Big Jim’s acts small and sells big

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Forklift operators are asking for tires that help keep their workplaces clean

Big Jim’s Eastside Tire Big Jim’s acts small and sells big

‘Do something for one customer and they tell their neighbors’

By Joy Kopcha

Farmers have been the backbone of Big Jim’s Eastside Tire Inc. ever since the tire business was founded in May 1990.

It’s grown into a two-store operation in eastern North Dakota in a region known as the Red River Valley. The valley’s fertile farmland is home to corn, wheat, sunflower and sugar beet crops.

Jim Hiebert has been known as “Big Jim” for as long as he can remember, and he’s worked with these farmers ever since he moved to Grand Forks, N.D., in 1979. He spent 11 years working in local tire stores before responding to his customers’ requests to open his own store. “I started Big Jim’s with $11,000, and $5,000 of it was borrowed,” he says with a laugh.

The business’ reach and customer base is expansive, serving farmers in a 100-mile radius from stores in Grand Forks and Minto. Combined, the two tires-only locations generate $5 million in sales.

In Grand Forks, there are four bays, but some work has to be done outdoors due to the size of the equipment. That means even on an early December day, with snow on the ground, temperatures in the teens and winds whipping at 35 mph, tire technicians are changing truck tires outside.

A growing business

It used to be that Big Jim’s passenger and light truck tire business was limited to the pickups of farmers who brought the rest of their equipment to the store. But there’s been a shift. In 2017 the owner of American Tire Service Inc. in Grand Forks decided to retire, and he sold his two-store operation to another North Dakota-based tire dealer, Northwest Tire Inc. In September Northwest closed the American Tire store down the street from Big Jim’s.

Big Jim’s may have been “built on ag,” but Dick Hiebert says the PLT business has really been booming since that nearby American Tire store closed. Dick Hiebert is Big Jim’s younger brother, and he manages the business.

“I used to call it filler, or a back up to our commercial business, because as the seasons would change, then the PLT would kick in. But in the past year our PLT has tripled,” he says.

But the closure of American Tire did more than boost Big Jim’s consumer business. It also opened up access to a key farm tire brand. Big Jim’s has become a certified dealer with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

“We had tried to get it a couple years prior, but it would have been us and American and Interstate Power Systems, and that’s too many in too close of a radius,” Dick Hiebert says. “So when American closed, that put us in position.

“For a lot of John Deere tractors and Case IH, the OE tire is Goodyear. Firestone’s getting in, and Michelin’s getting in, but Goodyear has a tire for everything out there.”

Tyson Lafferty props up a tire against a Caterpillar road grader. Big Jim’s replaced all six tires on the piece of equipment while the customer, a local farmer, waited.

The best marketing? Taking care of customers

Big Jim’s prides itself on its hometown roots. “We’re locally owned, small and not corporate,” says Dick Hiebert.

He and Jeramy Lafferty are the primary salesmen, but they’re just as likely to unload a pickup truck of tires from the warehouse or pull vehicles in and out of the bays as any of the tire technicians. Jamie Jacobson is the shop manager, but he’s also learning sales so he can fill in up front.

Big Jim’s isn’t the kind of tire store that has massage chairs and a cappuccino machine in the lobby, but the waiting area

Jeramy Lafferty, right, and Dick Hiebert are the two primary salesmen at the Big Jim’s location in Grand Forks.

is larger than it used to be. Jim Hiebert says about five years ago they turned a former storage area into a showroom. Tires and wheels are on display, including some used sets, and Dick Hiebert and Lafferty each have a workspace where they can work with customers. “It’s a pretty nice showroom compared to what we had before,” Jim Hiebert says. “I do know that since we’ve done the showroom and waiting area, we’ve had more females come in and buy tires.”

Jim Hiebert doesn’t think the increase in female customers is a whim. He attributes it to his most successful and powerful marketing technique.

“We do radio advertising. We did some TV. Firestone puts a national ad out and we’re on that. We did mailing coupons for a while. We’ve been in the Yellow Pages and phone books. We’ve tried a bit of everything,” he says. But what works best?

“You do something for one customer and they go and tell their neighbors. Word of mouth has been the best.”

The company’s website also feeds business. Dick Hiebert says it’s not uncommon for parents of University of North Dakota students to call and arrange for new tires for their children — and pay for them over the phone.

Clip boards hang from wires so tire technicians can quickly move from one job to the next.

Wheel polishing: a service for the future

In June 2017 Big Jim’s made a $100,000 investment with the purchase of a Vis Automated Wheel Polishing machine. Tire technician Brandon Abb is assigned the job of keeping a steady rotation of truck wheels going in and out of the machine. Abb says it doesn’t take long for him to get behind schedule.

Jim Hiebert has been looking at the machines for a couple of years, “but I didn’t have any debt and I was trying to stay that way.” He saved $30,000 by purchasing a unit the company used for demonstrations, and expects it will take two-and-a-half years for it to pay for itself.

It’s a service farmers and truck fleets have adopted. And after one farmer polishes the wheels on his trucks, neighbors notice.

“Years ago the farmers just wanted to make sure they got their crops in, but now they’ve got to look good when they’re getting their crops in,” says Jim Hiebert.

Desperate for good employees

Given the steady stream of traffic into the store in Grand Forks, it’s clear Big Jim’s has built a loyal following. Online reviewers heap praise on the business, calling the employees “knowledgeable, courteous and fast.” Others rave about Big Jim’s prices and “outstanding service.”

Dick Hiebert says it all comes down to the personal service the company’s dozen employees provide. Lafferty has worked for Big Jim’s for four years. He came here after working in management for a government contractor and likes the task of providing one-on-one service for customers.

“I try to make the best out of everything, and make everyone smile when they leave,” Lafferty says.

That effort goes a long way, and the Hiebert brothers acknowledge finding employees willing to go the extra mile is their biggest obstacle. 2017 was “probably the worst year” since Dick Hiebert joined his brother in business in 2000.

Grand Forks is North Dakota’s third-largest city with almost 53,000 people. In the combined economies of Grand Forks and the adjacent East Grand Forks, Minn., the unemployment rate was 2.2% as of November 2017. North Dakota has the second-lowest unemployment rate in the nation — 2.6% — and Minnesota is No. 10 at 3.1%.

Big Jim’s has included its search for employees in radio advertisements, and sometimes has turned to a local temporary agency for help.

It’s a battle constantly on the minds of the Hiebert brothers. Despite a state minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, Jim Hiebert says the business typically starts tire technicians without any experience at $12 or $13 an hour. Those with experience earn more, as do those who work in the company’s service trucks. The sales team is paid salary plus commission.

“If they show that they want to work and do things on their own, then they’re the ones who get paid the most.”

During the busy summer harvest season, the overtime hours are plentiful. “All summer long, I don’t care about the overtime, or if they average 110 or 120 hours every paycheck. If they want to work, the overtime is there for them. And I’ve never laid anybody off in the winter when it’s slower.”

When they find a good employee, the key is to “try to take care of them,” Jim Hiebert says. “If they’ve got troubles, you help them out, and you hope that they’ll hang with you.”

The expansion conundrum

The struggle to find employees has played a role in Big Jim’s expansion plans. The heart of North Dakota’s oil and gas boom was more than 200 miles west of Grand Forks, and Dick Hiebert admits “I’m kind of glad” it wasn’t any closer.

The escalation of the state’s oil drilling and gas exploration led to incredible growth in the communities and businesses that touch those industries, and that included tires. “We did get a lot of runoff from it because it got so intense up there, and prices got so crazy, that they could come in a service truck or trailer, buy parts and tires, drive back and still justify the savings from what they were paying there. If I was selling them a $350 drive tire, it was literally $500 there.

“I’m kind of happy we didn’t get accustomed to it, because there are a lot of brand new buildings up there sitting empty.”

One man even offered to build Big Jim’s a building and act as a silent partner if the Hieberts would start a tire store in the region. Jim Hiebert said no.

“If you could find decent employees, I wouldn’t be scared to open up a few more stores.” ■