Shop Name: 512 Lube

Location: Sturgis, Michigan

Owner: Tiffany Nickell

Bay Count: 2

Staff Count: 8

Daily Car Count: 53

Positivity energy and a commitment to customer service with a personal touch have made 512 Lube a bright spot in the Sturgis, Michigan, community for nearly a quarter-century.

Located along a busy stretch of South Centerville Road, 512 Lube sits about 4 miles north of the Indiana-Michigan border. The shop’s exterior is a clean gray with a red 512 Lube logo sign across the top of the building’s façade, along with well-maintained large flower pots along the side of the building. Inside, 512 Lube has two bays with pits and a waiting area for customers.

A marker board inside the bay area notes a different “holiday” each day. On the day of NOLN’s visit, employees, dressed in fluorescent 512 Lube-branded shirts, were recognizing “National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day.”

Despite having just the two bays, 512 Lube’s average car count sits at a robust 53 vehicles per day, and earlier this year, the shop hit a single-day record with 99 vehicles serviced. Fridays are their busiest day of the week. The shop is closed on Sundays and open until 2:30 on Saturdays.

Nickell transitioned from a career in the medical field to help her father, Tim Littman, launch 512 Lube in 2002. Nickell had no experience in the automotive service industry, but brought an appetite for knowledge and a can-do attitude to the challenge. In a largely male-dominated industry, she says she has found lots of support.

“I went to other shops through my vendors. I’ve been all over the state,” Nickell says. “I got lots of feedback and wanted to see what I could improve on. My biggest thing was from our customers. What do you want to see? What can I do to improve? I want to know because customer service is my thing. You want somebody to treat you how you want to be treated.”

Being accessible to guests has become a hallmark of Nickell’s leadership at the shop. Customers can reach Nickell on her personal cell phone. She is on a first-name basis with many guests. During a recent sit-down with NOLN, Nickell effortlessly rattled off the names of several longtime customers, along with their vehicles and fun anecdotes. The approach has created positive vibes around the shop.

“I want to make sure they're having a good experience here,” she says. “With any business, you’re going to have errors and mistakes. If we did something wrong, we make it right, but we really do our program to prevent that. We have our call-out systems. We’re more or less triple-checking on stuff, and that has been instilled from day one.”

Aside from oil changes, 512 Lube also offers filters, and transmission, coolant, fuel system, and gear box services. Next door, Nickell’s sister operates a car wash business as a separate entity.

Nickell and her team at 512 Lube are active in their community, including supporting the area’s Special Olympics team, donating tips to sponsored families, and conducting giveaways during the holidays. Their kindness has helped grow a loyal customer base that includes a guest who regularly brings donuts from a local market and a restaurant owner who frequently sends over pizzas.

Operations manager Dennis Saltzman tells NOLN a typical day on the job is as much about listening to customers share their personal stories as it is about turning wrenches and swapping out filters.

“People will just start talking about what’s going with them,” Saltzman says. “And you know what? It’s 5 minutes that I can listen to them, and that makes them happy.”

Adds Nickell: “We’ve always been like that. My dad always said rise above. That’s a big thing, too. There’s a lot of negativity out there. I said, let’s change it around. What can you do to bring a positive to somebody’s day, too? … Be a ray of sunshine toward somebody else.”