This time of year, Jeff is thinking about snow tires and antifreeze. I'm thinking about boots. I should be thinking about boots that are practical and repel water and snow. I need good boots for work but then, I go online. I'm lured in by the ‘what's new for winter 2015’. All the pretty, furry, funky boots, lacing, zippers, and all the other fun things that are added but not needed. Boots, like many things nowadays, aren't just functional but have to be attractive or a certain style. Boho, classical, cowboy, western, motorcycle or equestrian. And work boots. Even work boot style boots have had their moment of being chic. I've never seen a photo spread in Vogue with the title “technician boots, not just for the shop” though. Then there's the open toe booties. They show those on models wearing winter coats, hats and gloves. I love how they look but the reality is, in Michigan you'd get frost bite on your toes and they'd fall off. Not such a good look. Then I'm besieged by the stalker ads ... read more

Dreams of Spring Break dance through our heads as we continue to endure the cold, grayness of Michigan. Lying on the beach in the hot sun, with the sound of seagulls fighting over snacks left in the sand by previous sunbathers. I can almost smell the sunscreen! Are you taking a road trip for Spring Break? Every year, the week before Spring Break is very busy at local auto repair facilities -- people wanting to get their vehicles checked over before they leave, in hopes of avoiding an emergency pit stop along the way. I would recommend scheduling an appointment at least two weeks before your trip. Have your tires checked, oil changed, fluids checked and filled, hoses and belts checked, and battery tested. Your windshield wipers should be replaced if necessary. Have them check your brakes to see how much of the pad remains. It’s a long trip and parts that are nearing the end of their lifecycle should not be going on the trip with you. Every year, without fail, we get a couple of calls fo ... read more

Walk through any of the local stores and you will see the signs of back to school are everywhere. Backpacks and lunch boxes for the little ones and extra-long twin sheets for the dorm-bound college student. Along with all this busyness, getting your vehicles ready for students can be overlooked. College kids leaving with an older car and new drivers preparing for their first year of driving to school. Moms and Dads also have more driving ahead with school events, sports and music practice, etc. Before the college student leaves, get the oil changed, check the tires and have an inspection done for any needed maintenance. I recommend asking your service advisor about anything that may cause issues before the car returns home later in the Fall. Make sure your student knows how to handle certain scenarios. Car break downs, new noises, and changes in the way the vehicle drives are things that have to be addressed. Make sure they have a local towing company’s number. Ask around about a local ... read more

We have a bird feeder outside of our lobby door. Last summer, we had an unusual bird arriving with a flock of sparrows. It was yellow and I thought maybe it was a finch. My ornithology knowledge is limited. One of our employees, David, has raised birds and recognized it as a parakeet. We watched it all summer as it showed up daily to the bird feeder. Reality set in when David said it would die during the winter. I thought it would fly south – hence, the comment about my ornithology knowledge above! Operation Save the Parakeet kicked into gear. For those of you who don’t know, air bags are shipped in something that resembles a live-trap style cage… we had just received one. That was the beginning of the plan. When everyone was finished devising the trap, it was similar to a Wyle E. Coyote setup. An air bag cage with a stick holding it up at one end, food inside the cage and a rope attached to the stick. The chance of success was low. One of the technicians, Grant, was walking through th ... read more

Ratchet and Wrench is an automotive industry publication that we've enjoyed reading since its inception several years ago. The magazine tells the story of someone who runs, owns or works in the automotive repair industry. They give a description of how they overcame a problem within their business or approached something from a different angle, and came up with a unique solution or idea. We are really excited to be featured in an article in the September issue of Ratchet and Wrench. The focus of the article is Jeff's move from automotive technician to service advisor. It was a business decision that we made years ago as we grew the business. Jeff has always enjoyed working with customers, but in the past had worked mostly as a technician. It was a neat opportunity for us to share our story and hopefully encourage anyone that is currently trying to make a similar decision. We've been blessed with terrific employees who've contributed to our business in so many ways. They've embraced the ... read more

AAA forecasts that 48.7 million Americans will travel farther than 50 miles. As I’m writing this, we have the bay doors open and it’s in the mid-60s. Mostly because it’s Michigan and we have been rewarded an incredible Fall this year, that’s about to change. That’s how Michigan works. If your vehicle is not prepared for a long trip, it’s usually tough to find someplace that can work on it the week of Thanksgiving. Traveling can be stressful so make sure you are prepared. Looking for a list of items to keep in your car? Here’s a good place to start. Being prepared can reduce the stress associated with a road trip. Before you leave, check your oil, windshield wiper fluid, and have your battery tested if you feel it’s been weak. Take a look at your windshield wipers and have them replaced if necessary. Mostly though, enjoy your holiday. Eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie (with whip cream because what is the point of pumpkin pie without it?) Give thanks for the friends and relatives that y ... read more

I had the opportunity to attend the 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan awards. There were over 800 people there celebrating women that are making a difference in West Michigan. Sonia Manzano, Maria from Sesame Street, was the keynote speaker. Ms. Monzano was inspirational while speaking about how she ended up where she did and why it made a difference. Our city amazes me with its ability to recreate itself. When I was younger, downtown Grand Rapids was somewhere you rarely went. Herpolsheimer’s department store was one of the only reasons to go downtown. Here we are in 2016 and you can see the drastic changes that have helped our city end up on so many lists of “great places to live” lately. Listening to the honorees and hearing their words of encouragement and motivation was doubly enjoyable as my daughter was there with me. She had the opportunity to speak with several women at our table that are doing research which will eventually impact us all. The Grand Rapids Business Jo ... read more

April is Distracted Driver Awareness Month. It could be called ‘Pay attention, you’re driving a giant chunk of metal!’ month. Most people that have a cell phone have done it. You’re driving down the road and your phone notifies you of an incoming text, email or call. You know you shouldn’t respond but you do. I’ve done it. I think I have all my attention on the road. C’mon, I’ve been driving for years! I can multitask. I can handle glancing down at my phone and watching the road. But science and statistics prove we can’t. In my perusing of the vast knowledge base that is Google, one study actually said that the better you think you are at multitasking, the worse you probably are at it. And no, you aren’t the exception. If you are a teenager, you aren’t good at it either. Even though you’ve grown up with cell phones, etc. Your brain still isn’t capable of processing a text and driving at the same time. One of those things will get all of your attention and it’s probably not the road in ... read more

Have you ever wondered about the process of auto repair? When you drop your vehicle off, what happens in ‘the bays’? While not every auto repair shop has the exact same process, I’m guessing that most processes are similar to ours. When you schedule your appointment, based on what type of work you are having done, the service advisor takes an educated guess at the amount of time needed to perform the work or diagnose the problem. We have a finite number of labor hours a day so we work to fill those hours and schedule the vehicles accordingly. Our goal is always to meet the timeframe stated to the customer. I’d like to say that always happens, and it usually does, but there are times when the bolt breaks or a part doesn’t arrive and that changes the time frame. The service advisor takes all the information and enters it into his computer. This information is then sent via an iPad to the technician chosen to work on your vehicle. The technician brings your vehicle into the bay, and proce ... read more

The past several weeks have been busy as people prepare their vehicles for long holiday trips. They've had any needed maintenance performed and potential issues addressed. This helps to alleviate some of the stress associated with a long trip by doing what you can to avoid a breakdown, is always a wise choice. It looks like the weather will be mild and continue that way through the holidays which makes travel plans easier. The shopping is done or maybe not. In that case, you'll run into me at the store Christmas Eve. The tree is decorated and the presents are wrapped and waiting for everyone to come over or be taken to your celebratory place. The menu is planned and you realize that with all the treats available, the new year resolution should include eating less sugar than you've been consuming lately. If you have small children, they may be worried about Santa being able to travel in his sleigh with no snow. You can tell them he has a Volvo wagon as a backup vehicle so the gifts will ... read more