We should make a tape of car noises. You could push a series of buttons and tell us which one best identifies the sound you’re hearing. Some customers come into the shop and are very hesitant to make the noise they’re hearing, while others are all in. They’re totally committed to making the correct sound. It’s surprising how many times the sound really does give the service advisor a good starting point to the follow-up questions they ask. This is helpful when passing the information along to the service technician to determine what is happening with your vehicle. So, if your vehicle is making a noise and you want to demonstrate that sound to the service advisor, go ahead. You won’t be the first or the last, and we’d never laugh. Everyone here has demonstrated the sounds themselves at some point. Customers will joke about turning up the radio to drown out the sound the vehicle is making. A good rule of thumb is to occasionally turn off your radio and listen to your car as you drive. It ... read more

I love getting to know the customers who come into Arie Nol, it's one of my favorite parts of working in a service industry. Visit by visit I build relationships with our customers, until seeing them is the same as seeing old friends. I always look forward to hearing their stories. A specific memory comes to mind. A few weeks ago, an older female customer came to show us her new car. For years she had driven a nice, low-key vehicle. Nothing flashy, but very reliable. On her last visit to Arie Nol, we stood and watched her car as it was towed away to the scrap yard. It was bittersweet as that car had served her well for a long time. I wasn't sure what to expect when she came by with the new car, but when she walked in the smile on her face was contagious. Without even seeing the new vehicle, I broke into a huge smile, happy for her happiness. I walked into the parking lot and there sat a sleek, shiny, brilliant red car. “Why the change?” I asked, curious. She paused a moment, a new smil ... read more

I’m getting a thermostat for Christmas. Ok, not really. I don’t often have vehicle issues because Jeff is pretty serious about maintaining our vehicles. I’ve only had one break down in thirty years and that was a bad starter. The vehicle I was driving had 175,000 miles so I couldn’t complain. Last week it was starting to get cold and it seemed like my heat wasn’t very warm. I thought that it was due to how cold it was. The thing is, I really do know better. I had no check engine light or anything indicating something was wrong. So, I chalked it up to the lovely freezing temperatures of Michigan. While driving early this week my check engine light came on. Jeff scanned it when I got to work and I told him, “My car hasn’t been getting very warm when I turn on the heat.” It has been getting very cold this week and a seat heater only does so much. I have learned it won’t warm up the whole car, no matter how high you turn it up. No one ever appreciates having to spend money on repairing the ... read more

What do you do? Your vehicle temperature gauge or oil light is in the red but you are SO close to your destination. Just a little bit farther and you won’t have to pull over on the side of the road. This happens and I totally understand. The last place I want to be is on the side of the road with a dead car. Especially if I’m on the highway or in an unfamiliar place. My goal would always be to get to my destination or a service facility. Unfortunately, you can do additional damage to your vehicle if you continue to drive it. It’s also hard to determine, based on what’s happening, as to whether continuing to drive is a bad idea. Looking at your owner’s manual may give you additional information but pulling over to read the owner’s manual isn’t really ideal either. From the time Jeff and I started dating and he became in charge of my vehicle maintenance for my 1976 Honda Civic Wagon, he told me the rules for non-technicians. Stop. If the vehicle is overheating, if the oil light comes on ... read more

Sometimes l will be thinking about my blog post content. I will be set on a topic and then something happens here that causes me to change the topic. This week a vehicle came in with a broken ball joint. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I have an unnatural fear of broken suspension parts. I’ve seen too many vehicles towed in and the accompanying story of the sudden stop or loss of control. So, we should discuss the triangle of safety. This is steering, stopping and stability. These all play a part in your ability to control your vehicle in a stopping or maneuvering situation. The other triangle is who it affects. It affects the driver, any passengers and anyone else on the road with you. If your brakes are worn and not operating correctly, you affect everyone on the road around you. If your ball joint breaks, you will come to a sudden stop. If your shocks aren’t operating within certain perimeters, you have less tire-to-road contact. Worn parts don’t’ just affect ride ... read more

A long-time customer came in with coolant leaking from her vehicle. Her vehicle contained her work items along with three grandchildren. Sitting at our shop was not on her agenda for the day. Jeff had one of the technicians check out the vehicle and it was determined that it wasn’t drivable. The customer had someone that could arrange to pick her up but they didn’t know if there would be enough room for all three kids, with one in a car seat, to be taken home in one trip. I had been putting plants in the planters outside of the office door, one of my favorite jobs every spring. One of the young ladies came out and chatted with me while I planted the flowers and our technicians inspected her grandmother’s vehicle. We talked about basketball, summer vacation and her two sisters. Most days my job requires paperwork, phone calls, speaking with customers, social media and probably more paperwork. Customer service is the focus for all of us here. Making people’s vehicle repair visits as eas ... read more

Every day I drive past a home that has a decoy deer in the yard. The first couple of times it took me by surprise and I actually slowed down, thinking it was real. I don't even notice it anymore. This week I was driving by and I realized the deer was still there. He's looking a little worse for wear but he still hasn't moved. I was thinking about how we get so accustomed to something that after a while we don't even see it anymore. A check engine light, or malfunction indicator light, can be like that deer. At first, you notice it and it catches your attention. After a while, your brain lulls itself into thinking that light is nothing. You don't even notice the light anymore, just like I don't notice the fake deer. Customers will sometimes be in vehicles and let us know that the check engine light “has been on for months.” It doesn't bother them because they figure the car is still running well, so it must not be a problem. And it might not be. Sometimes the light came on for a reason ... read more

My nephew is three and likes to stop and see Aunt Debbie at work, mainly because I carry him out to the bays and he looks at the ‘cars in the air.’ Last time he was in, one of the technicians was performing an oil change on a vehicle, and Jack asked me what he was doing. I told him, but he wanted to know what oil was. I explained to him that it was essentially car blood – not the most technical description but pretty accurate. I explained how oil lubricates the engine and becomes dirty, so the oil and filter need to be changed regularly. Similarly, your body uses the kidney, liver and spleen to filter your blood, but your body “cleans” them automatically. Your car is dependent on you for this necessary function. Car manufacturers have many specifications and recommendations so it’s important to follow these. Although using synthetic oil for an oil change is more expensive, deciding to use conventional oil to save some money is not usually a good decision. Down the road, the cost of eng ... read more

It seems like social media is this ever changing and evolving animal. Seventeen years ago when I began working with Jeff at Arie Nol Auto Center, marketing was simple. ‘Which sized Yellow Pages ad would you like?’ was the big decision for the year. Now, there is a plethora of platforms and new ways to reach our customers. Customers are reached several ways based on certain criteria. Age does play a factor but I’ve had 75-year old customers who’ve said they follow us on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. We dipped our toes into the water of Twitter a while ago to kind of see what it was all about. Being restricted to 140 or less characters is an adjustment but it’s easier to find something relevant without wasting a lot of time reading paragraphs of information. Leonardo da Vinci said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”. You don’t find long rambling posts on Twitter like you may on Facebook. One of the things I do like about Twitter is the fact that it’s very ‘in the moment’. T ... read more

If you look around Grand Rapids, you realize that small business is the backbone of our city. Many of the entertainment venues, parks, and educational spaces we visit were funded by what was once a small business. Think Van Andel, Meijer, Seidman and DeVos. These are obviously exceptional examples. But they all started as a small business and prospered. We have all benefitted from their devotion to our city and its residents. On Saturday November 26, it is Small Business Saturday. I know it’s just another one of those ‘ made up’ holidays but it has real impact and meaning to the small business community. It is true that when you purchase from a small business, it directly and immediately impacts all of us. The profits as well as wages paid stay in the area. Many of us that own small businesses also support small business by trying to use local vendors whenever possible. The profits of those companies also stay in the area. And so it goes. I love to shop as much as the next person. Ok ... read more