Grant’s Auto Care came to fruition in a whirlwind fashion. Within a month and a half, Grant and Donna Yemen had a baby girl and decided it was time to open their own garage. That was almost twenty years ago. Now, they have a flourishing business that’s been based on a partnership that really works.
When they opened, Donna started doing the books. She was on maternity leave and just stepped in. She didn’t have a background in bookkeeping, but an accountant friend showed her the basics. They had a playpen in the office and customers would come in and hold the baby.
Their strong sense of family extends to their employees and their customers alike. “Some businesses talk about their employees as team members.” Donna remarks, “That phrase ‘team member’ feels really corporate. Our employees are considered family.” And you can tell they mean it. They talk about their employees with warmth and respect and take care to support them in meaningful ways.
The same attitude carries over in how they approach their customers. Grant likes to call it old-fashioned service and it’s all about what’s best for the customer. An example of what that means to Grant? “A guy brought his truck in. We saw something wrong and we called the dealer. We made arrangements to have it fixed at the dealer, under warranty, and had it back here at the end of the day. We want to make life easy for our customers.”
Part of making life easy for his customers also means meeting their unique needs. Different people have different needs, and it is important to Grant that he find out what those needs are. “I ask a whole bunch of questions: Where do you drive? How heavy is your right foot? How many people are driving the car? I don’t want to sell you something you don’t need, but I don’t want to undersell you either.”
Grant uses an interesting analogy to describe this role. “You are trusting me, that I am going to put the recipe together. I am my pickiest customer. I want to make sure that it is right. I ask myself, ‘What can I do to make this better?’
Looking back, Grant marvels at what it’s like to see customers who he met when they were in strollers come in with their own cars and families. Now their daughter
is getting involved in the business, too. She has started taking care of their social media accounts and recently ran a Facebook contest.
Grant Yemen is the owner of Grant’s Auto Care and a proud member of the Guelph Garage Owners Association. The GGOA is a network of like-minded garage owners who have a reputation of doing the right service at the right time at a fair price. Their member list, code of ethics, and community involvement projects can be found listed on their website.
How to get a warranty on a used car
Buying a used car will certainly save you a few dollars, but chances are, the warranty has run out and with that goes the security of knowing you won’t be
paying out major dollars for a repair.
But there is a unique product available that not only mitigates the chances of a costly repair, but will also provide you with a warranty when used in your vehicle.
BG Products are a specialized line of vehicular fluids that can extend the life of your vehicle and make it run more efficiently, even improving gas mileage. They have product lines for fuel systems, engines, transmissions, brakes, power steering, cooling systems, batteries, drive lines and climate control systems.
You won’t find this product anywhere on retail shelves, but you can find it at Grant’s Auto Care and from other members of the GGOA. “I have guys come in and they want to try these products. They’ve done their research and they say they’ve heard BG Products are the best.” Grant explains.
There are warranty coverage options for new and used vehicles.
Book your next service with a member of the Guelph Garage Owners Association:
Big Wheel
College Auto Tech
Grants Auto
Hayden’s Garage
JMH Auto
Mister Transmission
True Centre
Ted’s Tire Discounter
Auto Cool
Automechanix
Autosparks