Prime Car Care Group has launched their new and innovative auto service brand concept called 5 Gears Auto Care. The new concept is a major part of the effort by Prime and its CEO, David Lush, to transform the auto service category from being car centric to becoming customer centric, differentiating 5 Gears from its competition by providing a customer experience from today's demanding consumer.
Each 5 Gears location separates the work being done on the car and the experience given to the customer. Comfort is created through a front-of-house experience based more on a 'bistro' style customer lounge than a machine shop. Each 5 Gears location houses multiple auto service brands in one building under the 5 Gears name. The auto service brands include Speedy Auto Service, Novus Auto Glass Repair and Replacement, as well as specialty brands for oil changes and tires that vary by franchise location.
"The concept of 5 Gears is really quite simple,'" Lush said. "We believe the time is now to speak clearly that the active ingredient in service is serving. With 5 Gears, we serve the customer and service the car. Fundamental to that is treating the customer in terms of lifetime value and providing them with an experience that is convenient, comfortable and memorable."
To support this, a customer experience training model has been devised called G.E.A.R.S, which stands for Greeting, Engage, Action, Report and Sign-Off. Franchisees will be trained to promise, deliver and measure each of these steps.
"We know that the price of entry in our category is quality work and we will never compromise that," Lush said. "However, the real difference is how the customer feels about their experience with us. We will work incredibly hard to win and retain their loyalty and trust from the first moment they engage with our brand and we will never relinquish our responsibility and accountability to them around that. Trust is everything."
5 Gears has retrofit plans for existing Speedy Auto franchises in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mississauga, Ontario, Halifax, Nova Scotia and a new "flagship" store in Kingston, Ontario scheduled to open late 2016
