We're thrilled to spotlight Midas Granbury for being named a Certified Customer Excellence location by Midas Corporate for the second year in a row! Midas Granbury’s success is a testament to what can happen when you invest in people, processes, and technology. This recognition speaks volumes about their team's commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction.

• What It Means to Be Certified in Customer Excellence
• The Secret Ingredient
• The Role of Technology in Delivering 5-Star Experiences
• Transparency and Trust
• Advice to Other Shop Owners
  
• A Foundation for Continued Excellence

What It Means to Be Certified in Customer Excellence

Shop owner Robert Rangel shared that the award is decided based on a variety of factors, including Google scores and reviews, a Net Promoter Score (NPS) that gauges customer loyalty and predicts business growth, and a Brand Standards Survey conducted by Midas. The Brand Standards Survey evaluates whether the shop meets corporate requirements such as proper signage, clean and maintained facilities, and overall professional appearance.  

Becoming certified in customer excellence means that Robert’s customers would recommend the location to family and friends. He emphasized that he values the honest feedback from his community, stating, "We earn every five-star. It's hard work to do."

The Secret Ingredient

Robert credits the Granbury location's success to "Good people. That's it. It's super simple." Many employees have worked at that location for a long time and share the same vision for the shop as Robert does. This alignment allows them to grow together. He cares about his staff's happiness and prioritizes retention of great employees by paying well and rewarding his team when the shop does well. But for Robert, supporting his team goes beyond compensation. He invests in his team’s life in and outside of the shop. He takes time to ask about their families, talk through future goals, give advice on buying a first home or improving credit, and has even helped with personal needs like buying a plane ticket so an employee can visit their children in another state. 

His approach to hiring reflects that same mindset: "We always have jobs posted, so we're always interviewing even if we're fully staffed, “ he added. “I'm very, very slow to hire and very quick to fire. If you're just here to collect a paycheck, you're not the right fit for this business. Move on." This approach helps keep his shop full of employees who value customer excellence.  

The Role of Technology in Delivering 5-Star Experiences

Robert described how AutoVitals helped consolidate and upgrade his technology stack: "We looked at every point of sale available and every DVI available, and AutoVitals rose to the top. It combined a DVI platform with a reputation management tool and text messaging, email campaigns, as well as robust reporting." He highlighted how the built-in review gathering tool and automatic two-day follow-up texts helped ensure customer satisfaction.  This all-in-one solution was especially valuable given that R.O. Writer is the Midas-chosen point of sale system for all locations, and AutoVitals offers a two-way integration with it.  

The key difference between AutoVitals and the other options he looked into is that "when you take a picture. You select a condition, you can tie it to an action, and then you have a canned set of notes that say something like 'tire was found to have tread below 3/32", and then it gives an explanation of why that's important, along with a video. That was really what was missing from our old DVI platform." He also pointed out that AutoVitals lets them market declined services automatically within the platform, helping them recapture revenue opportunities.

AutoVitals stood out because it was an all-in-one solution. Rather than paying two or three different vendors and switching between multiple dashboards, everything was unified, and that meant cost savings. This feature drove AutoVitals to the top of the list and helped Midas Granbury earn its Certified Customer Excellence location award two years in a row. 

Transparency and Trust

Robert shared that he's a firm believer in ensuring that customers are receiving all the information they need about the health of their vehicle. If we're going to do $40,000 in sales this week, there better be $50,000 or $60,000 of declined services. Otherwise, you're not doing your job and you're not looking at cars." His perspective is that,  "you can sleep at night knowing that you told the customer about their safety concerns and what the OEM said they should be doing for maintenance. It's their money and it's their decision now." This level of integrity and customer care shows that he runs his business with integrity. "We don't recommend things you don't need. And if that accidentally does happen, no questions asked, I just hand their money back, all of it in full." 

Advice to Other Shop Owners

When asked if he had any advice for fellow shop owners, Robert shared that he recommends listening to the phone calls employees make to customers. This allows owners to coach their staff and improve how they communicate with customers. He also encouraged shop owners to assess their shop's appearance, noting that the look and feel of a shop directly impacts the customer’s overall experience. He advised, “Look at it as if you were a customer and you walked in. What's the appearance of the showroom? What's the appearance of the desk?” and “Are your employees wearing a uniform that's consistent? Are they greeting people with a positive attitude?” because these things make a big difference.

A Foundation for Continued Excellence

Midas Granbury's success story serves as a reminder that achieving excellence requires people-first leadership, operational discipline, and the right technology partner. Robert shared that AutoVitals helped unify and elevate critical elements of his shop's workflow, from inspections to communication and customer follow-up. He described his journey with technology as starting with DVI on day one, but "as I got more sophisticated," he wanted to get more out of his tools. 

By combining better digital vehicle inspections, integrated communication tools, and consistent staff training, Robert and his team have built a culture that earns customer trust and industry recognition. At AutoVitals, we're proud to play a role in their journey, and we look forward to supporting even more shops in reaching the same level of customer excellence.