Grand Rapids Auto Repair

This little petunia sprouted this spring by the front door between our blacktop and the building. Las year we had a pot of black petunias by the door and a seed must have fallen into the crack. Along comes the rain and sun, germination, growth and blooming occur and we have a lone flower by the door. No one told this little petunia that spring 2020 was going to be unpredictable and not the year we expected or wanted. The petunia seed just dealt with the landscape in which it landed and did its job. We appreciate the dash of color and natural beauty every morning when we walk in. We feel the same way right now. Changes and unpredictability have been the hallmarks of our summer so far. What hasn't changed is the need to create a comfortable environment for our customers. We sanitize and utilize our space to create social distancing. We're in the process of creating an 'outdoor social distancing space' for those that would be more comfortable ou ... read more

Hi and welcome to my blog! I took a bit of a sabbatical that went a little longer than planned. Anyway, I’m glad you’re here! A little bit about me. I’m married to Jeff, one of the owners of Arie Nol Auto Center. Jeff has been here since 1976 when his dad, Arie Nol, started the business. I came on board in 2000 when Jeff purchased the business from his family. I have to admit up front that I don’t love cars but I do love business and people. I do have a lot of car knowledge because I work with an amazing team that I continually learn from. While this is a blog for an automotive repair facility, it is not necessarily an ‘automotive blog’. What type of content can you expect? It depends. Some weeks, it will have information about what is happening at Arie Nol Auto Center (referred to internally as The ANAC), issues we’ve seen with vehicles that are common and ways to avoid them, and sometimes, just a conversation about whatever needs to be chat ... read more

During the course of our day, we have many people in and out of our office. Customers, vendors, and salespeople are constantly walking in and out. There is research that shows that when you smile at someone, you’re not only making an impression on them but yourself as well. Smiling lowers stress and some research even suggests that you can improve your own mood just by smiling. We have a vendor that comes every day who is always smiling. When you ask him how he’s doing, he says, “I am peaceful.” Everything in his day has not gone perfectly as planned but he still smiles and says, “I am peaceful.” I am not always peaceful and he laughed when I mentioned that to him one day. His response was, “You woke up this morning and got out of bed. For that, you should be thankful.” He was right. On any given day, our computers may start acting up, parts didn’t arrive, frustration builds, the Internet is slow etc. Someone has a car that is towed in because it unexpectedly broke dow ... read more