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Can self-service fix independent auto repair and win the next generation?

KioskMarketplace.com spoke with Michael Risich of Bolt On Technology on how kiosk and self-service technologies are changing independent body shops and the role they can play in attracting Millennials.

August 14, 2014 by Nicole Troxell — Associate Editor, Networld Media Group

Self-service solutions are cropping up in industries everywhere from retail to government.

But one industry that has lagged behind all the others is the auto repair business, according to Michael Risich, CTO of Bolt On Technology. The company recently launched Welcome Station, a self-service kiosk for both vehicle owners and shop owners designed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the auto repair process.

KioskMarketplace.com spoke with Michael Risich on how kiosk and self-service technology are changing independent body shops and the role it will play in attracting Millennials.

KioskMarketplace: Tell us a little bit about the history of Bolt On and how you came up with self-service ideas for the auto repair industry.

Michael Risich: In the '90s, I was teaching Microsoft Office classes for a community education program, and a shop owner and his wife were two of my pupils. They asked me to come to their shop and help with their computer system. I was a Microsoft software developer at the time, and I was looking at what they called the "best software" in the industry, and I saw an opportunity.

His cousin was another shop owner across town and a director in an association having the same challenges. I started writing down everything they would tell me and was able to start solving their challenges, and they started telling everyone in the association. Eventually, I was putting together modules that he could resell, and it proliferated. Then I started to work with industry giants like Mitchell One, owned by Snap-on tools. I started doing consulting work for them because they had users that were willing to tell me their problems, and I came up with solutions. In 2011 they licensed three solutions and took it to market. Their adoption stamped our approval.

KioskMarketplace: Tell us about your Welcome Station kiosk and how it works.

Michael Risich: It's designed for both the vehicle owner and the auto repair industry. About 20 year ago airports started using kiosks to check people in and they realized it's more efficient and accurate to let the customer do it. It also allows them to not forget opportunities, like [upgrading to] first class. We're using a similar presentation where the vehicle owner signs in and can provide demographic information, and for the return customer, Welcome Station is integrated into the POS system, so their history is already there, and it can ask you if you're there for your tires, for example. Plus, with geolocation it knows the weather, so if it's rained the software can ask you about the condition of your wipers; if conditions are hot four consecutive days, it can ask about air conditioning or battery replacement.

Welcome Station is designed for vehicle check-in and to provide 100-percent accurate information. It can send emails and texts to your cellphone, and the consumer can make decisions for themselves.

Our Message Manager Pro tool is specifically designed to send text messages. It's a communications tool, not a marketing tool, and was invented because the average waiting time to receive a call back from a customer about vehicle repair was an hour and fifteen minutes, so it can eliminate that wait. One mechanic waited between seven and 10 days for those approvals. He was losing $25,000 a month in lost productivity time. Message Manager Pro decreased that wait time to under 30 minutes. It solves this industry problem because it can text you to ask if they can perform repairs. Bolt On is focused on productivities, efficiencies, accuracies, work flow automations and delivering real-time results. We deal with a lot of small businesses, and during a difficult economy these businesses will cut out things to save money or will pay vendors earlier to get discounts; the only way to make more money is to become more efficient and productive.

KioskMarketplace: What would you say to shops that might be resistant to trying new technology such as the Welcome Station kiosk or to those who aren't tech-savvy?

Michael Risich: Small businesses, or the automotive aftermarket, are our target audience. Welcome Station is new; it is change; and you know how people feel about that, but we have a successful track record.

We have early adopters on a waiting list that are trying to attract the younger generation who don't want to deal with people; Welcome Station provides instant gratification — it appeals to the tech-savvy younger generation. Many owners of independent shops are older in the aftermarket. They can't just go after a senior driver or more mature driver; they must come up with a way to communicate with the younger generation, which will fuel their future with sales. Welcome Station allows the younger demographic to come in and get work done at their speed.

There's also a stigma that comes along with automotive, which Welcome Station could help remove because it can give a customer photos to show what needs to be done and how it should look. It can give you a better picture. Customers should know what's wrong with their vehicle and why they're spending money. Our technology is designed to give a full picture of their vehicle, so customers know why they're spending money, and it can also give shop owners opportunities to upsell.

We're doing real-time two way integration; the recommendations for repair go back into a management system. Traditional shops hand write this, and give it to someone else who types it in, and sometimes they can't read the writing, or it gets busy and doesn't get entered. Plus, that means you just paid two people to do the same exact job. We eliminate that duplicate effort, making it much more accurate and efficient, saving time and money; and you also have the information documented that supports why you made the repairs. One shop owner who used our products had been in business 27 years. After he switched over to our system, he had four straight months of record-setting business, and it was his young, tech-savvy son that made him make the change.

KioskMarketplace: Is the company considering branching out into other industries?

Michael Risich: We are so micro focused on the auto aftermarket, and the reason why is because there are 275,000 independent repair chains in the nation. We've amassed a nice business with recurring revenue; people pay for services monthly. Our retention rate shows that what we're doing is working, but there are still a lot more people to help in the industry, and there are still things we can learn from them.

KioskMarketplace: What are your thoughts on where the future is headed in terms of kiosks in this industry, and what role will Bolt On play?

Michael Risich: Change is inevitable — if you analyze what's happened in other industries, this is the trend — to use technology to appeal to consumers, like mobile devices. Many have adopted this way, but the auto repair industry is one of the last standing that's not done so, and if they don't they will be eliminated. Eventually, you may pass independent garages on a street that have gone from 15 to five [shops], so our technology could help them compete with bigger chains and appeal to Millennials.

I think in the future, the industry will become digitized, and some leaders will emerge, like Amazon with same-day service, for example. I could see how you drive to work, and someone picks your car up and takes it to a facility and goes over what it needs. Then they text you for approval, send an electronic bill, and your car shows back up in parking lot by the end of the day. But it's going to take somebody to break through and do it first. We've become a service-oriented country. It's inevitable with changes the past 10 years. We hope to help the shops identify a model that works for them, to be a communication piece for their needs.

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