Snyder's Service in Lebanon celebrates 70 years in business, owner plans to retire

After 70 years in business, Snyder's Service is looking to sell. Owner Robert Snyder Jr. 68, is looking to retire after working the business since he was 14 year -old. In all those years, Snyder has learned a lot and seen much change, but what has remained of core importance to his business: honesty.

The business at 909 N. 7th St. was opened in March of 1954 by Robert Snyder Sr., 29 at the time, and started out as an Atlantic dealer selling products from the Atlantic Refining Company. He learned the trade in the Army where he fixed trucks and Jeeps for the Third Armored Engineer Division while stationed in Texas.

In the early 1960s, Snyder's switched to Texaco.

While he had already been spending a lot of time in the shop before then, Snyder, positive that he wanted to work as a mechanic in his dad's shop as a career, got his working papers in 1970 at the age of 14 and began working after school. At 22, Snyder began working full-time at the shop and became head mechanic.

In 1987, Snyder went into partnership with his father until 2003, when the business was sold to the younger Snyder.

While the business has seven garage bays and in its history has had many mechanics on staff and lots of help from family, namely the sons of his seven sisters and his own sons, Snyder is the sole mechanic at the service station. He and Darwin Shaak, 60, a customer who since leaving the trucking industry now comes to the shop to help out, do the work themselves.

Kim Snyder, 67, married to Robert for 42 years, has helped out in the business throughout the years, and still comes in to help out with cleaning and decorating of the front window for the holidays.

Usually, Snyder tries to schedule two cars a day so things won't get backed up, but will always help the odd person who comes in off the street who needs a quick tire repair or oil top-up.

Throughout all the years, Snyder's Service has developed a customer base that trusts him, a trust built upon his honesty. That customer base, he said, is what he's worried most about when it comes to retiring.

Ideally, he said, he hopes someone buys the business from him and keeps it a service station, hiring him on part-time so he can keep taking care of his customers. Otherwise, he said, he's planning to let them know if he finds a reliable shop or starts working part-time somewhere else.

"That's the thing I think I'm more concerned about. I want to take care of my customers," he said, "because they've been good to me all these years. I remember one time in one of those trade magazines, it said in there, 'customers, who needs em!' That was so funny, because without customers, without good customers, you're not going to be in business for very long."

Likewise, he said, his customers aren't happy that he's going to be retiring, as many of them have been longtime customers of the community garage.

Most things about the look of the shop haven't changed over the years, with wood paneling around the walls of the office and the shop reflecting those of a bygone area, including a deep service pit not often found in newer shops.

Largely, Snyder explained, the changes he's seen in his line of work are with the customer's needs and the role that the service station fills. For example, it used to be that they kept many parts and pieces stocked in house, as commonly used parts would fit engines used in multiple cars. Now, he said, the specificity of parts needed for a car makes it not cost effective to keep parts around.

They also no longer pump gas due to water damage, and the pumps have since been removed from the business.

The customers, he said, don't normally come in to get something like a new radio installed or buy a part for the car like they used to. Rather, customers come in when they need something fixed.

Snyder explained that one of the biggest changes in the area he's seen in the area over the last few years is the number of local garages like his that have closed down and haven't been replaced. When one would close, he would notice a large influx of new customers, who'd he always be willing to help.

On March 23, Snyder's Service will be celebrating 70 years of business as well as Snyder's retirement, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Those interested in attending the celebration can call Snyder's Service and RVSP at (717) 272-2094.

On Snyder's Services' success over the last 70 years, he said that he honesty and truthfulness have always been what's kept people coming back. Part of that honesty is not doing work on someone's car unless they know about it first. If he finds something that needs done while working on something else, he always calls the customer with a price before moving forward.

"If I see something with my customer, that if it looks like it's going to need something but they don't need it now, I let them know ahead of time," he said. "Maybe half the time they'll remember that, the other half they won't, but I'll put a note and stick it in their card and when they come in and they say 'my car's doing this,' I'll pull the card and say, yeah, remember when I was telling you [about this]?'"

He hopes that if whoever buys the business decides to keep it as a service station, they'll keep the same honesty that he's shown his customers.

Good work is not without its challenges

Along with the longevity of the business, Snyder's has seen its share of challenges. The business has flooded twice, once in 1972 from tropical storm Agnes and the other, which was worse, in September of 2011 from tropical storm Lee, where the entire shop was under over three feet of water.

Kim said that while the flooding receded in about a day's time, mud and oil still remained. Friends, family and neighbors all came out to help with the cleanup.

While the brick building was mostly safe from water damage, heavy rains caused roof leaks, damaging the drop ceiling tiles throughout the front office of the shop, which they are currently in the middle of replacing.

"It was like Niagra Falls just let loose," Kim said. "It just came so fast, and then our roof leaked, why that's what we're doing here we just haven't had a chance since 2011 to fix it."

During the flooding, they used canoes to get around the property while they were trying to get stuff away from the water, as well as help get travelers who attempted to drive through the flooded area of 7th Street unstuck. Later in the day, they explained, the fire department came by and asked if they could borrow one of the canoes for rescues, and the Snyders were happy to help.

Immediately following the flood, while they worked to fix the necessities like the roof, Snyder's Service was temporarily closed, meaning no money was coming through the business.

In the shop, a marker set the high water line at about 38 inches.

Over the last few years, wider industry challenges have affected the business as well, including two years ago when the catalytic converters of a customer's car and one of his own cars that he loans out to his customers while doing work were stolen. Thankfully, that hasn't happened since.

But the cost and availability of car parts have been a struggle since the pandemic that's only gotten a little better since. With everything more expensive and harder to get, customer bills are often higher as a result.

Before the pandemic, parts shops might have four or five of a part, and warehouses would have a dozen or more if the parts shop didn't. Now, he he's lucky if even the warehouse has the part he needs.

Adaptability to changes was also a key to success for the business. When computers in cars became the norm, a change that widely impacted the industry, Snyder decided to seek out education and training on computer diagnostics.

This year, he said, he's seen fewer customers in his shop than ever, which he believes is due to the state of the economy. Simply put, people aren't coming in to get their cars fixed, even if they need to do so, which is something that worries him.

"This is probably the first time in about four years where we're not busy this time of the year," Snyder said. "It has slowed down. Everyone that I have talked to says that it's slowed down."

Whatever you do, please check your fluids

"I think as a whole, community wise, people tend to not check the fluids and stuff in their cars. If you get a decent car, you don't have to check it, you can drive forever. And I'm just as guilty as the next guy, by the way, I only live two minutes away so I don't normally check my oil."

It used to be that engines used up more oil, he explained, and a large part of his customer base would come in to have their oil checked regularly. Now that cars can go 5,000 or more miles without an oil change, it's not something that people think of as much, but it can still lead to bigger issues in a car.

He said that if nothing else, the best thing you can do for your car is change the oil regularly.

He says that if customers feel like they need their oil checked, he's happy to check it for them and sell them the oil if they need it. Often, he said, he sees customers come in with too much or too little oil in their engines. He's also always made a point to tell his customers that if their check engine light comes on, don't keep driving it, but bring it in and he'll check the computer for free, because certain issues can ruin other parts of the car, making a repair more expensive than it has to be.

"With peoples phones, why can't they just put in your phone, set an alarm-check your oil," he said. "But, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."

Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on X @djlarlham.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Owner of Snyder's Service in Lebanon celebrates 70 years this month