Good Times
The History of Gordons Goodyear
In 1954, Bill Gordon, a lifetime Montrealer, had a revelation. After several years of working for a stockbroker, he realized that the real money to be made was in the retail business. Good, hardworking hands-on business. Though newly married to his skiing sweetheart Elizabeth and with his daughter Heather barely one, Bill borrowed $1500 from his Scottish grandmother and set out to become an entrepreneur. And finally gave up his dream of becoming a hockey player. Though he still finds time to ski and rollerblade with his five grandchildren.
With his nest egg in hand, Bill approached Sun Oil with his idea to open a service station at the corner of Cavendish and St. Jacques, at the time called Upper Lachine Road - the main route into downtown Montreal. There were already about fourteen other service stations on this route. None of them survive today. Credit Bill Gordon’s competitiveness. And an athlete’s fitness level that allowed Bill to work 60-70 hours a week. After all, this was a job that took “more brawn than brain” said the Sun Oil Company.
After being selected for training, Bill opened Gordons Sunoco to provide typical gas station services in his three bay building. Bill’s theory about this being a high traffic location began to pay off. Soon Bill was selling a lot of gasoline driven by a customer service ethic that started at the pump. In the winter, he supplemented his income by snowplowing the surrounding motel parking lots. And he introduced Pinky Stamps.
Bill figured that these Pinky Stamps – which customers could use for gifts at Steinbergs – at the time – the largest grocer in Montreal - would keep his customers coming back. And boy was he right. Within a short time, little Gordons Sunoco was selling over 1,000,000 gallons of gas a year. And Bill bought his first home to accommodate the family - now including his son Bruce.
Bill was always on the forefront of technical innovation and he credits the purchase of a wheel alignment machine as the source of his second major revelation. Though it was small consolation to his Presbyterian parents - that these revelations often occurred while Bill was working on Sunday. Because Gordons was open seven days a week – in the 1950’s.
In the process of doing wheel alignments, Bill realized that when you removed the tires on a car, it opened up a whole world of repair and maintenance possibilities. So, seven years after he opened the station, he jumped into the tire business.
With the assistance of Sunoco, the building was expanded by a further three bays. The tire business grew in leaps and bounds – driven by a huge demand for good value winter tires. For $8.50, at Gordons, in 1960 you could get a quality recapped winter tire. To sell 300 recaps in a day was nothing.
With its huge gasoline volumes, burgeoning tire business and the resulting growth in engine and general repairs, Gordons was now the dominant player on the street. And people were starting to take notice.
One of Bill’s friends worked for the Goodyear Tire company. One thing led to another and Bill was invited to a dinner at the exclusive St. Denis Club. So he put on his best suit and went to meet the man from Akron, Ohio. As it turned out, it was the same man Bill had noticed earlier in the day sitting outside his parking lot for over two hours…watching. After a three hour meeting, Bill had a handshake deal in his hand to have Goodyear assist in building whatever he needed to sell Goodyear tires at his location.
Over the next two years, Bill’s dream service centre took shape. With twelve well lit, clean bays and electric doors. These doors were another Bill Gordon revelation. Because Bill realized that every minute wasted manually opening and closing a door – was a minute taken away from work. And a risk to his valuable employees health. This after all was going to be a “speed shop.” That is what his customer wanted.
On the subject of employees, Bill’s theory was that a well-trained, well-paid person, who was given good, clean, working conditions and an opportunity to succeed would become a loyal, valued employee. And an understanding partner in his customer service ethic. This may explain why he is revered by his employees today and has virtually no turnover. To Bill, a good tire man, is a godsend.
Bill also knew the importance of advertising to grow his business. And for 25 years the “old redhead”, Red Storey, reflected the values that Bill wanted to communicate about his business – fast, good quality work and fair play.
Always supporting Bill was his wife Elizabeth who did the Gordons books for 25 years, before succumbing to cancer in 1988.
In 1990, Gordons Goodyear fully financed a further extension to complete the building to its’ present form. And the Gordon family were all involved. Bill’s retired father enjoyed helping out with customer service and traffic flow. Both son Bruce and daughter Heather were also beginning to work in the business. Learning the tire trade from the ground up.
At 70-something, Bill can still be seen working the customer service desk and meeting some of the thousands of people who come through their doors every year. The operational reins of the business are now firmly in Bruce Gordon’s hands. And he and Heather have some exciting plans on the drawing board for the next stage of their growth.
But Bill Gordon is going to keep his “hands on” for a while longer. Just in case, he gets another revelation.
