People are now more safety conscious than ever about tires, and that’s a good thing according to Tire Warehouse owner Dan Clark.
“We are focusing on trying to educate people that there is a real difference in tires besides prices,” he says. “We’ve always been safety oriented. People are a lot more receptive to hearing about safe products.”
According to Clark, there’s a real safety difference in the quality of tread ingredients.
Tire Warehouse has been selling quality tires to area residents for 31 years. Clark has joined a national buying organization, Great Lakes Tire Group. He is able to buy direct from the manufacturers at much cheaper prices.
“It put us on a level playing field with major discounters,” he says.
Tire prices at Tire Warehouse are very competitive. Clark says he underplays tires in the lower end of the market, but does have tires in that category.
“We have all brands, all sizes,” he says.
While product safety is important at Tire Warehouse, the biggest focus is people.
“We’ve always taken the time with people and gotten to know them,” says Don Truscott, General Manager and 29-year veteran at Tire Warehouse. “It’s like homecoming week around here with people stopping by. They hang out and have a cup of coffee and it really makes it fun for us.”
“Our philosophy is, if you come into Tire Warehouse and don’t get a hug, or leave not feeling hugged, we haven’t done our job,” adds Clark. “Everyone here from the top to bottom gets a report card based on this hug principle..if we change your tire and don’t fasten your spare back down, we haven’t given you a hug.”
“We’re different,” reflected Andy Peters, Account Manager at Tire Warehouse and a part of the business since he was 14 years old. “Hey, how many tire stores can you call to go let your dog out when you are halfway to work and suddenly remember?”
All of his employees have years of experience and are state and ASE certified.
Besides selling and installing tires, Tire Warehouse has state-of-the-art brake service (including ABS). It also has full services on suspension, struts and shocks, and offers image alignment.
“We’re very specialized in what we do. And we do it better than anyone I know,” Clark says. “We make it easy to do business with us. We provide courtesy rides. If you have to drop your car off for the day, you can have a car. We’ll even pick up your kids.”
Clark is now a two store owner, having purchased another tire business in Brighton.
“We just do every day what got us here, and that’s basically our relationship with people from having been here for so long,” he says. “It’s been a long road, but we’ve enjoyed the journey.”
Tire Warehouse is located at 44 West Clarkston Road. Hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The phone number is (248) 693-1234, and the fax number is (248) 693-1485.