If you ask someone what guarantees business success, the responses could range from ambition to hard work, risk-taking to accurate risk assessment, great products to excellent customer service.
However, for a particular enduring successful business, they would counter that trust would be one of their most precious assets and should always be carefully nurtured and treasured.
Trust equity is what the CNS Elite Auto Group has earned over the almost-60 years being in business on Vancouver’s North Shore, states Connor Jameson, Elite’s Marketing Manager.
Something that, if it is lost in one part of the business, could easily affect the other parts—especially when that company has four distinct components.
Known for their two collision repair shops and auto glass repair—CNS Elite Body, CNS Elite Express and Elite Auto Glass—the group recently acquired an OK Tire franchise. And keeping with tradition, the Elite Auto Group is extending its particular style of doing business—honesty, transparency, and a clean, safe work environment—to this new addition to their auto service family.
“We saw it as an opportunity to apply the same values and ethics that we have on the collision side to mechanical,” says Jameson. “A lot of people trust us with their cars. We’ve been their go-to for generations.”
By bringing in the OK Tire shop to the group, which retained all its previous employees, Elite can now offer a complete range of auto services—not just tires. They offer everything from alignments to brakes, shocks and struts to steering and suspension to oil changes—with fair, competitive market pricing.
“The first reaction we got when we acquired it, even from friends and staff, was ‘I didn’t know they did that. I thought they were only tires,’” Jameson recalls.
“We have fully certified Red Seal mechanical technicians, the same that you would find at a dealership. They’re not just guys doing tires. They can provide that same level of quality of service that you would find at a dealership, right at OK Tire.”
Elite has made a capital investment in the shop by adding new wheel-alignment racks and a hoist with greater lifting capacity to handle larger vehicles.
Being a full-service centre for both the interior and exterior of vehicles makes it a streamlined, convenient process for customers.
Jameson says recently, a customer was able to have a variety of issues resolved with just one appointment.
“She needed her snow tires off, but she also had a chip in the windshield and a dent in her door. She was able to make one phone call to CNS Elite Express, and she was able to have her snow tires taken off, which is a mechanical, and she was able to have her car fixed and painted, which was collision and glass. In a way, she got a brand-new car back at the end of it after making one phone call,” he explains.
Having that trust equity on the collision side, customers know what to expect, having used the collision services previously. They also know that the same quality and professional standard can be applied across all business aspects.
By utilizing technology, Elite has upped its commitment to transparency and increased client convenience.
With the introduction of the Autoserve1 inspection program, customers see exactly what the technician sees during their inspection of the vehicle. Using a tablet, the assessment is documented with photos, video and audio comments. They can point out the wear on brakes or any other issue that has arisen.
“It does tear down the walls for transparency in the shop. When you get the report, you’re seeing what they’re seeing, which is important to us because we want that trust to continue,” Jameson explains.
Kimobi, the texting app that Elite uses, allows for unobtrusive real-time communication for alerts when cars are ready or when the following oil change is due. Customers can also pay for their service with the app.
The Elite group will pick up and drop off vehicles and provide courtesy cars when needed. If someone from Elite can’t get to a customer, they’ll send an Uber. Jameson says they’ll get a car to a client no matter what they have to do.
“There’s nothing we really say no to,” Jameson admits, chuckling.
