On Wednesday, Bridgestone Americas’ Bridgestone Retail Operations (BSRO) opened the doors of its St. Charles, Ill., Firestone Complete Auto Care location to reveal its latest retail concept, Vision 2020.

The shop is an existing 10-bay location that has been redesigned to reflect and test the Vision 2020 approach. According to Stu Crum, chairman and president of BSRO, the journey toward this customer-centric approach began two years prior as part of a long-term strategic plan to take customer service to the next level. With the plan, Bridgestone aims to build trust and life-long loyal relationships within the communities they serve.

Based on customer satisfaction scores, data and feedback, the BSRO team set out to develop, build and test new ways of doing business that they hope will significantly increase customer value over time.

Vision 2020 innovations include:

• Store-within-a-store concepts – Similar to a BestBuy footprint, Firestone Complete Auto Care locations adopting the Vision 2020 approach will include in-store areas dedicated to partner brands such as Interstate Batteries, among others.
• Centralized waiting areas – Comfortable “islands” complete with charging stations and coffee-pod options are designed to keep the customer at the center of the operation.
• Consultation and transactional kiosks – Customers and consultative counter people stand shoulder to shoulder at kiosks featuring touch-screen technology designed to increase trust, transparency, and to better educate consumers on the need for repairs using animated digital learning tools to better explain their unique situation.
• Enhanced retail area – “Shield Shop” walls of retail products include everything from wiper blades to Bridgestone brand golf balls, Firestone clothing accessories and more.
• Concierge service – A curbside welcome, including an umbrella on a rainy day, allows trained team members to greet each customer, addressing any concerns or points of frustration directly.
• Choreographed speed – Multiple technicians trained on specific tasks performed in timed sequence reportedly have whittled a 45-minute oil change and inspection service down to a little more than 11 minutes. The service process begins before the customer has fully completed the transaction inside. The oil change service includes digital diagnostic checks (data is saved within a central system for future reference and improved consultation), upholstery vacuuming and floor mat cleaning.

Bridgestone retail plans to continue to test and improve as it rolls out its Vision 2020 approach to its 2,200+ company-owned stores across North America.