Many companies dominate the automobile industry. However, the ability of a particular company to succeed in the competitive environment depends on the types of products and services offered to customers. Services such as oil change and general service are technical concepts to many car owners. Many customers would want to understand these concepts and how automobile repair companies do those. The knowledge of these concepts, and how automobile repair companies provide these services, is critical to customers as they can ascertain the value of the services rendered. Two companies, which try to handle these concepts well, are Firestone Auto Care and Midas.
Firestone Auto Services
Firestone auto care is a multi-million company that has established an enviable record for providing quality service to its clients over the past six decades. One of the many services provided by the company is the full-service oil change. The full-service oil change is Firestone’s specialty since it provides the service to a perfection. This service is carried out in a way that satisfies Firestone’s customers. Employees working at the company’s stations are professionally trained and qualified to provide high-quality service in a friendly environment. On the first interaction with customers, employees often express their pleasure to have the customer visit the company’s station.
The experts will then assess the vehicle to provide a comprehensive report on what should be done to enhance its efficiency. Diagrams are drawn, and the operations of various vehicle parts are physically illustrated to customers. This ensures that, before experts start working on a customer’s vehicle, the customer fully understands what is going to be done and how long it will take. During oil-change, the company’s professionals often use fully-synthetic motor oil.
The automotive technician then does a quick inspection on components, including all the lights, car battery, and top-off fluids such as the engine coolant and the window washer fluids. The vehicle then undergoes a thorough inspection of its undercarriage, steering, suspension, belts, windshield wipers, and skid plates. The company provides these services with a high degree of professionalism. However, there is another company that provides most of these services at almost-equal quality.
Midas Auto Service
The second company with comparable customer experience is the Midas Company. Midas Auto Company prides itself on delivering automobile services to its clients for over five decades. The Company provides a ‘Midas’ touch to customer vehicles. Midas has outstanding service in addition to their high levels of professionalism. Before commencing work on a client’s automobile, the company employees conduct a comprehensive inspection to provide a written report on their findings. Midas also has a wide range of services for its clients. Their services are tailored to meet the needs and preferences of customers.
This is because they take their clients through a vehicle manufacturer’s manual. The manual describes the specifications on how to service different automobiles and what type of fluids and filters to use. The process of oil change involves a visual check on power steering fluid, brake fluid, engine air filter, and automatic transmission fluid, and engine coolants. The technicians also explain to their clients the important issues concerning the conditions of their vehicles. In the end, they offer their customers a chance to ask questions that are answered satisfactorily.
Comparison between Firestone and Midas
Firestone Auto Company boasts of over 1,700 centers distributed across the world. This increases the accessibility and efficiency of company services. This is a positive aspect to the client because one does not need to drive thousands of miles to access the company’s services. Another positive attribute for changing oil at Firestone is that the company charges fair prices for honest work. Most of its services are of high standards and their charges are much reasonable.
The time frame within which Firestone completes the work on a client’s automobile is also impressive. However, one downside of Firestone service stores is that their operating hours are limited because the stores open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m. and thus inconveniencing people. This, therefore, makes it a challenge for the people to take their automobiles for repairs and maintenance during Firestone’s working hours.
Midas, on the other hand, has a wide range of packages for their clients. However, what changed my perceptions is the fact that they are very professional in what they do. They operate on a first-come-first-served basis and are thus able to tell a client the exact time the car is ready for collection. They also have a store locator, where one is able to identify the stores that are closer to them. Midas also generates a written report on the condition of the automobile thus enabling one to decide on the courses of action to be taken and the charges for it. However, there are several downsides to how they handle their operations.
For instance, they always advise that the vehicle be taken to their stations in the morning and collected after 5:00 p.m. This is, therefore, inconvenient because people need their vehicles during the day to go to work and maybe get take their children to and from school. Lastly, Midas tends to operate outside the schedule such that, a client comes in and finds that their vehicle has not yet been fixed thus leading to even more inconveniences.
Firestone service stations are mostly spacious and well-lit. The red color of their logo is always attractive and portrays their commitment to customer satisfaction. Their stations are clean with a room where clients can relax while waiting for their vehicles to be serviced. Such rooms are fitted with the necessary entertainment media that ensures that the clients are not only entertained but also comfortable. The shapes of Firestone products are attractive and make them convenient to carry around. The colors on these cans are also symbolic to the company.
Comparatively, the golden color of Midas is very attractive to the eye. Most of their products also contain these colors. For instance, one might think that these filters are made out of gold. This color makes Midas products highly valued because gold is associated with high value. The shapes of Midas’ containers are also made attractive, which makes it easy to carry and handle the products. Midas has used the gold color to appeal to their clients and show that their services are extraordinary. This is why they pride themselves on their name; Midas, which means that everything they touch turns to gold.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the analyses presented in this essay back the opinion that the author would recommend Firestone to come up with a schedule to cater to customers who require their services outside their normal operating time. This can be made possible by introducing shifts. For example, the first group of technicians can begin working from early in the morning until around mid-day while the other group resumes from mid-day until late night. As for Midas, the company can improve its customer experience by doubling or tripling its number of stations so that it covers the whole country. Moreover, Midas should devise a method where a client can get their vehicle ready at the exact time the vehicle is scheduled to be ready. In other words, Midas should stick to their schedule.