Would you like a manicure with your oil change?
It’s an odd question — but it wouldn’t be out of place at one Dartmouth car dealership. Portland Street Honda has opened a spa attached to their service centre.
“We just finished a big renovation at the store so we had one small space left, about 700 square feet,” said general manager Stuart Law.
The dealership tossed around the idea of putting in a gym but decided a spa made more sense.
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While it’s an unusual combination, the move makes some sense from a business perspective.
“You’ve got a captive audience,” said Ed McHugh, a business professor at Nova Scotia Community College.
“They’ve got time, and we’re in an age where people don’t like to waste time, so to offer them something else that they can do during the downtime, I think, is a pretty interesting idea.”
Dealerships have been known to supply extra comforts, from free coffee to armchairs and couches, but a survey last year conducted by Drive.ca found that Canadians still prefer independent garages.
The gap is narrowing, though. The survey found people ranked independent garages slightly higher in customer service than dealerships but ranked dealerships significantly higher in facility experience.
It’s this facility experience that Portland Street Honda is looking to build on.
“We’ve got a restaurant, we’ve got a really nice waiting area here, so we have probably about half of our clientele that come in to service everyday that actually stay and wait with their car.”
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Now customers also have a chance to get pampered while their vehicle is being serviced.
“This is an interesting way to try and build trust in the brand,” said McHugh, who also noted that car dealerships have typically struggled to keep customers after their warranties expire.
As for whether the spa-car dealership combo will catch on and become the new norm, McHugh said only time will tell.
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