If you’re looking for a company you can trust when it comes to replacing tires on your vehicle, or about any other type of automobile service or repair, you might turn to a company I trust: Hillside Tire and Service.  I trust the company at all of its 5 locations because we’ve investigated their business practices, and the way they treat their customers.  As a result I am proud to endorse Hillside Tire and Service as Gephardt Approved.

Hillside Tire and Service began through the frustration of partner Mike Doolin.  “I kept taking my car to places to get it fixed, and it wasn’t fixed.  In fact, something else was wrong.  I wanted to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” says Mike.   So, in 1991, Mike partnered with experienced tire store operator Steve Brand, and Hillside Tire and Service was born.

“We want our customers to think of our stores as their neighborhood garage,” says Steve.  “If you have a problem, you don’t call a far-away 800 number.  You see the owners at the stores every day.”  

Partner Mark Robison says their business is based on word-of-mouth, with 85 per cent of their customers return customers.  “Our whole philosophy is nobody leaves the store angry,” says Mark.  “They come to trust us over the years.  Often, our customers just throw us the keys and tell us to do what needs to be done, and we do it.  Customers are like family.  We try to do every job right the first time.  But if a car gets returned, it gets the first priority.”

And, the partners tell me they are in it for their employees, too.  Most of the mechanics have been at Hillside Tire and Service for over 10 years.  “We want our employees to make careers out of their work with us,” says Mark.  “They like their work, and as a result, they like their customers.”  Steve adds, “We watch our people grow.  We want our employees to be their best, and we encourage that.”

The partners say they have, indeed, watched their employees grow.  They say some have qualified as top ASE (automotive service excellence) mechanics while working at Hillside Tire and Service.  Some have taken their training and experience to other shops, only to return and be welcomed back at Hillside.

The owners grew up in Salt Lake City, and work to become involved in the communities where the stores are located.  “Each store takes on the personality of the manager, and the personality of the customers,” says Mike.   “We want people to feel comfortable doing business here,” says Mark.   And, he adds, “We’re sponsors of local football and baseball teams.”  And, there’s something else that Mark is proud of:  He is the founder of MTM hunting.  MTM hunting is an organization which provides outdoor hunting adventures for the physically challenged.  Mark says he has the backing of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in this effort.  “We want to show those who are paralyzed or otherwise physically challenged that there is life after a tragedy.”

So, there you go:  Hillside Tire and Service.  Now you know the company philosophy as they work to form relationships with new customers.  Now you know how the partners run their business, and how they treat customers.  And now you know why I trust this company, and why I am proud to endorse Hillside Tire and Service as Gephardt Approved.

--Bill Gephardt