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Episode 237

Wes Boling

Nokian Tyres

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Wes Boling is the Senior Communications and Content Manager for Nokian Tyres, where he helps explain product innovation, dealer education, and the company’s North American story. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he has been with Nokian Tyres for nearly eight years and joined the company as it prepared to open its North American production factory in Dayton, Tennessee.

Before entering the tire industry, Boling worked as a sports reporter in Knoxville, earned his MBA from Belmont University, and built experience in public relations and family business. His role gives him a clear lane for explaining on-demand grip winter tires in terms that connect engineering, safety, and the conversations happening inside tire dealerships.

In this episode…

Winter driving has become harder to explain with old tire categories. Drivers still need control on ice, but they also care about road noise, dry-road performance, road wear, and the limits tied to traditional studded tires. Multi-location tire dealers need a cleaner way to talk about winter traction without turning the counter conversation into a technical lecture.

Nokian Tyres is bringing that conversation into a new place with on-demand grip winter tires. The studs respond automatically to the road, absorbing when conditions are warmer or dry and engaging when cold conditions call for ice grip. That changes the selling conversation because the value is not hidden inside a compound chart. The customer problem is visible: changing winter roads, black ice, and the need for control before the driver loses confidence.

The business lesson is bigger than one tire launch. Product knowledge only works when the counter team knows how to translate it. Drivers walk in with an immediate problem, and the dealer’s job is to connect the right technology to the risk sitting in front of them.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:04] Who Wes Boling is and why his role matters

[01:38] Wes Boling’s path from sports reporting into tire communications

[04:44] How on-demand grip winter tires automatically respond to road conditions

[06:51] Why modern studded tires are trying to reduce old tradeoffs

[08:21] How double stud technology supports braking and turning on ice

[10:22] Why black ice makes changing winter conditions harder to manage

[12:52] How Arctic testing shaped years of winter tire research

[14:19] What dealers and journalists noticed during the tire launch

[17:36] When dealers and consumers can expect the tire rollout

[18:12] Why asking better questions builds stronger industry relationships

[23:29] How tire shop counter staff help customers understand safety

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“It is the first studded winter tire to come with what we call on-demand grip.”
“The tire kind of makes that decision itself.”
“We were able to essentially reduce the studs’ negative impact on the road while increasing its safety properties.”
“What this tire delivers is that responsiveness.”
“We’re crafting it on a foundation of more than a decade of incredible research.”

Action Steps:

Build a winter tire talk track for every counter team. Start with the driver’s real concern: ice, black ice, loss of control, noise, and confidence on unpredictable roads.
Train advisors to explain on-demand grip winter tires without engineering overload. Use plain language: the tire adjusts to the road, the studs engage on ice, and the customer gets a clearer safety story.
Audit old objections around studded tires before winter selling season. List the concerns customers bring up most often, then create direct answers around noise, road impact, dry-road comfort, and legal limits.
Use changing winter conditions as the sales context. Shoulder-season ice, warmer dry roads, and sudden black ice events give dealers a practical reason to revisit winter recommendations with customers.
Make the counter team part of the product launch strategy. Technology does not create revenue until the person across the counter connects it to the driver’s daily risk.

Transcript

00:00
The number one phrase that’s been used in connection with headlines about this launch is James Bond. The James Bond style retractable studded tires. And no, that’s not really what they are. But you know what? I’m not going to fight somebody.

00:11
We all can picture the studs or the spikes coming out of his tires, right?

00:15
Yeah. The name’s tires, no key and tires.

00:19
Welcome to the Gain Traction podcast, the official podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host and I have the privilege of interviewing the tire dealers, shop owners, counter sales reps, technicians, industry executives and other thought leaders of our industry. This episode is brought to you by Tread Partners. Tread Partners is the leading digital marketing agency that specializes in digital marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. Tread Partners works with clients that have hundreds of locations, down to five locations. Get a professional unbiased opinion and let Tread Partners review what you’re doing. It starts with a simple conversation. To contact Tread Partners, visit treadpartners.com so let’s get started. Welcome to the Gain Traction podcast, the official podcast for tire business. My guest today is the senior communications and content manager for Nokian Tire, Wes Bowling.

01:09
Wes, welcome to the Gain Traction podcast.

01:12
Mike. It is great to be on here and beautiful day in Nashville. Eager to connect and chat.

01:18
Absolutely. And I’m very grateful. And I want to point out Don Detour introduced us and he couldn’t have been more complimentary of you. And I’m glad to finally get a chance to meet you and I’m excited about the topic we’re going to talk about today. I think it’s always important for the audience to know who I’m talking to. Tell us a little bit about Wes Bowling, where you’re from and how did you get to the tire industry.

01:38
Yeah, roundabout way to get to the tire industry. I’ve been at Nokian Tire for almost eight years. I’m based in Nashville, work remotely here. About two and a half hours from our production factory in North America, which is in Dayton, Tennessee near Chattanooga. Came to the tire industry from broadcasting. Kind of. Kind of. I was a sports reporter in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2007-2011. I went to. Hold on a minute.

02:04
I did not know this about you and Don really connect then.

02:07
Oh my gosh. Yeah. As a former sports writer himself, we had a lot of trash talk around the still do around the Braves and Dodgers. Yeah, I was so I was in Knoxville and I’m a big University of Tennessee fan. So it’s weird to kind of Take off the orange for those four years. But it was easier because they went through three football coaches in the four years that I covered the program. It was. I wondered if I was the curse.

02:30
Wow.

02:31
Yeah. People talk now about Lane Kiffin and all the Ole Miss, LSU Drama. I was part of Lane Kiffin Drama 15 years ago almost. So knew him well back then.

02:42
You weren’t surprised by the Ole Miss stuff?

02:44
No. Gosh. Anything Lane can do to get attention, I think it’s. I don’t know if you can go to rehab for attention addiction, but if you could, he needs it. I say that respectfully.

02:55
No, no. And the interesting thing is I really was. I know I digress here, but I was really like, I had a bad taste in my mouth after the Tennessee stuff, and I’m not a Tennessee fan, but just witnessing it all and I’m in Kentucky and it’s close enough and, you know, we could see that. But then, you know, I really felt like something was changed when he got to Ole Miss. And then he. And then at the very end, it was just like, nope, it’s still the same.

03:21
Yeah. The one thing that it changed was he hired some really good PR people through his agency to make him look really good. But I want to give the guy the best, you know, the best wishes, I think. I think he’s cleaned up a lot of stuff in his life, which is great. But, you know, ultimately he’s a good coach. He really is excellent coach. I think he’ll do well at lsu. But it was fun covering him even back then in Knoxville. And I have some stories, many of which I can tell, some of which I can’t, about what it was like to cover Lane as a pretty bright eyed, like two years after college graduate. So, so did that.

03:51
And after about four years of that thought, I kind of want something a little more stable, something not relying on the whims of a college coach and a bunch of 20 something athletes to determine what I was going to be doing in a given day. And so I went back, got my MBA at Belmont University in Nashville, worked for a public relations agency for a bit, worked for a family business, and then found my way into tires through another. Another company in our industry. And then back in 2018, join Nokian Tire as we are getting ready to open our factory in Dayton, Tennessee.

04:19
Very cool. And there was a great story about your wife and her recovery. And then you. I mean, because she was very sick at one point, and then you. And you’ve got how many Kids?

04:33
One kid. He is almost six years old.

04:36
That’s awesome.

04:36
He shares his dad’s enjoyment of telling stories already.

04:41
Definitely.

04:41
He’s verbose, for sure. We love him.

04:44
Well, that’s fantastic. So I’m excited about talking about the. The new tire that no can came out with. And Don was at Euros release on that in. Okay. Finland, I believe it was.

04:57
Where you’ve been? Yeah, in Evolo. Yeah. North of the Arctic Circle at our test facility.

05:02
So this. This tire is the first of its kind, correct?

05:07
It is, yeah. It’s the first studded winter tire to come with what we call on demand grip. So essentially, when temperatures warm or when the tire is moving along a dry road, then there’s an adaptive base beneath the Tread that absorbs the studs. So it minimizes the impact on the road, minimizes noise. It improves things like wet grip and things that studs can challenge. But when it’s cold, that adaptive base stiffens and pushes the studs out so that they’re engaged with ice. So that way they have maximum effectiveness. So were able to essentially reduce the stud’s negative impact on the road while increasing its safety properties.

05:47
It’s fascinating because you guys have been working on this. The company has, and the research is over 15 years old, correct?

05:53
Yeah, It’s a concept tire that we introduced back in 2014. And back then, the idea was maybe the driver could push a button to deploy the studs and make it almost like a smart tire. And fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, that’s not really possible. And I think they said that making one tire would have cost more than, like, making the vehicle tire was going on. But what’s even better is that it is automatic. The driver doesn’t have to make that decision.

06:19
Right.

06:20
That the tire, it kind of makes that decision itself.

06:23
We.

06:23
We invented the winter tire back in 1934 and celebrated the 90th anniversary this year of the Hakka Plita attire. And so it’s really a cool revolution to kind of not just be the inventor of the segment, but also continue to strive to be that chief innovator and put something out like this, 100%.

06:41
And this just seems like it really. I mean, I think one of the statistics I’ve read or you told me when we talked, it can save Tread life about 30%.

06:50
It’s actually the impact on the road that especially Is changed about 30% depending on the size. So, you know, a lot of regions, even states in the. In the US couple of provinces in Canada, outlaw studded tires. Because the legacy studded tire you think of can be pretty hard on the road. Right. It’s digging in. And when there’s ice, that’s great. But when the road’s dry, those studs can generate fine particles that can tear apart roads, get in the air, all of that. We’ve worked for a long time to minimize that impact. And we’ve said, these are not your grandfather’s studded tires, but this is the latest example of that. And ultimately this is still a studded tire. So in places where studded products are illegal, that will remain the case, at least for now.

07:35
But we’re hoping to kind of help lead that industry charge to say, you know, yes, the legacy studded tires had some harm. Today, technology exists to minimize that harm while maximizing safety. And ultimately in a place that has sustained ice, hard packed snow, what we need to focus on first and foremost is that human safety. But where we can do that while also minimizing some of those legacy negative impacts, you know, that’s really important not just to us, but to the industry.

08:04
Yeah. And one of the things I read in the article, the entire business did, and Don was the studs are different in the center and on the outside. And talk about that because one obviously has to do with turning, one has to do with accelerating, braking.

08:21
That’s it. Yeah. The shapes are different. So the center studs are going to be designed for that ultimate grip for stability braking when you need it. So it’s called double stud technology. So the center studs are shaped in a way that’s going to really maximize those properties. But I think your audience knows well that the majority of snow and ice issues, yes, breaking distance is a problem, but also it’s when you start to turn and you lose that stability. And so it doesn’t matter how well a stud breaks or grips if it’s not going to also give you that handling. And so the shoulder studs are designed and placed especially in a way that’s going to maximize that lateral stability as well.

09:04
And so that way, the ultimate, scariest case, I think for somebody is you’re driving on ice, you’re driving downhill, and you come around a bend. So when you’re doing that, your center studs are going to work on that stability and that grip. But then those shoulder studs are going to enable you to handle cleanly. Driven on a frozen lake in Finland, Lake Damijarvi, in our test facility 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. And as a Tennessean, I don’t drive on much ice if it’s icy. I just don’t drive. I have all season tires. Those are called. Those are might as well be called three season tires. So to. To be on ice, on slick ice that I could barely walk on, and to have such stability that it felt like I was on pavement, It’s a bizarre feeling, but really empowering.

09:44
Our.

09:44
Our R and D manager.

09:46
Did you get the. Hold the wheel and fill it?

09:49
I did. I did. And our R and D manager had. He. He was, like, fussing at me. He was like, try harder to lose control. Take it to the edge. It’s hard to do. It’s almost. It’s. It’s almost like if you’ve ever played Mario Kart or familiar with it, when you. When you fall off the track and there’s angel that picks you up and lifts you back and puts you on the track, that’s how those studs feel. It’s like the studs almost know, like, oh, you’re about to lose control. You don’t want to do that. And it almost kind of makes driving on ice boring, which I think 99% of the consumers want.

10:20
Absolutely. It’s interesting because you and I live in a zone. I’m in Kentucky, and you’re in Tennessee, but we live in that zone. When, you know, everybody likes to say, you guys in the South, y’ all don’t know how to drive on the ice. The snow or whatever. Or the snow. And I’m like, yeah, well, pal, we get ice. We don’t get snow here, you know, and when we get it’s black ice, and, you know, it’s super dangerous. And it’s. You wonder why cars pile up and you see them and everything, and people think, you don’t know, listen, ice is just something. It’s a different creature, man. I mean, and especially. Especially when it’s not thick and it’s just a little sheet across that black pavement.

10:59
Well, and especially as that type of winter is spreading, I mean, I think winters are becoming milder than they used to be a lot of places. And so you. You get that. And I think areas like, you know, Michigan and, you know, Minnesota and wherever, they would always get that in, like, the shoulder seasons, you know, like September, October, and then, you know, March, April, they’d have that. But now that’s more of winter than it ever was. Our motto, in fact, with this tire, was changing winter driving. And that had double meaning, Right? We feel like we’re changing winter driving by introducing this technology. But Also, this is driving technology for winters that are changing, and more areas than ever are getting that. That freezing zone and the ice and black ice that comes with it.

11:40
And so what this tire delivers is that responsiveness. And, you know, you’re not sacrificing your road quality or your noise levels or your comfort or your safety by going with a studded tire. In fact, you’re increasing all those things while adapting to conditions that could be 10 degrees and snowy one day and then 35 to 30, and you never know if you’re going to get that ice the next. And so you can be driving on dry roads, but all of a sudden, the tires immediately are going to adjust and. And deploy those studs when they sense there’s ice below.

12:10
To me, as I read that article, it was just like one of those things. Like, how do you know? First of all, I think the concept is cool. Like, you know, I can see it’s easy to come up with an idea, right? But for your team to literally be that diligent over this amount of time to say, no, we can get there, and to keep trying and trying, and there’s no telling how many frustration spots they hit, you know, because you got to. You know, I think in that experiment area of life or in science in particular, it’s just, you know, you got to hold all variables constant and move one and then try something else and then make sure that they’re building on each other. And that’s a long process. And I tip my hat. I’m really blown away by this technology.

12:50
I think it’s so cool we have an amazing team.

12:53
And I joke that it’s really funny to be kind of the chief storyteller in North America for the brand, because I get to kind of take credit for things that these brilliant R and D people are doing behind the scenes that I had nothing to do with. You know, like, we. We really love crafting the story, but ultimately, we’re crafting it on a foundation of, as you’ve mentioned, more than a decade of incredible research and hundreds of compounds and I’m sure hundreds of stud shapes. And we. We really lean on that Evolo test center, too, which is, again, about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It’s like, there’s a town in Finland called Rovaniemi, it’s right on the Arctic Circle, that claims to be the traditional home of Santa Claus. We are north of that.

13:32
So it’s like north of the North Pole almost is what it feels like.

13:35
When you’re past Santa Claus. Here.

13:36
Yeah, exactly. And a lot of tire makers have a presence up there. They either rent tracks or have their own. Ours is the. Is, I think, the biggest and the oldest, celebrating its 40th year. And so it enables us to test from really November to April, sometimes longer than that, more than 150 days of. Of testing opportunities, to be able to fine tune those things without having to rent a space or simulate that type of environment. And so it enables us, I wouldn’t say fast track technology like this. There’s no fast track to this. But it enables us to go deeper and more thorough and again, to double down on not just being the inventor of the winter tire, but also to strive to keep being the chief innovator in what is a growing and really impressive space.

14:19
So I’m curious, as this is rolled out and you guys have made the big announcement and everything, and what is the feedback you’re feeling from your existing dealers right now?

14:28
It’s really excited. We have a lot of dealers who were with us in Evolo at the launch. We brought around 80 from North America and then a bunch from. From the Nordic regions as well. And it’s hard, right, because the people who go on these trips have pretty much seen it all. You know, they get invited on a lot of these. That’s why I love our industry, is that, you know, one day a manufacturer is hosting people in Colorado, another in Michigan, another in Evolo. And. And so it’s hard to impress these people. And what we heard still from them and from the journalists that we invited from across North America and the world was, I think, genuine excitement. I had one journalist say I was afraid that I was traveling all the way around the world for just another tire launch.

15:13
He said, this truly is revolutionary. It’s a game changer. And I’m really happy you guys invited me. I think that’s the general impression. And it’s really cool because again, there are so many developments that are being released by people across our industry in the winter space and beyond. I’ve many friends at other companies who I respect so much, the work that they are doing to be a part of that and to draw that genuine reaction from dealers and from journalists who have kind of seen it all. It was really gratifying. After years of working on the communications part of this especially, it’s interesting.

15:43
Me as Joe Consumer, for instance, and I’ve been in this industry now for a while. But it’s a funny industry in the sense that the science behind the industry, the scientists, that is, they can get really excited about, you know, these moderate changes that we perceive as moderate changes. You know, I mean, Joe consumer here, me, Mike, but they know the significance of a change they’ve made. But what’s more significant about this change is that it’s really, it’s not like in a compound that I’m not going to notice as much or somebody’s, you know, a Tread or something like that somebody’s done a lot of. Because to me, I might look at the Tread and go, well, okay, great, that’s good. Congratulations.

16:26
You know, I believe you, I guess, you know, but when you could see and you understand the fact that the studs act on temperature and you know it and you got to test it and you can talk about it in a real way like that, it is significant for the industry. It’s a different significance, if that makes sense.

16:42
Yeah, I was talking to a colleague about that today and it was like, you know, I’m really glad that something that we saw as significant was perceived as such by the market and we had some indication that might be the case. First of all, we believed in this technology and how revolutionary it is. And second, when we released that concept tire more than a decade ago, it got a lot of coverage. So, so we knew this was something that would interest the market. But I think the number one phrase that’s been used in connection with headlines about this launch is James Bond. The James Bond style retractable studded tires. And no, that’s not really what they are. But you know what, I’m not going to.

17:15
We all, we all can picture the studs or the spikes coming out of his tires, right?

17:21
Yeah, the name’s Tire, Nokian Tire. So it was cool to see that like people really do see this as a bit of a technological marvel and however they want to convey it, you know, we’ll be real about what it is and what it isn’t. But we’re also excited to see that excitement.

17:36
Very cool. For the audience’s sake. When does it go to market or when can people place orders for it.

17:42
Available for dealer sale and the Nokian tires dealer portal here imminently, like within the next couple of weeks. Already listed actually on the portal for those who have access for Nokian Tire customers and then for consumers, this fall season is when they’ll be able to buy it. So right now our team is working behind the scenes on really that story that we’re going to be telling in the fall around this exciting tire and how we take it from the initial launch phase to something that continues to stick in the minds of consumers and how we support our dealers in telling that story.

18:12
That’s fantastic. Just. Just to give the. The folks a little bit more about West Bowling, what’s a quote that you like?

18:20
So it was. Yeah, my. My mentor in high school gave me this quote, and I’ve used it throughout. It was an advice given to college, to high school seniors about to go to college. He said, it never hurts to ask, and I love that. But I think you and I both hopefully consider ourselves as somebody who, like, if you ask for a favor, we’re going to be here for you. We’re going to help you. But I think as you’re growing up in an industry especially, it’s hard to want to put yourself in that vulnerable place to ask for help, to ask for an interview, to ask for a coffee with somebody who really has nothing to get to gain from you.

18:55
But what I’ve learned is the basic decency and goodness of humanity as revealed through that motto of, if I’m looking for a job, looking for a relationship from a business standpoint, sometimes even a dating relationship, I’m happily married. But ask the question, and more often than not, people are going to want to answer that in a way that helps you, whether it’s asking for information or for their time. And now I try to be that for other people, too. Like, it never hurts to ask me. I’m going to be here. I’m going to be a resource for you. But I’ve learned that. Still learning that. And maybe it’s the old journalism habit dying hard, too, of, you know, being an internal journalist and trying to dig for whatever information I can get.

19:35
And most people are going to want to help you where they can.

19:38
I like that. It’s interesting because I’m a. I’m a natural people person. But you also have to push yourself, you know, in the asking, because I think the natural inclination of people is we’re all a little afraid of rejection. Right?

19:52
Yeah.

19:53
We want the positive answer. Right. But we don’t want to hear the negative. And. And then it’s. But, you know, once you get past that, it’s interesting. You know, I’m in my 50s, and it’s. I’m not afraid to ask if you’re anything. I mean, who cares? What are they going. What are they going to do, eat me? No.

20:06
They’re just.

20:07
The only thing they can tell me is no. Okay, then I’m right back where I started. Who cares? Right.

20:11
And Mike I think we want to feel like we’re authorities and want to feel like, you know, if I’m asking a question, somebody might think, well, why would they ask that? They should already know that. I think the older I get, the more I realize I’m really not an authority on anything, and I’m okay with that. Some, whoever I’m asking a question to or want to ask, they’re. They’re smarter than me. We can, we can be okay with that. And I’m confident enough in what I can do and what I know that, like, I know I’m not a complete idiot most of the time. Sometimes my wife will tell you I absolutely am, but, oh, 100.

20:39
Well, you know, that’s what they’re there for, right?

20:41
Yeah, but it’s a way to, to build relationships. When we come at something that’s curious, out of curiosity versus, you know, any, you know, fake sense of authority or superiority that people can see right through.

20:53
Anyway, it’s interesting, you know, in, in life when you even, like, if you want to ask for a discount off of something, my wife doesn’t come from the background that asking is a Plita thing, you know, so she’s like, are you seriously going to ask him that? And like, well, yeah, I mean, it’s.

21:09
The worst they can tell me.

21:10
He says no, or he only gives me 5% off instead of 10 or whatever. I’m like, heck, yeah, I’m asking. And it’s actually become a kind of a game for me. I mean, I enjoy it, you know, just to see. To see what else you could get. I think it’s funny too. I’ve noticed this in life and I’ve mentioned this before, and I don’t know if I did it on the podcast, but I do these little social experiments to myself. It’s like, you know, when you travel a lot, you kind of get. Just gets mundane sometimes. And, you know, have you ever noticed when you, like, go through the airport, for instance, or if you’re going to have to go greet somebody, like you’re going up, it’s a waitress or whatever, you’re going to order food or whatever.

21:47
I’ve done the exaggerated, like, kindness with a more of a smile than I normally would, just to see what would happen. It’s amazing when you present a smile that the. Now, I’m not saying everybody responds in the positive, but 90% of them do like it. It changes. You can see somebody’s having maybe a Rough day. They’re not, they’re not in a good mood or whatever, but if you come up in a positive mood towards them and you’re smiling or whatever, it can literally change their condition for a moment.

22:16
Oh, and it’s, we’ve all been in the situation, for instance, at the airport where we’re ticked because our flight’s been canceled and we need somebody’s help and the app won’t figure it out. And I, I’ve, my father in law said it very well. He said, the more frustrated you are, the kinder you should be to the person helping you. Because all they’re doing every day is dealing with ticked off people. So if they see somebody who’s going through a pretty bad day, you know, travel related at least, and they’re smiling like it’s going to disarm them and selfishly you’re going to give probably a little bit of courtesy that maybe the other people aren’t going to get.

22:54
Totally agree. I think that they look for that person because their days already, they already know they’re dealing with everybody’s problem. And when they get the chance to deal with somebody that’s kind of delightful to use the right word, then they’re kind of like, you know, they feel like I’m gonna reward this guy for his. At least he’s being nice to me,.

23:10
You know, and it doesn’t have to.

23:11
Be fake either, right?

23:12
Like, no, you’re having a heck of a day too, aren’t you, buddy? You know, like one of those, like, yes, I know I’m not having fun. You must not be either. That bit of empathy without being sugary sweet about it, that’s not real. But like, yeah, just a smile and a solidarity nod of this kind of sucks for both of us, doesn’t it?

23:29
So I’ll tell you a funny story. My, my mom, she had a stroke a few years ago. And at the beginning we really, were, there’s seven of us and were trading out. And then sometimes if you know my sister who lives with her, she’d go out town or whatever, she’d be like, hey, I need somebody to stay with mom, or whatever. One day I said, mom, what do you want to eat? And I went and picked up sandwiches. That’s what she wanted at this. They had two people working, like nobody showed up, I guess that day. And they were busting their butts and they were like going back and forth the cash register fixing the sandwiches. And I could tell they were Overwhelmed. But I got to give them credit. I mean, at least they showed up.

24:08
And I’m thinking about myself, about the owner or the manager. I’m thinking, hey, you got two world class employees here. They’re dealing with a line of people. And then you got doordash banging on, you know, coming in constantly. And I was sitting there watching them, and I could tell some of the guests were upset by the delay. And I had my chance to talk to him and I said, hey, is it just you two? And they’re like, yeah. I said, how many you missing? They go, two. We could use a. Another. We could be up to five right now. It would help a lot. And I’m like, wow, okay. I said, well, y’ all are pretty impressive, man. I tip my hat to you. And I gave him a tip, which I normally wouldn’t do at a place like this, right?

24:46
And I just thought, here, there’s a little extra for you. I said, y’. All, y’ all are. And I just felt like, you know, somebody needed to say something to him. You know what I mean? It was one of those moments where. But I feel like in our industry, and this is part of my point was, is that the guys, I think the guys that. And gals that don’t get the credit are the people at the counter. And, and all they deal with is somebody that’s not happy they got to get a new tire today or they got an auto repair problem. And it’s just like they, you know, and everybody selfishly is always like, hey, you got to take care of my problem. Yeah. Hey, pal, I got 20 more in front of you know, and.

25:23
But they, some of these people are so amazing at being able to lower the temperature. Smile. And I, you know, this is a shout out to all you guys listening, that you guys do a phenomenal job. Oh, gosh, dealing with people’s problems at a critical moment, that they feel like it’s the worst moment in their life that day, you know, like, my car broke down or I didn’t know I was going to need a set of tires today or whatever, you know, and it’s just, I’m always amazed and I love going into shops and watching the counter people because, man, they encounter a lot of negativity.

25:56
They are the people who drive our industry, pun intended. And. Yeah. And what’s cool is that, you know, they know so much more than the consumer does about the importance of these tires. And the consumer, you know, very few people ever choose to go to a tire shop because they just want to go hang out there, right? They’re going, as you mentioned, because they’re having an issue. Either it’s a routine rotation, nothing deciding, or it’s an issue. It’s a problem that they didn’t expect to be there today. And the culture of service, and I don’t just mean customer service, but almost community service that exists at tire shops is incredible. We know that so many of these are. Are, you know, owned by multiple generations of families who pass that down and pass that to their employees.

26:38
But it doesn’t matter unless the counter worker embraces that. And for a counter worker to be like, look, I’m going to pick you up today. And you don’t know how important this tire choice is, but I do. Because they’re not just black rubber circles to me. They’re a way that I can connect with my community and make sure you’re safe on the road so that if I encounter you at a red light, you know, or you come back here for your rotation, you’re thankful to me and you. And you have that peace of mind. I think that’s what gets me is that there’s such deep knowledge about the products from. From a counter worker standpoint, whereas the number one tire brand in the world is. I don’t know. I don’t know what I drive. The consumer often doesn’t know. The counter worker does.

27:17
And they see this as a way that they can serve their communities. And you get that when you talk to these owners of the businesses, but also the counter workers that are there having those conversations.

27:26
100%. Well, that’s a great note to end on. And I tell you, I can’t thank you enough for being part of the Gain Traction podcast. This has been fun and I appreciate you coming on and telling us about the. Golly. I just. I was about to blow it. Haka Palita 01 we just call it.

27:43
The H1 that we call it haka sometimes. For sure.

27:48
Yeah, I love it. But congratulations on a great tire. And I don’t just say that to West Bowling. I say that to your entire company and your research and development group. And I mean, it’s a. I think it’s an incredible achievement.

28:04
Thank you, Mike. I will pass that along to those who are actually responsible for this. And it’s a pleasure to get to tell that story and talk about a really exciting moment for our company.

28:13
Thank you to all our listeners out there. We appreciate you. We’ll see you next time here at Gain Traction hey folks, Mike Edge here with the Gain Traction podcast. Real quick, we get a lot of people ask us, they know Gain Traction. But who’s Tread Partners? Well, Tread Partners is our parent company and they’re a marketing agency dedicated strictly to tire and automotive repair shops. Anywhere from five locations all the way up to hundreds of locations. And primarily one field that is always a pain for most people is paid.

28:41
Search or PPC or Google Ads.

28:43
We see enormous amount of waste in it and we see inefficient spend in it. If you want to know if you’re doing well or not, give us a call. We’ll help you. We’ll audit your account. We’ll look under the hood and tell you if you’re doing things the right way or the wrong way and help you optimize that spend. You can reach me and I’ll direct you in the right [email protected] or feel free to go to treadpartners.com the website to all our listeners, thank you for being part of the Game Traction Podcast. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to find more podcasts like this, please visit gaintractionpodcast.com if you’d like to make a guest recommendation, please email [email protected] this episode has been powered by Tread Partners, the leader in digital marketing for multilocation application tire and auto repair shops.

29:27
To learn more about Tread Partners, visit treadpartners. Com.

Contents hide

1 In this episode…

2 Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

3 Resources mentioned in this episode:

4 Quotable Moments:

5 Action Steps: