Customers of Les Schwab Tire Centers who file for bankruptcy may be pleasantly surprised when they discover the company’s customer service policy extends to the indebted.

The Bend-based tire giant is well-known for engaging with customers long after other creditors have turned them over to collections agencies, local bankruptcy lawyers said.

Oregonians who file for bankruptcy never have to go to court because lawyers file the petition electronically and a judge reviews it from Portland or Eugene. But the debtor is required to make one appearance, at the “meeting of creditors,” where a trustee appointed by the court will ask the debtor to swear to his or her finances under oath.

The banks, businesses and people the debtor owes money to are invited to this meeting. But creditors almost never show up, said Jonathan Basham, a bankruptcy attorney based in Bend — except for Les Schwab.

“Les Schwab is just a very pleasant creditor to deal with,” Basham said. “They show up at the meeting, it’s a pleasant person (who says), ‘What does your client want to do? We can work with them.’”

The company will offer zero interest during the bankruptcy, and ask clients how much they can afford and when they want to pay, he said.

Clients are so grateful they sometimes obligate themselves to pay Les Schwab back even if the bankruptcy nullifies the debt, Basham said.

“I’m not sure why, but the majority of my clients, maybe more than 90 percent of my clients, are incredibly faithful and loyal to Les Schwab and they want to keep the account and (are) willing to pay Les Schwab even after the bankruptcy,” he said.

Other bankruptcy lawyers in Central Oregon confirmed Les Schwab “always” comes to the meetings and tries hard to accommodate customers who can’t pay.

Nancy Borneman, a bankruptcy attorney in Prineville, said the company treats bankruptcy filers “as human beings.”

“They’re a very forward, progressive-thinking company on that,” she said.

Some large creditors, like car companies, are also pretty flexible with debtors, she said. But sometimes the creditors who show up at the meeting are locals or small businesses who may get upset or angry, Borneman said.

By contrast, the representative from Les Schwab is “very nice and treats people with respect,” she said.

No one from Les Schwab was available to comment, but the company released this statement: “Les Schwab is committed to its customers in local communities in good times and when times are difficult. It has worked with customers when they are in bankruptcy and we know that they will remain loyal customers when their financial situation improves — which it will.”

— Adrianne Jeffries, The Bulletin