Teel’s Quality Tire takes care of its community

BY KADIE TAYLOR

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

Teel’s Quality Tire provides automotive services to LaFayette locals. Offering customer service and convenient car care.

“As far as tires, we do linings, brakes and we do minor mechanical repairs,” said service manager Jakiea Autrey. “We do some major repairs for some of our long-term customers, because they would rather not take their vehicle to some other place. We have in the past replaced transmissions, engines and things of that nature, but we pretty much do everything except for rebuilding transmissions and rebuilding engines. We do tires, oil changes, brakes, alignment, we do all kinds of AC repair work and all kinds of heater work, so we dive into a little bit of everything.”

As he cares for cars and customers, Autrey said his passion for automotive maintenance comes from a desire to help customers.

“There's never a dull moment,” he said. “You meet some interesting people. There's always something different. You learn new things every day. I get to deal with amazing people — work with amazing people. I love what I do. And in this industry, you have to love what you do, because if it was easy, everybody would be doing it. I always tell customers all the time, ‘I'm here to help you.’ I know when cars break down or you have tire issues, it can be stressful. I'm here to make your day a little bit easier and get things fixed. I love doing that, just helping others.”

Autrey said he began working at Teel’s Quality Tire in 2017, shortly after Shane Teel became the owner, and over his time working in LaFayette, he has seen the customers return again and again for their car care needs.

“I've definitely seen our clientele grow, and I continue to see repeat customers come back to us and tell other customers about us,” he said. “We've grown closer together — we're more like a family here, because some of the guys that work in the shop have been with us for five years or more. So I’ve definitely seen our clientele grow; that's the most important thing here, and then we try to keep our same customers — repeat customers are how you stay in business. And I tell people, ‘I try to treat everybody how I would like to be treated.’”

As he cares for locals in LaFayette, Autrey said he works to provide a hometown experience that offers competitive prices without a commute.

“I tried to make it to where when you go to Valley or Auburn, your pricing is going to be different — you're going to pay a little bit more there, and you're in the bigger areas,” he said. “I try to make it where, if I can’t compete with those places, I can at least do something more for customers here so that they stay here and they come here and do business with us. If we can help out, to try to take you back and forth to work, where you need to drop your car one morning and you need a ride back to work, we'll get you there.”

Another way Autrey said he works to help locals with their car maintenance is by offering a payment plan option.

“There are some hard times — so not everybody's able to afford certain things to fix their vehicle, which is why we also offer a service through Snap Finance,” he said. “That helps customers get approved through that service, and they've been able to [afford to] get their cars repaired through that third-party service; they can use it for anything in the store and just make payments to them.”

Autrey said for those who need car repairs or maintenance, no appointment is needed; they can just show up at Teel’s Quality Tire.

“I try to get customers in as early as possible,” he said. “We open up at 8 a.m. and we're here till 5 p.m., so I try to cram in as much as I can in between those hours. My guys usually take a lunch from noon to 1 p.m. — so we don’t take anything then.”

After working with LaFayette locals over the past eight years, Autrey said he feels at home and enjoys working with the Chambers County community.

“You get more of a home-style feel when you're working in a place like this, when you're dealing with customers and you get to know them,” he said. “I've been here for years, and I get to know a lot of my customers, so they're pretty much treated like friends and family. When you treat people right, then they want to continue to come back to see you. Chambers County is awesome — LaFayette is awesome. I wouldn't see myself working anywhere else right now.”

For more information, visit Teel’s Quality Tire on Facebook or go to 338 9th Ave. SW in LaFayette.