End of a Era - Les Schwab tires

[PimTac]

Les Schwab tires is looking for buyers.

https://katu.com/news/local/les-schwab-tires-seeking-new-ownership

I haven't used them in the last ten years or so but the times I did they were top notch in customer service. I don't know know if they still do it but when you drove into their parking lot the attendant ran out to meet you. That was company policy.

Like other businesses that have gone this route, I fear things will change and maybe not for the better.

 

[Ken_K]

Years ago I used to purchase all my tires from Les Schwab, but they're not a value any longer. They sell tires manufactured by TBC (Multi-Mile) and Cooper (Dean), which are good products, but not worth 30-40% more than nationally recognized brands such as Goodyear.

I certainly don't mind paying a little more for great customer service, but when I can get four new Goodyear Wranglers from a national tire chain for $1000, and then Les Schwab charges $1400 for an equivalent from Multi-Mile, it doesn't pencil out.

 

[ls1mike]

I have and I can tell you they are not the same company there were since the old man died.

My last experience was awful.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
I have and I can tell you they are not the same company there were since the old man died.

My last experience was awful.




I was afraid that was the case. Sounds like it has been dying a slow death since 2007 and with online tire sales taking a big chunk of the market now.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
I have and I can tell you they are not the same company there were since the old man died. My last experience was awful.


It's a common tale. My dad worked at the Anderson Company in Gary, Indiana and I watched the same thing happen after founder John Anderson died in the late 1960's. Remember them - ANCO wiper blades?

It's very sad, but it really enforces the old saying "The only constant in life is change" There will be new start up companies pioneered by industrious individuals that will fall to the same fate decades from now. History repeats itself.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

My local Les Schwab store just 4 miles down the road. Their parking lot used to be just packed. Now if you see six cars in the lot they are having a busy day. Price have also increased a lot for a high volume dealer.

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
My local Les Schwab store just 4 miles down the road. Their parking lot used to be just packed. Now if you see six cars in the lot they are having a busy day. Price have also increased a lot for a high volume dealer.


Almost seems like the current manglement want the company to fail.....why though?

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
My local Les Schwab store just 4 miles down the road. Their parking lot used to be just packed. Now if you see six cars in the lot they are having a busy day. Price have also increased a lot for a high volume dealer.


Almost seems like the current manglement want the company to fail.....why though?

 

[ondarvr]

There was a time when it was the only place I bought tires. I was at discount tire last week buying some for winter.

It's not nearly the place it once was.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by AC1DD
Almost seems like the current manglement want the company to fail.....why though?
Old boy's club. They were probably sunk a while ago and they just gave up knowing that a liquidation would include a golden parachute for senior execs.

 

[PimTac]

I'm wondering if the family didn't want to be in the business? It's a common story these days.

I was at their Prineville Oregon store many moons ago. They had a huge warehouse there. At that time Prineville was nothing but a cattle junction and Les Schwab. Now Apple has a massive data center there. I think Google or Facebook do as well.

The last stop before the wilderness.

 

[demarpaint]

I'm sorry to say no great loss. Their customer service, attitude, and pricing didn't help.

 

[sloinker]

When I think Les Schwab, I think FREE beef!

 

[CapriRacer]

My experience says that the reason businessmen (and their businesses) are successful rarely passes down to the next generation - that whatever spark of genius that makes someone better than others isn't so much genetic as it is the combination of genes and what is learned as one matures (and luck!)

In the case of Les Schwab, His business model was to buy cheap. He had a nose for finding good bargains from the tire manufacturers. That allowed him to do small touches to improve customer service - like the example of the sales guys running to meet customers - things that weren't as efficient as they could be, but did a lot to enhance the customer experience.

As time went on, bargains from tire manufacturers slowly became more rare. And the competition became more intense. Unfortunately, there are always some fallen soldiers along the way.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted by Ken_K
.....I certainly don't mind paying a little more for great customer service...


That statement is key. IMO the people entering the workforce today, have no idea about customer service. It's only going to get worse. Younger people don't want to pay extra to get the best or they don't understand the need to better customer service.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by sloinker
When I think Les Schwab, I think FREE beef!



Yep. A bit of a gimmick but he did well on those free beef days.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by JC1
Originally Posted by Ken_K
.....I certainly don't mind paying a little more for great customer service...


That statement is key. IMO the people entering the workforce today, have no idea about customer service. It's only going to get worse. Younger people don't want to pay extra to get the best or they don't understand the need to better customer service.



Companies want to run "lean" and won't hire a guy just to run out in the parking lot.

When I worked at a tire shop, they paid flat rate, and "free air" paid squat. You don't get people to hustle for free. If you do, by accident, there's something great in that employee and he'll move on to bigger and better things quickly.

Workers respond to the metrics enforced by management. If they stop wanting customer service, CS stops.

 

[Kira]

What states were Les Schwab stores in? General answers like "west of the Mississippi" will do.

 

[PimTac]

Pretty much every state west of the Rockies.

 

[CKN]

Their business model is a FAIL!


They bring in second and third tier tires-and the prices they ask for them are comparable for first rate tires.

So-anybody with a computer or smart phone can see how much they are being over charged for less than stellar tires.

The "good old boy" commercials -"doing the right thing", ect, doesn't jive with their products.