Meineke’s comprehensive educational programs for franchisees and their staff members are aligned with the chain’s technology for evolving and adapting to meet and exceed customer expectations.
“Much of our training is on the ‘blocking and tackling,’ so to speak, of center performance,” says COO Douglas Danstrom. “Whether this is on better phone skills or our vehicle inspection process, we have found that focusing on and regularly re-emphasizing the basics improves our overall execution.”
Education comes in three main forms: Classes at Meineke University, field training and online/digital training.
“In addition to the online courses, we offer a number of one-minute and two-minute quick-learning videos. These are more specific in nature and are designed to fit better in today’s social media and mobile technology platforms,” Danstrom says.
Over the past year-and-a-half Meineke has implemented four new technologies aimed at enhancing the customer convenience aspect.
“Customers have grown to expect convenient service at the touch of a button,” says company President Danny Rivera, “and that desire for convenience has translated to the automotive care industry.
“The expectation of convenience means we can reduce barriers to vehicle service by creating programs that promote convenience,” he explains, “like providing service reminders, diagnosing potential issues, scheduling appointments and offering driver performance monitoring and reports.”
A revamped website is designed to streamline booking appointments via a store-locator feature, service recommendations and pricing estimates, plus coupons and special offers for encouraging proactive maintenance visits.
The Meineke Connected Car app tells customers when they are due for service and what parts are needed while also tabulating awards points redeemable for certain discounts and no-charge procedures.
In addition to collecting accrued points, a new rewards program allows customers to track and document the services rendered, creating a useful selling point to potential buyers when they decide to put their vehicle into the used-car marketplace.
Another recent rollout is the Meineke Revvy vehicle connectivity program linking to onboard diagnostic systems to provide an assortment of automated performance reports, including a daily “Driver Score” for motorists – and presumably their teenagers, remote appointment scheduling and WiFi in-cabin entertainment offerings.
“With the average car age at 11 years, the inclusion of technology in vehicles creates an opportunity for a seamless repair and maintenance experience,” says Rivera. “The days of customers coming to one specific brand of repair shop because they have no choice are over.”
There are nearly 1,000 Meineke Car Care Centers in the U.S. and Canada, with outlets also positioned in Mexico, the Caribbean and China.
A retail environment
Billing itself as a “One Stop Shop” for oil changes and repairs such as brakes, exhausts, shocks, steering, tires, wheels, CV joints, air conditioning and batteries, a 23-point inspection identifies work that needs to be done.
Franchisees and employees are extensively trained to be 100 percent in adherence to the company’s “300 percent rule,” which entails inspecting 100 percent of the vehicles coming into the shop, preparing estimates for 100 percent of the findings and presenting 100 percent of the completed estimates to the customers.
“The great majority of our training focuses on customer service from how we answer the telephone to the customer’s visit. As a franchise, our model requires us to take non-automotive folks and prepare them for the repair business. Yet just as important is the fact that we have to take individuals that have never worked in a retail environment and train them to do so,” Danstrom says.
“We see automotive repair as a retail business. Our customers will compare us to the service levels they receive from their favorite retailers, not just past automotive repair experiences.”
Consequently, a high value is placed on developing customer service acumen, as in the proverbial “people skills” that are so sought-after within the industry. “Surprisingly, centers in the top 25 percent of annual sales volumes see roughly the same number of new customers per year that centers in the bottom 25 percent of our system see,” Danstrom reveals. “The difference in those top centers is the fact that they convert more of these new customers to repeat or repetitive visitors: That comes down to the customer service experience these top performers provide.”
Center-level economics
Meineke University in Charlotte, N.C., is the citadel of learning, attended by all new franchisees who participate in “intense two-week schools,” says Danstrom. “The Meineke Playbook is the basis of the training. Classes focus on all facets of running an auto repair shop and provide training in sales, operations, technology and finance.”
Danstrom reports that “excited as we are” about last year’s launch of the connected car initiatives, as with Meineke Revvy and new inspection technologies, “they have forced us to add training content in all areas – Meineke University, online content and field support.”
The field training team will be conducting more than 50 classes nationwide throughout 2017, following an annually updated lesson plan available to all of the franchisees who enroll. “The training varies by year, but is almost always focused on improving center-level economics, including revenue growth and profitability,” says Danstrom.
“In 2016 we redid our online training portfolio,” he continues. Thirty new instructional programs were added to the lineup, with each course consisting of a training video and e-learning session. “There are classes for everyone, including technicians up to owners. The goal is to re-emphasize and train using the Meineke Playbook. Students can track their progress through the courses in our learning portal.
“We are constantly evolving, which means adapting the playbook over time. For the most part, this is an internal process,” Danstrom says.
“There is a lot of collective knowledge within the extended Meineke family, from corporate, to our franchisees, to our vendor partners. We love to try new ideas,” he points out. “Typically, we try new things in one to two markets before expanding to the entire system and changing our playbook. This is especially true in the area of technology. We are more likely to partner with outside vendors on the technology front.”
The company’s list of approved suppliers is promulgated by the Meineke Dealer Purchasing Co-operative. “This group helps negotiate vendor relationships for everything from auto parts to credit card processing. There is a process vendors must go through to become ‘certified,’ so to speak,” says Danstrom.
“There are a number of good partners that provide training. I feel our tire partner, Cooper Tires, has done a great job. I have enjoyed their online courses, but more importantly they have regular training webinars on a variety of subjects which have been great.”
Other suppliers achieving chain-wide approval include the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance (AAPA) and its Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper lines, AutoZone, O’Reilly, Dilmar Oil, Hunter and Snap-on.
“While all franchisees try to leverage our collective buying power by supporting Co-op participating vendors, they all maintain some level of local vendors as well,” according to Danstrom.
Meineke’s mantra
Established in 1971, company founder Sam Meineke advocated the enhanced customer convenience concept as a sales-inducing method for standing out amid all the other competitors. And this training philosophy began with a speck on the inside of a windshield.
Born into a sharecropping Oklahoma family during the depths of the Great Depression and growing up in a home lacking indoor utilities, Meineke was determined to leave the cotton fields behind. After a series of entrepreneurial fits and starts that brought a bit of business operations knowledge, by age 21 he had assumed ownership of a struggling Texas gas station.
A customer came in wanting a dollar’s worth of fuel; while cleaning off the windshield Meineke spotted a speck on the interior side of the glass and ducked inside the car to remedy the situation – an unexpected act of service that prompted the customer to purchase a fill-up. Meineke quickly learned that he could pump more profits by going the extra mile to please his patrons.
Supplying superior customer service remained Meineke’s mantra as he joined with a partner to open a regional chain of auto parts stores, writing an operations manual to ensure service continuity. In 1971 Meineke established his eponymously named muffler shop. The first franchise was awarded in 1972, eventually evolving into offering complete mechanical repairs and maintenance.
With Sam Meineke retired and the Meineke Car Care Center entity now under the umbrella of Driven Brands, the company continues to seek new franchises. Exclusive territories are offered along with the prospect of owning multiple locations. Franchisees do not necessarily need a background in the automotive industry.
In addition to providing extensive training and marketing support, the business model takes into account population densities, traffic counts, neighborhood competition, household income and more than 100 other proprietary variables in setting up a new location. Excluding real estate costs, a shop can be established for as low as $165,000. The company’s franchise development division assists with making financial arrangements and other details.
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