Retail is always about honing customers' habits. Once people are sold and if great service is provided, customers seldom leave.
I had some vibration from the front left tire of my Passat, so the first thing to do was the simplest. I had the tire rebalanced. At Costco, it only costs $5/tire, so I did them all.
Like I've said on previous posts, Costco is dropping their gross margins in these tough times to draw more "lifelong" customers in. As many places raise their prices to pass along their sourcing costs, Costco is making a name for themselves in value. A $5 tire balancing is clearly a "loss leader" to bring customers in. Now that's smart business!
My tire on the left front was a little off balance, but the other culprit was a loose outer tie rod end. I've already ordered it from Rock Auto. Rock Auto is another smart business. Usually, they have some of the lowest prices including shipping. It's too bad that Rock Auto is privately owned. If it was a public stock, I would be all over it.
Doing things yourself gives you a lot of insight into who is running great businesses and who is not. Then, you know whose stock is a value and who are just "posers". This is a great way to do "boots on the ground" analysis for stock purchases. For that reason, I never shirk doing a lot of work myself. It's another part of doing a thorough stock analysis.
Be smart, be well-read, be aware and be successful.
