Speaker: Joe Durkoske, GM Retail Stores
How did you find your way to your current role at Flynn's Tire?
Joe Durkoske: Hello. I started selling tires as a senior in college in 1988 part time for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. I created an internship with the university and with Good Year. So I got paid $6 an hour and some credits towards graduation and that through my senior year. And then after I graduated I became a full time salesperson for a Good Year in a retail store system. And then I became an assistant manager shortly after that, working at a few different locations. In 1992 they approached me that they had purchased the division of E. W. Tire in south western PA. and they asked me if I would go open their newest location, they were building and run that and so I did. So in 1992 I came to Pittsburgh and very close to my heart being from northwestern PA. So I was very happy to do that. And uh in 1997 Good Year sold the E. W. Tire division to the Flynn family And they already had multiple stores in the area and soon would find out it was one of the best things that happened to me and a lot of my peers at the time. So in 1997, 25 years ago in April, I became a manager for Flynn's Tire Group and I ran a few stores for them. And then a couple years after that I ran six locations overseeing a small group of them or half of them. And in 2003 I reported to the Manager when he left, I applied and interviewed for the General Manager position to run the retail division for the Flynn family and Joe Flynn, President uh, saw me work and trusted, trusted me to lead the group to the next level. And together we've been doing that ever since 2003. That's pretty much what I've, what I've been doing and enjoy doing.
Could you share a few details about the favorite part of your role and the team at Flynn's Tire?
Joe Durkoske: I'd say in my role overseeing a couple of dozen retail stores in a couple of dozen different towns. I have a lot of flexibility and a lot of input and decision making of the retail operations for the most part. And I get to surround myself and work with people that have similar qualities and principles that I have and that the family has. And as we grow this business and create this culture. That's very important that we do that and do it right. We get, we can react quickly or a medium sized company in growing, but we but we act in decision make like a small company. And I think it's important that we make those decisions quickly and as well thought out as possible for our customers and our associates. So to me that's important. We get to do that. So I get to work with quality people whether it's at the retail store, interviewing a tire tech that's 18 or 19 years old, or one of our skilled master techs, 20 plus years or a store manager or salesperson that's been with us for a long time. Uh I like doing that and getting out and when I get to visit the stores and see that people see how they're growing uh and see where they've come from and to now. And that's that's refreshing and rewarding. And some days working whether it's a store level or even upper management or at a corporate office. We have a lot of good people and some days the job is uh is more fun than it is work. And not everybody can say that.
What stands out to you about the culture at Flynn's Tire?
Joe Durkoske: when I think of Flynn's Tire and our culture, a lot of things come to mind. But one thing that sticks out is that the Flynn Way, which is in this little tri-fold here, which we give to all of our applicants or new hires, we go over there with them and inside of this little tri-fold is our philosophy, which we call Flynn-osophy and our mission statements in there. But most important to our culture I think is our our core values and how I remember them is tread. T R E H D Spelled a little differently. But T for teamwork. R for respect, E for enthusiasm, H for honesty and D for dependability we try to hire and unfortunately sometimes fire based on those principles, a lot of people have these similar core values that we do, but we really try to walk the talk and that's that's what I think hopefully makes us different than than than some others and it's been proven to work and it's been very beneficial for us. I think I think Ben Franklin once said well done is better than well said. So we, we really try to live by those core values and I think that stands out the most uh as far as how we created our culture that we've created here and continue to create every day
