Tuffy Tire & Service dealer sees increased revenue with digital inspections

Kerridge Commercial Systems is pleased to report that Indiana-based tire and automotive repair shop Tuffy Fort Wayne has seen an increase in revenue and customer trust since adopting the digital vehicle inspection app, CarSide, in conjunction with KCS' business management system, VAST.

Tuffy Fort Wayne has been utilizing VAST in their two locations for over 20 years. Over recent months Tuffy Fort Wayne has taken many steps to make their business more efficient by utilizing some of the tools that KCS has to offer, such as the CarSide two-way integration.

CarSide is a tablet app for carrying out digital vehicle inspections. The app integrates seamlessly with KCS' business management system, VAST, and allows technicians to compile digital reports including images and videos which can be sent to customers including a list of recommended repairs.

With two-way integration, Tuffy Fort Wayne is able to pull work order status, inventory availability, totals, taxes and declined part information directly from VAST. Additionally, VAST allows them to view and import measurements for brake pad thickness, tire pressure and tread depth from CarSide inspection forms.

Prior to using CarSide, Tuffy Fort Wayne has been doing pen and paper inspections for years. Tuffy Fort Wayne wanted a tool that could streamline their business while standardizing their inspection process.

“We decided to implement the CarSide product because we wanted to have the customers more involved in the inspection process. This tool has helped our salesmen effectively communicate to our customers what work needs to be done on their cars, and why. Because of this, the customer is making more informed buying decisions.” stated Ken Smith, Owner of Tuffy Fort Wayne.

Tuffy Fort Wayne’s technicians and salesmen have been very pleased with the CarSide application, citing that “It gives their business a more professional look.”

Ken has been impressed with how quickly his team has integrated CarSide into their day-to-day operations. “The technicians have a strong sense of pride when they’re using this product. They know that the better their inspection reports are, the more informed the customer will be when they decide what work they want done on their vehicle.”

“My shops have loved the ability to easily communicate to the customer through the texting feature within CarSide. During a busy workday, our customers appreciate having an entire inspection of their car texted straight to their smartphone. Additionally, our fleet customers have commented that they love having paperless inspections of all of their vehicles that they can reference at any time.”

“KCS has relentlessly raised the bar for our company over the years by supplying us with products that have become the new industry standard. CarSide is just one of their many offerings that has set us apart from our competition. Our customer’s only complaint to-date is: Why didn’t you start this sooner?” stated Ken.