Brian Nicodemus spent much of his youth hanging out at Zeigler Chevrolet. “I grew up at the dealership with the Zeigler family - washing cars and doing other odd jobs,” he said. “I’ve always been drawn to the automotive business.” This Osterburg native went to work at the United Parcel Service warehouse in Altoona after he graduated in 1991 from Chestnut Ridge High School. “But I found loading trucks wasn’t for me, so I asked Bob Zeigler for a job and he hired me in May 1993.” Over the next decade he worked his way up in the dealership - first sanding cars to prepare them for painting; then detailing cars for the sales department, then moving into the service department as a service advisor and finally in December 2001 into his current position as service manager.

Over the years he’s spent hundreds of hours in classes - many of them sponsored by General Motors. “GM provides us with a lot of continuing education to help us keep up with new products and changing technology,” Brian said. “The changes in cars just in the time I’ve been here have been amazing. Computers have definitely revolutionized the business and if you don’t keep up, you can’t survive.”

As service manager Brian oversees the entire service department - everything from answering the phone to scheduling technicians, to monitoring the department’s gross profits and expenses. “No two days are ever the same, there’s always a new challenge,” he said. One of those challenges is working with customers who may be under stress. “No one’s happy when their car breaks down, so you’ve got to have good people and communications skills to deal with customers and technicians in all kinds of situations.”

He advises young people who want to follow his career path to take business management classes in school; develop good communication skills and learn their way around computers. In addition, spend time in a dealership - either in a paid position or by job shadowing and making contacts in the business. “You’ll find most dealerships promote from within - you start out at the bottom and work your way up with hard work and being open to learning everything you can about the industry and the product. It’s a great business for someone who loves cars, a daily challenge and working with people.”

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