a friendly rapport with their customers, even to the point of being able to razz them good-naturedly when they come into the store, according to Hines. “We stress to our clients that they mean more to us than dollars walking through the door.”

The fruit of this relationship is trust that keeps customers coming back. In 93 years of service, the company has never had to lay-off any employees, even through the current economic downturn. By treating employees like they’re part of the family, the company has enjoyed very low turnover, as well. Hines says, “My kids think of the techs as uncles. It’s a great family atmosphere you don’t often find.”

Orderly Transition
Even with three generations of the family at the helm, it wasn’t automatic that Hines would be next in line to run the business. Fresh out of college with a marketing degree, Hines worked for plumbing-and-heating and window-and-door companies in California before deciding to return home “and jump in with both feet.”

She says the decision was not something that was forced upon her. “I figured out that I needed to be with my family and do what my family has done for generations,” Hines says. Originally, she just came into the shop to help her mom for a couple of weeks; that’s turned into five years. Now she says, “I hope to keep building the business so my two children (ages 3-1/2 and 6 months) have something to inherit.”

Transferring the business from one generation to the next has been a gradual process. “I gain so much by being here every day, absorbing knowledge from my techs and service manager,” Hines says. “If I had just walked in and said ‘it’s time to take over,’ I wouldn’t be ready.”

The transition is not yet complete. “I would not say by any means that I am 100% in charge,” Hines admits. Although her official title is marketing and sales director, she describes herself as “an owner in training.” Hines’ mom, Deborah Scull, and her uncle, Jeffrey Mogel, still hold the president and vice president titles. Hines understands.

“Mom says she put in her time before my grandfather handed over the reins, so I feel I have a few more years still before I get one of the titles, but essentially, I have the ability to make decisions – just no glory!” Hines laughs, and then pauses. “The difficult part is getting my mom and uncle to let go,” she says, quietly.

“They really still want to be involved, and I have no problem with that,” she adds, but admits the chain of command can be challenging. With three potential bosses, technicians have their favorites: the one with 40 years’ service prefers to talk to Hines’ uncle; others to Hines or her mom. “It’s not favoritism, just comfort and familiarity,” Hines observes. “Techs don’t have a problem with me if I’m the only one here.”

The phenomenon extends to clients, too. “Customers coming here for 25 years still want to talk to someone they’ve known the longest, so transitioning the customers is one of the biggest issues I’m facing,” she says. On the other hand, younger customers tend to gravitate to someone closer to their own age, which works well for the 32-year-old Hines. While some older customers are more focused on price, she says a lot of her younger customers with more expensive vehicles focus on quality. “They put more money into accessory items such as wheels; they want a performance tire vs. a tire that will last them 70,000 or 80,000 miles,” she notes.

New Media, Traditional Values
One of Hines’ initiatives is to become female friendly-certified through the AskPatty.com For Tire Dealers program, with several team members having already completed the training. “As women owners, we will be better able to help women buyers, who are 60% or more of the market buying tires and service work now,” Hines explains. She reports a lot of women customers come in just because there are two women running the front office who know how to talk to them. “Plus, we have one of the prettiest ladies’ bathrooms in Berks County!” she adds with a chuckle.

Quickly returning to the subject, Hines says the technological side of the AskPatty.com marketing was a real attraction. “My generation and the generation after me will be so technologically savvy that most of their research and information will be coming from the Internet, and I want to be the first name that comes to mind.” Her reasoning is simple: The more your name is on the Internet, the more likely someone is going to find you when they’re looking for tires or brake service.

She is trying to get the company name out there anywhere she can, and that includes updating the company’s website to improve its search engine visibility, using Constant Contact to e-mail maintenance and state inspection reminders to existing customers, and keeping a fresh presence on Facebook and Twitter.

These cost-effective methods to stay “top of mind” supplement cable TV advertising and sponsoring winter weather school closing reports on several local radio stations. “Keeping our name out there and keeping our reputation clean so word-of-mouth spreads has kept us going through the downturn,” Hines believes. “A lot of people are fixing cars instead of trading them in, so as long as you can keep it affordable they’re willing to make that repair.”

It all seems to come back to treating her customers as part of the family. Hines knows that developing such a relationship sometimes requires the investment of a lot of time and energy.

“Word-of-mouth here is really powerful – good or bad. If you screw something up, your customers will find someone else to take care of them. You really have to work on keeping your reputation clean, but once your customers feel comfortable with you and know you have their best interests at heart, they will stay with you for life” – and just maybe, into the next generation.