I was shopping several years ago at a local clothing store that I love when I met Susan Brogger, the store manager. Naturally, we started talking about shoes, and one pair in particular I’d been trying on. But as the conversation progressed, I had learned that Susan just recently lost her mother to pancreatic cancer. She mentioned that she was partnering with the Van Andel Institute (VAI) and their Purple Community to start a fundraiser and asked if Arie Nol Auto Center would be interested in contributing. We did and we were so thankful for the opportunity to support someone who has taken the loss of a parent as a chance to support this local research facility. Susan’s story resonated with me so well because Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer have all impacted our family's life in the past several years. Since getting involved, we've had the pleasure of learning more about VAI and what they hope to accomplish in the future. And by us learning about the ways they impact our com ... read more

I was speaking to a young woman who is a senior in high school. Her vehicle’s check engine light illuminated on her dashboard and she stopped by to have us check into it. While a technician was checking the vehicle, we had a conversation about finding a college. She has been participating in college visits to find one that suits her. She had visited the college my daughter attended, and we spoke about that as well as some of her upcoming visits to other colleges. It was interesting because I had been reading about finding your strengths as it applies to the working world. The phrase I've heard lately is, “That’s in my wheelhouse.” It means that it's something which is within your area of expertise. I always thought it had to do with boats but after checking, found that it is a baseball term meaning a ball pitched right where you want it. You're most likely to hit the ball if it's in that area. The customer I was speaking to was saying she wasn't sure what she wanted to pursue in colleg ... read more

We’ve waited long enough. I think this means that we cannot complain when it is 95 degrees and 100% humidity. But we still will. It’s part of living in Michigan. It also means that it is time to test your air conditioning system. By testing, I mean turn it on. Turn the dials. See if it cools in both the back and front of your car, if that is an option for your vehicle. The first hot day in the auto world brings phone calls from drivers that haven’t turned on the A/C since last summer. Be the ‘cool’ one and check your A/C now. The other item you want to check is your coolant system. Coolant protects your engine from extreme temperatures. Let’s go back to last summer and remember what it felt like when you climbed into your steaming hot car. Do your car a favor and have the coolant tested now so that you are ready for the heat. You’ll be glad you took care of these things. If you get your air conditioning recharged, you can sit in the car when it’s 95 degrees outside with 100% humidity a ... read more

A gentleman was in the shop and we were talking about different interests. Somehow, the conversation turned to Pinterest and social media. I was saying that I loved Pinterest and he mentioned that he had an account. I told him that Arie Nol Auto Center also had a Pinterest account and that we had some fun things he might find interesting. He was surprised that we (OK, it’s me) ‘pinned’ and said he’d check it out. He likes cars and much of what he pins is related to that subject. In the social media world, I think Pinterest has been seen as geared towards woman but the reality is, there is more and more geared towards men’s interests. Not saying that women don’t love cars, wood working, etc. but most men are not pinning their dream shoes. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, ask around. You’re bound to find someone that uses it. For us, it’s an opportunity to share things we find funny, educational, interesting and inspirational. There are Michigan road trip ideas, ways to maintain your ... read more

I love the commercials that show an actor being grouchy, ornery or annoyed and then eating a Snickers candy bar and reverting to a different person. I’ve occasionally used it as a joke when I’m tired and said, “I need a Snickers bar!”. Coffee is usually the better answer for those moments. Jeff and I were flying out of Ford airport and the flight was repeatedly delayed. The airport is under construction and there is only one restaurant available once you’ve gone through security. There isn’t a lot of space to walk and, if you’re obsessed with your Fitbit like I am, trying to get in a few steps is a challenge. Every hour or so we would be told we would be leaving in a certain amount of time and then the flight was delayed again. Did I mention this was during Spring Break week? We were traveling for business but most of the people on our flight were on vacation. There was a group of kids that were traveling to Ecuador that were going to miss connections. It got so bad that the airport ha ... read more

I’ve been the observer in many discussions about which vehicle is the best. Many people that love cars have a particular favorite, with stories and statistics to back it up. Chevy vs. Ford, BMW vs. Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen vs. Audi, Honda vs. Toyota etc. It’s like cat lovers vs. dog lovers. For every reason you love a particular brand, breed or make, someone has a reason you should choose something else. Everyone has an opinion. Cats are snobby and unloving and dogs are man’s best friend. Or, dogs are messy and cats are meticulously clean. Choosing a car is a very personal decision. I like speaking with people when they are in the shop having an inspection performed about a vehicle they are interested in purchasing. Most people do their homework to determine what fits their lifestyle and driving needs. Sometimes everything fits the criteria, but they drive the vehicle and they just don’t like it. Maybe they just can’t get comfortable in the seat or they don’t like the dashboard layout ... read more

We were! Every summer we have a company event where we can all get together with our families and have some fun. We feel very strongly as a company that spending time together contributes to the team atmosphere we have built. Getting to know family members is important for all of us for the same reason. Luckily Grand Rapids has some terrific options for entertainment. We’ve attended a Whitecaps game before as a group and decided to do it again this year. We have a mix of ages with some of our group having young children and some with teenagers. Or, the empty nesters, which Jeff and I have covered. While I’m not a huge sports fan I always have a great time at the Fifth Third Ballpark. The food is terrific, there are activities for pretty much everyone and there is always something happening on the field. Franky the Swimming Pig made an appearance and decided to shine up Jeff’s scalp, which we all thought was pretty humorous. Crash made his rounds and threw out items to the crowd. Beside ... read more

We all do it. As we go about our day, we fail to think about the people who contribute to our day going well. We rely on our vendors and their employees. For example, you drop off your vehicle for new brakes on your way to work in the morning. After our technician determines what needs to be replaced, the system kicks into gear. If we don’t have the item in stock, we call our supplier. Someone pulls the part from the shelf, schedules it for delivery, then the driver delivers it to us. 98% of the time, the system works perfectly. Said part is delivered and installed in the allotted time frame, and you receive your vehicle with new brakes. It’s when the system doesn’t work that we all notice. We’ve all been at a restaurant and had a less than ideal experience. It could have been the hostess, server, dishwasher, chef, person bussing the table, or the cashier that caused the system to fail, but you feel the effect. If the server is having a bad day and isn’t very pleasant, you notice. If y ... read more

In our customer lounge area, there is a cabinet filled with model cars. The curio cabinet is an old 1980’s style cabinet that you don’t see much anymore. All the shelves are filled with the different make and models of cars. There are Corvettes, Mercedes Benz, Ferraris and Lancias. The cars are die cast models that Jeff collected with his dad, Arie, over the years. Arie passed away over twenty-three years ago. He and Jeff spent a lot of time collecting the cars together and each one has a memory attached to it. They are all vehicles that were rare. When they searched for cars, they looked for makes that either hadn’t been produced for very long or that had something unique that year. The doors, hoods and trunk or boot all are functional. They are at our shop because that is where they belong. Arie’s dream was to have an auto repair shop and to pass along all his knowledge to Jeff, who also loved cars. Collecting the cars with Jeff was something that they enjoyed doing together. Jeff’s ... read more

One of our technicians, David, is a triathlete. He bikes, runs, or swims daily to be ready for his next competition. He started out mountain biking a while ago and progressed to what he does now. At the shop, we have had several discussions about safety equipment while biking. Many people from our Arie Nol family have participated in different types of bike racing, including Iceman in northern Michigan. Everyone agrees safety equipment can be irritating. You purchase it, wear it and most of the time never have any reason to be glad you wore it. Until an incident that reminds you of the ‘just in case’ reasoning behind that helmet, neck protector or reinforced vest. David had that situation last week. Going 10-15 mph, he hit a tree. He bounced off that tree and hit another head on. The pictures below are of his helmet. In his words, it “rang his bell for sure” but he got up and walked away. The helmet did its job. He walked away able to participate in a sport that, like everything else ... read more