Look for the Sign -- We're in Les Schwab Country

Welcome to February, that short month best known for Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Groundhog Day, and Black History Month. Here in Les Schwab Country, it’s also Free Beef Month.

Since 1962, the ubiquitous Northwest tire dealer’s annual meat giveaway has helped promote sales during slow winter months. This year, a purchase of two or more tires gets your choice of either four steaks, or a beef “party pack.”

We recently visited the Ballard Les Schwab -- one of seven Seattle locations -- because a tire we bought there some time ago had sprung a leak. We were told it’d be an hour-and-a-half wait, giving us ample time to peruse Schwab’s 1986 book, Pride in Performance: Keep It Going!. It’s 239 pages of company history, business philosophy, and rubber-to-riches autobiography. Schwab comes across as a straight shooter, concluding his foreword: “If you are not interested in business, this book will bore you, and, if I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time reading it. Les Schwab.”

We were bored already, so we read on. Schwab was born in Central Oregon in 1917. He didn’t even know how to change a tire until 1952, when he bought his first tire shop in Prineville. Then, over the next five decades, he continually expanded his chain of “tire supermarkets,” each marked by the strikingly retro, red-yellow sign. Though a successful capitalist, Schwab has always treated his employees as decently as his customers -- over half his profits are distributed through a generous profit-sharing plan.

Schwab is best known for his local radio and TV spots, all with the memorable jingle, “Look for the sign, you’re in Les Schwab country!” Along with newspaper and billboard ads, the tire king’s no-nonsense image -- with the cowboy hat, saggy jowls, and blue satin jacket -- makes him the Ronald McDonald of the “west’s largest independent tire dealer.” The company currently has some 400 locations in seven states -- mainly in Washington and Oregon -- and does $1 billion in annual sales. Schwab, now 88, still lives in Prineville, where the company is still headquartered.

Our promised 90-minute wait turned into nearly three hours, and they accidentally locked our key inside the car. However, we weren’t too upset, as the repair was fully covered under their guarantee. They also rotated our tires for free, and the waiting room had all the free coffee and popcorn we could possibly want.

Alas, we got no free beef. This happened back during “January Bargain Days.”