BOSTON (July 20, 2016) — A lot of tire dealerships are happy if they can elicit a couple of “likes” on any given post on their business Facebook pages — after all, they are tire dealerships.
So what could boost your views? How about including a photo of a movie actor stopping into the shop, like Dorchester Tire Service in Boston did on July 18. The response has been overwhelming, according to General Manager Gary Saks.
It all started when Brendan Fraser — you may have seen him in “The Mummy” and assorted other movies — came into the busy dealership with a flat tire. (After all, flat tires are the great equalizer!)
Mr. Saks told Tire Business that he was in his office so he wasn't sure if anyone recognized the Hollywood star when he drove in with his SUV to drop off the disabled tire. But when Mr. Fraser returned to pick it up, the buzz started spreading through the shop.
Mr. Fraser, who was in town filming a movie, was gracious enough to get his photo taken with Mr. Saks, who gave him a Dorchester Tire hat.
Mr. Saks said that since he posted that photo with Mr. Fraser wearing his new hat and the tag, “Not even Brendan Fraser can chase a Mummy with a flat tire!” — the post has generated its own buzz.
He guesstimates that thousands have seen his post, which has garnered “likes” from people as far away as Brazil and Mexico and has been shared on a couple of Brendan Fraser fan pages.
The post has seen more activity than any other post on Dorchester's page. The previously most popular post was a “Throwback Thursday” post picturing an old Boston drive-in, he said, noting that one ever knows what post or topic is going to generate responses.
And for the record, Dorchester Tire fixed Mr. Fraser's flat tire in about 20 minutes, using the proper patch repair method, Mr. Saks said.