Monteith's Best-One named 2022 Best Places to Work finalist

ELKHART, Ind. — In Indiana, a good yield certainly could be due to the soil, though likely it's the farmer tending to the seed who knows if you nurture it, you can get back tenfold.

Monteith's Best-One Tire & Auto Care has been named one of five finalists in the 2021-2022 Tire Business Best Places to Work survey, and the man leading the company is possibly the best example as to why.

Tim Wolfe started working for the company in high school. Today, he's the president and a managing partner of the ownership group.

Wolfe is happy to share the secret to maintaining a successful and passionate team: Treat employees like they exist, like they are real, living, breathing people.

It's such an obvious answer that saying it out loud makes Wolfe chuckle, but as simple as the concept may be, it can get lost in running a successful business — where the numbers are king.

"It's almost too simple," Wolfe said. "We try our best to treat people the way that they want to be treated."

The Best Places to Work survey is conducted by Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work.

In order to participate in the survey, each business must be a retail, commercial, OTR, retread or wholesale tire dealership in the U.S., and have at least 15 employees. Each owner submits an online survey detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. Employees, meanwhile, are asked to complete, a series of questions,rating the company.

Tire Group International was named the overall winner, while other finalists include (in alphabetical order): Best One of Indy, Indianapolis; Big O Tires, Columbia, Mo.; Monteith's Best One Tire & Auto Care, Elkhart, Ind.; SimpleTire L.L.C. of Trevose, Pa.; and Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc, Phoenix.

Elkhart-based Monteith's Best-One has 156 employees among its 13 locations —10 retail and three commercial outlets — in northern Indiana. Retail locations are located in Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee, Syracuse, Wakarusa and Warsaw, Ind.

Wolfe has been president — and owner — of the 56-year-old business for a decade.

In that time, he has expanded the company's footprint to 13 from five locations, all while building on the core tenants of running an honest business set forth by the Zurcher and Monteith families.

"I have never felt like a number in the company," Wolfe said. "I've always felt like it's my extended family."

That's the same mentality he brings to running the business. He said he hates being called a "boss."

"My job is to serve them and put them in the best position so they can succeed with what they want to do with their lives — even if it's outside the company.

"We try our best to make what's important to our people, important to us."

In 1966, Ray Monteith, a Firestone tire salesman weary of the road, partnered with Paul Zurcher, founder of Zurcher Tire and the Best-One Tire & Service franchise group, to open the first Monteith's Tire in Warsaw, Ind.

In 1968, Kim Coleman joined the business and would one day end up running it. Coleman and Monteith partnered to build a second store in 1983. Under Coleman's management, the business grew to five locations by 2008.

In 2011, Coleman retired and Wolfe bought the company. Monteith's is a founding member of the Best One Tire & Service group that has more than 250 locations throughout the Midwest.

"I've been really fortunate to work under some great leadership," Wolfe said. "The Zurcher family and the Monteith family are absolutely amazing."

Wolfe was hired at Monteith's in 1994 while he was in high school to clean and work as a tire technician. Over the years, he also worked as a salesman and general manager before buying the business.

"There are a ton of people in this company — like myself — where this is the only job we've ever had," Wolfe said.

He didn't have long-term plans when he started at the business, but Wolfe said he liked the camaraderie and decent pay, "and I really liked working with all the people."

Monteith's has several employees who have been with the business for a long time. Wolfe said about 10 employees have been there for 35 years and 30 to 40 have been there 25 years or more. Most employees have been there 10 years or more.

"There's a misconception that money is everything to everybody. … When you try to get to know your people, you find out there's other things that are more important."

Building that relationship is important, he said. He credits their support for his success.

The business is led, he said, by an outstanding leadership team. Wolfe said the store managers are the ones who set a good workplace culture.

"I have a ton of people around me who are way smarter than I am, and I try to hang my hat on just loving and caring for our people," he said.

"If our people feel like they are loved and cared for, and they're not just a number, then they are going to go out of their way to take care of customers. If you take care of customers, you'll get repeat business and profits come.

"We put a huge emphasis on our people and try to make it as good of a place to work as we can."

Monteith's employs 156, but Wolfe said that number would be closer to 170 if they could find enough new workers.

"I would put our people up against anybody in the business. We have a good culture, and we're poised for growth. … We'd have more locations if we had more people."

Wolfe said the business finds its best new hires by asking its best current employees for recommendations. Wolfe said talented people have a "magnetism" that attracts other talented people.

"When our best people bring in people, those are often the ones that turn out to be outstanding hires," Wolfe said.

He said they will sometimes "cast a net" and hire a handful of high schoolers, and maybe one of those hires turns into a long-term employee.

"Then we go to that guy, 'Hey, you have any friends who might be interested in a job, too?"

The company finds small ways to show extra appreciation — though some have been hampered by COVID — like employee appreciation nights or group activities such as a sporting event. Wolfe said if a certain location has a great month, company management might stop over and cook lunch. They also hold running contests for staff.

Wolfe said he carries around gift cards to Texas Roadhouse, "maybe I'll quiz an employee on our core values, and if they are right, they get a steak on me."

Wolfe said he feels most of the employees feel comfortable being upfront and honest with company leadership and that allows them to have constructive, open conversations.

"We might not always agree, but we talk things through, and come out with a clear direction," he said.

Along with paying well and treating their employees with respect, Wolfe said the company also puts an emphasis on training.

"You can become excellent, but you can't become perfect. So, it's a continuous pursuit to get better, and we put a premium on any type of training," Wolfe said.

He added that for technicians, the company will pay for training and have techs on the clock while they're training.