A 5,000-square-foot expansion to the VIP Tires & Service store in Brunswick, Maine, added four service bays, new shop equipment; inside storage for up to 2,000 tires; and an improved and larger customer area.
VIP Inc. began the renovation in March 2019. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the renovated outlet, which now has seven service bays, was held on Sept. 11, 2019.
VIP has been strategically identifying and renovating the customer waiting spaces in many of its older 59 stores.
“We value our customers and believe in giving them an outstanding in-store experience,” said Tim Winkeler, President and CEO, VIP Tires & Service.
“In order to deliver on that, it’s important we not only provide our customers with exceptional auto care service by highly trained technicians, but also with friendly and knowledgeable store staff, and a place where they can work or relax while they wait.”
VIP expand the customer area in the Brunswick store by 500% and added a number of amenities including a much larger waiting area, laptop bars for working, a new coffee and drink station, and large windows into the service bays so customers can see the work being done on their vehicles.
“Additionally, with more on-site tire storage, we can offer our customers a greater variety of tire manufacturers and price points to choose from, which helps to reduce total customer wait times,” says Winkeler.
Oil Changes for Education – to Benefit Local Schools
At the re-opening event, in addition to festivities and food, VIP launched "Oil Changes for Education" program. From Sept. 11 through Nov. 15, VIP is offering $10 oil changes to all customers at its renovated Brunswick store with 100% of the proceeds benefiting local public schools.
“Connecting to the local community is a big part of who we are as a company,” said Winkeler. “Our Oil Changes for Education program is an initiative we started more than a year ago and have rolled out to a number of our store locations. In fact, we’ve raised more than $12,000 for local schools in Williston, Vt., and Framingham, Mass., and can’t wait to kick off this effort in Brunswick.”
He continued: “It’s a fun program that makes our customers feel good because they can take care of something in their routine auto maintenance schedule and know that by doing so, they are in turn helping the local school children in their community.”
VIP Tires & Service operates 59 locations throughout New England. VIP now has 19 locations in New Hampshire, 4 in Massachusetts, 1 in Vermont and 35 in Maine.
About VIP Tires & Service
VIP Tires & Service, a Quirk family-owned business for 93 years based in Auburn, Maine, operates 59 locations throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts providing retail and wholesale tires and installation, and professional automotive services.
Executive Chairman John Quirk is Modern Tire Dealer's 2018 Tire Dealer of the Year. Read our in-depth profile here. See more of what life looks like at VIP in our photo gallery.
For more information on VIP, visit www.vipauto.com.
