etyres Croydon – Rahim’s Story

Date

Feb 10, 2017

etyres Croydon owner is steering his business towards success

Within weeks of launching and marketing etyres Croydon, determined Rahim Verjee knew he had made the right decision to start his own business. He hit the ground running with orders stacking up from the first day of operation and with the help and support of the etyres Head Office team, his branch is going from strength to strength as demand for his mobile tyre fitting service increases.

“This is exactly why I chose an etyres franchise rather than starting my own business, because I wanted to hit the ground running, plus having the benefit of a sales team helping to process orders to my branch," Rahim explained.
“I have been able to concentrate on getting used to doing the work, delivering a great service to my customers and also grassroots marketing, handing out leaflets and chatting to people who are interested in what I am doing.

“Without the sales team fielding all my calls I would have struggled to do the jobs, take telephone orders and spend time making sure my customers get a high level of service. I am conscious that every job offers further sales opportunities, because I want the customer to come back to me, but I also want them to recommend my service to their family, friends and colleagues.

“This is why I go out of my way to show my customers that our service goes beyond what you would expect from a traditional garage. A good example of this is that I offer to point out the tread wear indicators so that my customer knows how to keep an eye on the state of all their tyres. I also offer advice about the importance of keeping their tyres properly inflated and have even quickly explained how to fit a spare wheel!

“I have been able to do this safe in the knowledge that customers who call my number will be taken care of by the sales team, so I am not losing out on work.”

While Rahim visits many offices and business premises in and around Croydon, he has been struck by the number of customers who arrange to have their new tyres fitted at their home. “A lot of these customers are women,” Rahim explained, “and they tell me they really appreciate the mobile service, because they hated going to garages and tyre depots.”

Rahim, who launched his branch at the end of April, is not new to the industry. He previously devoted two years to building up his own tyre shop with a growing database of customers and new business; however the cost of a new lease would have made the business financially unviable.
It was at this point that Rahim realised his bricks and mortar business was not going to be sustainable and spurred him into exploring alternative ventures. This quickly led to the discovery of the many advantages of owning an etyres franchise instead, including low overheads due to it being a mobile service.
Rahim explained: 

"I am a realist and I know how hard it is to establish a business from scratch. So I started looking at the possibility of joining a franchise, because I would benefit from the support and inbuilt reputation it comes with.

“As soon as I saw etyres on a franchise website I was really keen and the more I found out, the more convinced I was that this was the perfect fit for me.

“Right up until the point I launched etyres Croydon, I kept my original tyre business going, which has meant I have been able to let all my customers know that they can still count on low prices, but that from now on I will come to them to fit their tyres. Most of them can’t believe it! They are all very happy and I hope there will be a lot of familiar faces coming back to get their tyres from me in the future.”

Rahim admits that some of his friends and family questioned why he wanted to invest in a franchise business, instead of starting from scratch and putting his own name to his venture, and he has been very candid with his response.

“This is a very important investment for me and it was a big decision,” Rahim explained. “I can’t afford any mistakes and the more I found out about etyres the more I felt confident it was the right choice for me.

“An etyres franchise gives me the opportunity to continue working in an industry I enjoy, but with the benefits of a team of experts in all fields, from finance to marketing and IT, to support me and help drive my business forward.

“Right from the initial meeting at the Head Office in Cambridge, I was impressed with how smoothly and efficiently the team operate and it gave me even more confidence knowing that I would be given their full back-up and support moving forward.”