BLISSFIELD — There’s no substitute for good, old-fashioned customer service. 

The Lietzke family has owned and operated Bill’s Service in Blissfield for 70 years. And a legacy of caring for their customers is part of the reason why the business isn’t just surviving — it’s growing.

Located at 116 E. Adrian St., Bill’s Service is now expanding into the adjacent building and lot that previously housed The Advance, Blissfield’s weekly newspaper. They purchased the property when The Advance moved into a new building up the street.

Bill’s Service sells and services lawn and garden equipment of all sizes, from leaf blowers and chainsaws all the way up to riding mowers and subcompact tractors.

Like many independent businesses, Bill’s Service started small. Founder Bill Lietzke was employed in a body shop when he first got into the equipment repair business.

“He worked on lawn equipment at home in the garage,” said his son, Lynn. “Then it just grew from there.”

From that garage on Cherry Street, the business moved first to the old Short Line Bus Terminal building at 112 E. Adrian St., and then to its current home on the opposite side of Newspaper Street.

After Bill died in 2003, Lynn Lietzke took over the store with his wife, Sandy. Their son, Jeffrey, is the third generation in the family business.

Jeffrey Lietzke credits the business’ longevity to paying attention to service.

“In a world that’s so fast and quick, people love attention to detail, they love attention to service,” he said. 

“In this day and age when quality is not what it used to be, I think that’s what draws our customer base to us.”

Being able to get their equipment serviced, Lietzke added, means that customers have an alternative to just throwing things away when they break.

The company’s four main brands are Stihl, Exmark, Bad Boy and Ferris. They recently added subcompact tractors to their lineup. They offer pickup and delivery, and will even do service calls for larger equipment so that customers don’t have to bring things like lawn tractors into the store.

The new space in the former Advance office is currently being used for storage to make quarters less tight in the shop, but eventually the front half will be renovated into another showroom space.

Lawn equipment has changed a lot over the past 70 years.

“A lot of people don’t understand how advanced this stuff is getting,” Lietzke said.

Lawnmowers and even chainsaws are being built with electronically controlled fuel injection now. And nearly everything is now offered in battery-powered versions as well as gas-powered.

“You’re almost carrying double the equipment because you’ve got the gas and battery counterparts,” Lietzke said.

With improvements in battery technology that make handheld equipment easier to operate, Bill’s Service has started to see more female customers, said Lietzke’s mother, Sandy. Instead of mixing oil and gas for a chainsaw, she said, the user can just “put the battery in, turn it on, and go.”

She added that lighter-weight equipment is also popular with customers who are aging.

Bill’s Service will mark its 70th anniversary with a customer appreciation open house on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In addition to equipment demonstrations and giveaways, the Stihl Pro Carving Team will be at the store to do a chainsaw carving demonstration.

For more information, call the shop at 517-486-3104 or go to billsserviceinc.com.