May 2019

honest conversation with the customer – the first step to generating customer trust and greater customer loyalty over time.” Transparency and trust Building up customer loyalty takes time. Fortunately, when it comes to tyres, technology is offering a fast- track to gaining your customers confidence. Commenting on the impact of TreadReader, James Boon, Vice President of Garage Equipment at Hofmann Megaplan says: “There is something about human nature that makes many of us naturally suspicious when someone tells you that you have to spend money. Something as important to our safety as tyres is no exception.” “Devices like the TreadReader are part of a new breed of workshop tool creating customer transparency through intelligent reporting designed for customers. This new technology is built on the foundations of transparency becoming a key differentiator in how tyre fitters operate. He continues: “These handheld devices are built to be operated outside of the workshop, freeing up space in your garage. They are able to produce a 3D scan of a passenger car’s tyre tread and build a bespoke report using this data. It is this report that takes service selling to a new level. Full transparency is shown on the true condition of each individual tyre with a very real and relatable appraisal. This helps you sell a plan to your customers for ongoing tyre maintenance. “It could be that a new set of tyres is needed to improve stopping distance or maybe alignment corrections could be carried out that will save the customer money in the long run. The report can even help you offer advice about regularly checking tyre pressure.” James adds: “This product really is a game changer for the tyre business. By removing any doubt or apprehension in its entirety, the customer can focus on working with the tyre fitter to budget for the ongoing maintenance of their vehicle in a way not considered before. The hard sell becomes a thing of the past and a new era of sales by transparent relationship building is born.” Beyond the need to engage with the customer, there are also cold, hard realities to contend with, such as impact of tyres on whether or not a car passes the MOT: “With more than 2.2 million cars in the UK failing their annual MOT because of the state of their tyres,” says Pro-Align Managing Director Paul Beaurain, “it’s clear that a significant opportunity exists for workshops to grow their tyre sales business.” Equipment is vital for capitalising on the opportunity: “Workshops with more limited budgets or space constraints can now experience the benefits thanks to the recent launch of the Essentials Range of Hunter equipment from Pro-Align. Within the Range, there are two tyre changers. The first, the Hunter TCX45, is a no- fuss traditional swing arm column tyre changer. Meanwhile, the other changer within the range, the Hunter TCX52, is the perfect solution for workshops looking for a traditional tilt column tyre changer.” Wobble and hop Complementing these, Pro-Align also recently introduced the Hunter SmartWeight Pro. Paul explains: “This is an intuitive ‘no touch’ wheel balancer. Conventional balancers place equal emphasis on single-plane static, or ’hop’, and dual-plane couple, or ‘wobble’, forces, combining the tolerances together. However, modern cars are approximately four times more sensitive to static forces than couple. Hunter’s SmartWeight technology provides a better balance by separating the static and couple imbalance forces. As the static forces are the ones most commonly felt by the driver, SmartWeight assigns a tighter tolerance to these while maintaining a broader couple force tolerance. The result is a better balance for both the vehicle and the driver. By approaching the imbalance in this way, the SmartWeight Pro provides a series of additional benefits to workshops including faster balances due to the regular use of only one correction weight, fewer check spins and a reduction in weight chasing.” Paul adds: “The system also gives a visually better balance, the smaller amount of weight needed is less obvious and can be hidden behind wheel spokes. Indeed, approximately 35% less weight is used with SmartWeight, potentially saving the workshop thousands of pounds over the year.” 44 AFTERMARKET MAY 2019 TYRES AND TYRE BAY Above: TreadReader Hand Held Scanner measuring tread depth and tyre www.aftermarketonline.net