Mike Johnson is the humble owner-operator of Valpo Muffler & Auto Services. For years, his work as a mechanic and expert in customer service has been praised by the community he serves. All of his growing up happened in the Region, and his home here brings him calmness.
“I live out toward the country, so usually it’s nice and quiet. We sit out on the front porch at night and watch the cars pass by as we listen to some tunes. My wife and I will quiz each other on the songs’ names and who's singing. Valpo is a great place,” he said.
The year was 2001 when Johnson started in the car business; he was about 16 years old. He’s always liked automobiles, trucks, and the like. Working at a few dealerships throughout the years, he’s well-versed in any kind of issue that’s brought his way today. It helps, too, that he’s garnered several certifications from General Motors. To him, a car is a car, and nuts and bolts are nuts and bolts. Dealing with them all effectively and efficiently is as easy for him as crunching numbers is for a mathematician, and he’s eager to help out whoever’s in line.
Johnson seized ownership of Valpo Muffler in 2017 after its previous owner went into retirement. Owning his own auto-service shop had been one of his top desires during the time he was employed under others. Now that he’s been in control for over half a decade, his main objective is to send off customers better than how they were when they first sought out his assistance.
“I love leaving customers happy and smiling. I want them to return to me for future repairs or whatever other needs they may have. You can't please everybody, but it’s your duty to do your darndest to make everybody feel comfortable,” he said. “That’s my favorite part of the job.”
Oftentimes Johnson is rewarded for his hard work with batches of brownies or boxes of pizza, but that’s not the reason he does it. Instead, his focus is on making sure everyone gets the exact service they're looking for.
Customers aren’t the only people Johnson assists, however. He’s been revealing the ropes to an apprentice for two years at this point, showing him both shortcuts around frequent issues and how to make things about the workplace easier. Since he’s been doing what he does for some time, it gets tricky trying to find a simple way of communicating through years of experience—yet that is exactly how his patience as a fellow employee beams brightly.
Johnson’s wife does the bookkeeping for him, but she’s not the only family figure in the business. Everybody is.
“It’s my goal to treat my employees like family. I may be the boss, but at the same time, it's still about getting down to others’ levels to understand them. If someone has to run out real quick, and we're down for a few minutes, no problem. They’re humans to me, not numbers on my list. I try to make it more like a brother-sisterhood type of thing,” he said.
In his free time, Johnson likes to take his classic cars out to shows hosted in the area. Simply cruising around in them is another enjoyable pastime of his. When the opportunity for a vacation comes up, he typically goes down to his cottage along the lake with his family. Together they, too, sometimes loaf on the sofa to watch pre-recorded shows, and he’s never been one to say no to that. His role is to fast-forward through the commercials.