'Everybody Is Calling': Twin Snow Storms Mean Good Business For Tire Shops
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) – With slick, snowy roads leading to a lot of slipping and sliding, many Colorado drivers are scrambling to replace their tires this week. For tire shops, that procrastination means big business.
At Hometown Tire Pros in Centennial, the first big snow of each year is often compared to Black Friday, and this year was no different.
"It's a huge explosion. The first snowstorm, that's where everybody kind of freaks out," said General Manager Grant Nuttall. "They go around that corner and they realize they're not turning, they're still going straight, so that's when everybody comes in all at once."
On Tuesday, workers were as busy as they've been all year replacing tires.
"The first one is always the biggest and then it slowly dies down, but these two snow storms we've had have been pretty severe," Nuttall said. "Everybody is calling trying to get tires right away."
John Caughey is one of several customers who came to get new tires. He tells CBS4 he did his research and found the right tires, but waited too long to come in.
"I should've gotten them a week or two ago before we got snow," Caughey said. "Tires ain't cheap and you want to hope and get as much miles on them as you can."
As a result, Caughey and others got stuck with a longer wait.
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"It's hard because we are selling out what we have in the inventory, trying to get replenished from our current supplier, and they just can't get here in time," said Nutall.
For a family business, that's a good problem to have. Nuttall joked that even the experts procrastinate too.
"I even had some of my guys put their snow tires on today," he said.
If you aren't sure if it's time to replace your tires, Nuttall said to watch your wear bars and try not to let the tread life go below half.
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