Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/567620
MTD September 2015 Tire Dealer of the Year keting area of where you're at. I don't stay in a place that's got a million people. I couldn't survive with only passenger tires. We're just a diferent model. I don't know if it's the best model, but it's the only model I know." Business is tough, Benton says. Even though he clearly thrives on the thrill and satisfaction of serving people, whether they are his customers or his employees, he's humble and thankful that he's survived. "I worry every day. W hen you've got to pay people on Tursday night, have you got enough money to make sure you're covered? You've got to pay your bills. You've got to take care of your people. It's a daily struggle." Staying on top of federal and state regulations is critical, and so many of the business' toughest problems are out of the Bentons' control. Insurance is a particularly sore subject. Black's Tire provides a pre-tax health insurance plan for its employees, and the Afordable Care Act dictates that the company can't deduct more than 9.5% of an employee's wages to cover its share of the insurance. So if there are two employees earning the same wage, and one is a hard worker and reliable, and the other calls of work ofen and thus doesn't earn as much, Black's Tire is lef to pay the balance of the insurance cost for that lower-performing employee. Te Bentons are talking about how they need to get more active in lobbying their lawmakers about these kinds of struggles. But adding that to the to-do list is tough, and it becomes one more thing to balance. "If you're running a family business, you've got to keep it going day-to-day," Benton says. "If you don't stay on it day- to-day, you lose it. "Tat's probably what's wrong with people like us. We're just siting here trying to keep it going. Whatever the compliance is, we deal with it. Lots of our problems are out of our control." Tey have identifed one solution. Te Bentons already are telling their eight grandchildren, who range in ages from 2 to 17, someone is going to need to atend law school. Tey're hoping another grandchild considers accounting. A graduate of the Southern School of Hard Knocks Te third generation of Bentons is in the wings, but for now Benton and his three sons are leading the way. Dianne atributes the company's growth to the couple's children. "We would have never grown like we have if they hadn't been here helping us. Tey've been real good about helping fnd people, and Ryan's real good about fnding locations. Tey've helped us grow." Te company's store count has more than quadrupled since the oldest son, Rick, graduated from college and joined the business. Daily production at the retread shop, which son Jeremy oversees, has increased more than 3,000% since the company acquired it and moved into a new location. Going to and graduating from college has been the one requirement for each of the Benton boys. Neither of their parents went to college — Benton jokes he graduated from the Southern School of Hard Knocks. Dianne took some computer classes afer high school. "Our main goal in life was all three of our children would have college degrees, and before they could come work for the company full time, they had to fnish college. And they did," she says. "Tat was some of our accomplishment, too." It's common for parents to dream of a beter life for their children. But at the same time Black's Tire employees recognize The retail portion of the company's training center features a sales counter, tire display and parts shelves. Benton says his vendors are supportive of the facility and also ofer on-site training and tips. Black's Tire also uses the space for new employee orientation. No one works for Ricky Benton Even though there are 525 people on the Black's Tire Service Inc. payroll, owner Ricky Benton says not a single one of those people works for him. "Nobody works for me," says Benton, 60. "They work with me as a team. I say that and I mean that." During a tour of the company's corporate office and adjoining distribution center, the largest of four warehouses in the Carolinas, Benton's introductions of members of his team show he means it. Not once did he introduce someone as his employee. Instead, he rattled off names and talked about how long each person has worked with him, and also connected the dots between family members from one department to the next. "I told somebody the other day that I don't do nothing; the boys run the business. But they said, 'You're the straw that stirs up the drink.'" He didn't mind that analogy, and likes to think of himself as "just one of the guys." 40