Seattle--Scott Lybeck said he has seen enormous changes in the tire and service segments of the business since he started with Courtesy Tire Inc. in September 1976. Lybeck said Courtesy then had four stores owned by Ross Bain. Today, he said, he owns the two newer stores, one in West Seattle and on East Madison in Seattle.
The flagship West Seattle Bridgestone-Firestone tire store was started across the street from its current location on California Avenue Southwest in March of 1982, a former Nash-Rambler dealership, Lybeck said. In 1987, he said, he purchased the property across the street and opened the existing eight-bay 6,000-square-foot store. Two and a half years ago, Lybeck said he remodeled the West Seattle store with a 50s and 60s theme in the customer waiting area, including vintage signs, old fuel pumps, an antique popcorn machine, and a 1964 Coke machine that dispenses soft drinks.
The Madison store, about half the size of the West Seattle location, has been operating for 11 years and employs six people, Lybeck said; there are 10 employees at the West Seattle store in addition to himself and two bookkeepers.
From its inception in 1988, Lybeck said he has been part of the American Car Care Centers program. "It has been a very good program for us and offers us a wide variety of tire brands beyond Bridgestone-Firestone when we need them," he said, adding that BF is still the largest selling brand at his stores, where they sell about 500 tires a month.
"There is lots more competition today than when I started in the business in 1976, and particularly since we opened here in the 1980s," Lybeck said. He referred to outlets such as Les Schwab tire stores and major retailers such as Costco Wholesale becoming more prevalent in the tire business.
"We saw a decline in the 1980s, but today we are very busy with tire sales, as well as service," he said, adding that Courtesy has always been a full-service repair operation. "Being full-service has helped us grow and be successful over the years."
When he started in the late 1970s, most tires were bias ply, Lybeck said, with radials beginning to enter the tire market. "It changed the market, and then we had a huge Firestone recall but remained loyal to then Firestone, now Bridgestone-Firestone," he said. "Today, with such high-quality tires, we have probably adjusted only five BF tires in the past five years."
From basically 14-, 15-, and 16-inch tires in the 1970s, Lybeck said today there are such a vast variety of styles and sizes of tires that it's a challenge to maintain an inventory due to space restrictions.
"There are lots of 18-inch and larger tires for trucks and SUVs, and performance tires are big sellers for us," he said. "The Potenza line is our No. 1 seller."
In retrospect, Lybeck said tires have not risen in price as much as many other consumer goods. He said that while wheels are generally more expensive, tires have remained a good value, though the high-end tires that his stores sell a lot of are more costly because they offer such quality construction and longer life.
An important element of Lybeck's business at Courtesy Tire is suspension and alignment work, he said, adding that alignment machines today provide vastly better diagnostics and accuracy, allowing technicians to properly determine potential suspension problems.
"We installed a new John Bean alignment unit in this store last year and it made a tremendous difference for us," he said. "Our Madison store just installed a new Prism unit from Snap-on 40 days ago and it's absolutely worth the investment for what it is able to perform."
Lybeck said that the newer electronic version of alignment machines allow better pricing of alignment services and that the diagnostic capabilities allow techs to quickly locate worn suspension and ride control parts, which ultimately helps with overall sales. "Alignment service goes hand-in-hand with suspension work, so it's very important to us."
Lybeck said the West Seattle shop probably averages three to four alignments a day and also does alignment work for local repair shops.
Shock and strut sales at Courtesy are doing well, Lybeck said, noting that suspension-related sales are the largest part of their service work.
"While tires represent about 35 percent of our business, the remaining 65 percent is service and repair work," he said. "We perform virtually everything from diagnostic service to brakes, engine work to emissions service."
KYB brand shocks and struts represent 99 percent of the stores sales, Lybeck said. "We've seen a lot of changes with shocks and strut systems over the years from gas-adjusted shocks to sophisticated strut systems, and our sales in this area continue to grow," he said. "We're busier than ever, and our Saturday business is crazy."
With vehicle systems being built better by OE automakers, Lybeck said some services, like engine and transmission replacement, are not as prevalent as in past years. But other service work for the stores is growing, from diagnostics to suspension sales.
"We handle between 700 and 800 vehicles a month, and business continues to grow," he said, adding that over the next five years, the stores are on a good path to increase both tire and service/repair sales.
With the profusion of wheel sizes and types available on the market today, Lybeck said those sales may decline in coming years. "You have to stock and display wheels in order to sell them," he said, noting that the inventory of tires grows each year due to expanded sizes and styles, so storage space will continue to be devoted to the tires.
"In order to have continued growth, we need to continue to keep updated with training and keep customer service as our No. 1 priority," Lybeck said, noting that both stores are accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
Training is paramount at Courtesy, Lybeck said, and the company pays for all training and ASE tests. All the technicians at Courtesy are ASE-certified and three are Master Technicians, he said, and most are state-certified as emissions specialists.
"It's vital to get good ongoing training," he said. "We get training from Snap-on, Moog, ACDelco, and other suppliers. We have to know how vehicle systems work and how to repair them properly."
