Cary Stemle is a new contributor to Kiosk Marketplace. To submit a comment about this article, please e-mail the division editor.
The scenario is almost as old the automobile itself. A driver takes his car to a service center for a new muffler or a brake job, and the mechanic lifts it on the rack and returns with a lengthy list of additional problems, any one of which might prove fatal if he doesn’t spend the big bucks to fix them today.
But in the back of his mind, the thought lingers: Is he being straight with me? How would I know?
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A new kiosk now deployed in nearly 2,000 Goodyear/Gemini Automotive Service Centers across the United States may go a long way toward assuaging such doubts.
The “interactive information centers,” developed over the past two-and-a-half years by Toronto-based Saitech International, use animation and video to provide a detailed look inside automotive systems. Now, instead of trying to point out problems in a crowded cluster of mechanical parts, Gemini techs can take customers to the kiosk for a detailed illustration of how things work and what’s needed to repair or maintain their automobiles.
“A lot of people assume they’re going to get ripped off when they bring their car in for service,” said Benjamin Kelley, service manager for a company-owned Gemini center in New Albany, Ind., where the kiosk has been in use since June. “Before, they might’ve looked at me like I was just making it up. This way, I can show them exactly what I’m talking about.”
The streamlined kiosks, an evolution from the digital signs that Gemini formerly used, can show customers specific details ranging from what automotive manufacturers recommend for maintenance on vehicles dating to 1978, to cutaway views of the many components that comprise a driveline and other systems. Many screens include the option to “show me more” about a particular component.
To demonstrate the kiosk, Kelley touched his way through a few screens until images of two containers of brake fluid appeared. One showed filthy brake fluid, a disgusting muddy brown, while the other showed fluid the proper bright shade of red. The screen also shows how repair technicians flush out brake fluid while the engine runs.
Mammoth deployment praised
The kiosks began shipping in April, said Mark Boswell, who manages the Gemini program from Goodyear’s Akron, Ohio, headquarters, and they’re now in every Gemini store — 610 company owned and 1,370 independently owned. He declined to disclose Goodyear’s investment but said the project cost was covered by the fees Gemini stores pay for program membership.
The kiosks are a “quantum leap” from the earlier signs, said Rick Hunter, a former longtime Goodyear employee who now co-owns nine Gemini locations in the Atlanta area. Hunter, who sits on the Gemini dealers board, helped develop the kiosks, providing input on which components to include and how to depict them accurately.
Francie Mendelsohn, who runs Rockville, Md.-based Summit Research, which is focused on the kiosk industry, was eager to see them work. She visited a store near her home, went in as a civilian, and came away impressed.
“I would say it’s significant,” she said. “First, the sheer number. A lot of projects are 50 to 100 kiosks. Even if you take all the airline kiosks together you’d be hard-pressed to come up with 20,000.”
She called the device one of the best information kiosks she has ever seen.
“The amount of information is astonishing. If you went through it all, you could learn a lot about automobiles,” she said. “The animation is just astonishing.”
But no matter the gee-whiz factor, kiosks need to pay for themselves and a great deal more. And taking measure is not easy.
Maybe so, Hunter said. But early feedback indicates the devices have driven sales.
“If you ask me to quantify, I would be hard-pressed to do it, but my perception is that it’s very good for ROI,” he said.
Part of that return for the tire chain is supporting its various revenue streams.
“People hear Goodyear and they tend to think of tires. They don’t realize we’re also in the service business,” Hunter said. “Someone comes in to have work done, and while they’re waiting, they look at it and cycle through. They see the preventive maintenance schedules, and they ask about it — how much would it cost to have this or that service done, can you do it today and how long would it take? They’ve sold themselves.”
Hunter also believes the kiosks help serve female customers, who stereotypes say are less likely to know cars and be able to discuss problems with mechanics. Because it can deliver its messages in Spanish, the Hispanic market is better reached.
Saitech turnkeyed the project and owns the software, which is licensed to Goodyear. Jamie Cuthbert of Saitech envisions other uses for the technology.
“I think it would be useful anywhere there is a complex amount of information that needs to be explained simply,” he said.
