Golden Rule paves the way for The Service Company | Trucks, Parts, Service

When Luke and Zeb Todd’s father, Paul, started The Service Company on April 1, 1978, he had to take the stacks off of some trucks to get them in the former gas station that was the company’s first location.

Now four Ohio locations strong, the Todds still run the company by a basic rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

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“If you treat other people the way you want to be treated, you pretty much nailed it,” says Luke Todd, now the president of the company, a first-time finalist for the Trucks, Parts, Service Distributor of the Year award.

Paul retired in January, but his sons say he still comes in every day.

Luke Todd, president of The Service Company, says they see themselves as a problem-solving company, not a parts company.The Service Company

“We work really, really hard to be where we’re at,” says Zeb, sales and product manager. “We’re definitely not the biggest parts distributor out there, but all of us work really, really hard.”

In addition to its parts operation, the business also provides bumper-to-bumper service, including tires. That includes paint and body, which came online at the end of 2024 . The company also builds drive shafts, grinds flywheels and repairs trailer body work.

“I think we put a pile of effort into serving our customers. No matter what they need,” says Luke, president. “We try to look at it more as a problem-solving company rather than just a parts and service company.”

Which means, if they have to source a part from Amazon and bring it to the customer, they’ll even do that.

“Because we’ve done that, we’ve been able to grow, which has allowed us to have other opportunities with new people and participating more in the industry,” Luke continues.

The Todds say they strive to build a great place to work with awesome people who keep trucks and trailers moving. Part of that is treating their employees like they’re family.

“We’re all here for each other,” Zeb says.

Luke says leadership has high expectations for everyone, but that comes with an aggressive loyalty. And when everyone works hard; they play hard, too.

On employees’ birthdays and anniversaries, Luke or his wife will hand-deliver a card with a gift card inside, taking pains to find out the person’s favorite restaurant. Five-star Google reviews earn homemade pulled pork for the office. And the Christmas party? Get ready to rumble.

“I don’t want it to be a stuffy event,” Luke says. And it’s definitely not, including obstacle courses, truck parts bingo, radio-controlled car racing and more, plus, of course, more smoked meats.

In the summer, the company goes to Paul’s farm for a picnic, replete with a dunk tank where employees chose who they wanted to dunk. The money raised went to charity. At both events, each branch participates in an epic game of tug-of-war where the winning branch gets to display the rope and a plaque.

With more growth on the horizon, the Todds say they’re having more trouble keeping up the company’s culture over multiple locations.

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“It’s something that I actually think about,” Luke says. “We may end up needing to do some branch-specific events in the future. It gets harder to keep that level of engagement and camaraderie.”

The Service Company is a parts distributor and also does service work, including tires and paint and body.The Service Company

The company’s culture means it has very low turnover, Zeb says. Some of the Todds’ best technicians were homegrown, starting out as an apprentice or cleaning the shop and working their way up to technician. The Service Company offers a toolbox program to help them get started. New technicians get a toolbox with all their tools. After two years of service, if the technician stays on, the whole set becomes theirs to keep.

“It removes that several-thousand-dollar barrier to getting into this,” Luke says.

One thing Luke does want to ditch? Sticky notes. It’s the only paper left in the company’s processes, he says. Everything else is digitized, including customer communications.

“We’re fanatics about using every piece of technology we can,” Zeb says. The company has an in-house IT department that builds apps to track things such as service orders, time, and pick-up and delivery of parts.

“Every technician has a phone, an iPad, a laptop or all of the above,” Luke says. Zeb adds there is still a fax machine at one location because of the IRS, who still requires faxed documents.

The Service Company also tracks maintenance, letting customers know when it’s time for preventive maintenance, inspections, alignments or other scheduled service. The company also generates customized expense reports for customers that ask for it.

Doing things like those expense reports, the Todds say, is what keeps them at the front of the pack.

“One thing Dad always said,” Zeb says. “Take care of your customers and don’t worry about your competition.”

The 2024 Distributor of the Year program is sponsored by Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), Cummins-Meritor, High Bar Brands, Interstate Billing Service and Karmak. The Distributor of the Year Award will be presented in January at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW). For more on our 2024 award finalists, check back in the coming days or go to our program website.