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In an era where convenience is often valued more than price, entrepreneurs are starting to take advantage by combining common, every day services, such as auto repair shops, with other services such as carry-out restaurants. Previously familiar to only rural towns, establishments like Brent's Carry Out and Auto Repair, located in Friendly, WV, may start to hold greater appeal to big-city residents. Studies suggest more than 55% of all persons who take a car to the mechanic or service shop must wait more than 75 minutes before their car's service is completed or before someone can pick them up. With this much time on their hands, enterprising business owners have sought to provide other ways to keep these captive customers happy. If a pizza or sub shop can be co-located with an auto repair shop, why not look for other opportunities based on customer preferences? It makes sense that a billiards parlor or barbershop would be a match made in heaven for the guy who's looking to burn some time while his tires are rotated. An equally interesting concept might be a drive-in, where the car is taken into a service bay for scheduled maintenance while the owner grabs a burger, shake, and onion rings while pretty waitresses skate back with forth with information on when their order will be up and when their car will be ready.
Women, too, need to drop off cars for repairs and the idea of providing additional services to these customers might expand to nail salons, cosmetic counters, and scrapbooking rooms. A perfect complement to an hour and a half's wait might be 60 minutes dedicated to putting pictures of the family into a new album, receiving a pedicure, or trying out a new shade of lipstick.
Gender neutral ideas abound as the stale and bitter coffee normally found inside the waiting room of a garage could be supplanted by a coffee house complete sandwiches, pastries, and wireless access. Business owners could combine two public needs in this manner and there's nothing to stop creative businesses from adding other services such as bicycle or motorcycle rental to their services or, perhaps, a car sharing or rental service. Garage owners with a solid interest in their community could offer a recreational area such as a basketball court or playground to meet the needs of parents with children who need to have the car tuned-up or the wheels aligned.
Perfectly suited to city establishments where the service shop occupies the ground floor of a building, services such as the ones described above could either be located on second or third-story floors or in another area of a single-story establishment. Zoning regulations in many cities and towns would allow for such items to be combined, just look at your average oil and lube shop: it's almost always located next door to a fast food restaurant. This concept might also meet a need in terms of properties for lease which don't normally have the footprint normally associated with service shops, taking advantage of rents lower in cost than other available properties.
In short, the American spirit of finding a need and meeting it might consider the approach taken by the entrepreneurs in Friendly, WV, who serve burgers and fries alongside delivering oil changes and detailing services. Just another idea on how auto repair shops can take the next step in customer satisfaction.
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