Discount Tire launching 'Pit Pass' drive-thru concept

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Reinalt-Thomas Corp., parent of Discount Tire/America's Tire, is launching a drive-through retail tire-and-wheel service concept, dubbed Pit Pass, that will incorporate a range of service-related technologies designed to speed up the tire changeover process.

The first Discount Tire Pit Pass store opened in mid-September in Flowery Branch, a community of 9,400-plus residents located about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta. The company is considering additional stores in the Atlanta area as well.

Discount Tire's goal in launching the Pit Pass concept is "to meet the busy lifestyle of today's modern customer and get them taken care of faster and with more personal convenience," Tom Williams, chief experience officer, said.

"The new Pit Pass concept store is a great testament to innovation that follows putting the customer first, just as we have done for decades to offer an inviting, easy, and safe experience."

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The Pit Pass store will integrate technologies such as embedded tire scanners, digital displays, online ordering and appointment-focused booking to achieve a faster tire/wheel service, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based dealership said.

Customers will be asked to remain in their vehicles during the service appointment, much like many of the quick-lube businesses in operation.

The Pit Pass concept store is a roughly 5,000-sq.-ft. structure with three drive-through service bays and 2,600 square feet of subsurface workspace.

As customers enter a drive-through lane with a covered canopy, they are greeted by a Discount Tire employee to confirm the services scheduled and are then guided by the employee and digital displays to one of the store's three bays.

Customers are able to view the entire service — whether it's a tire/wheel changeover or tire rotation, etc. — from their car or through the glass walls separating the bays. Discount Tire likens the process to a racetrack pit crew.

In the bays, Discount Tire's technicians will use technologies such as embedded tire scanners that evaluate tread depth and tire condition and/or Zebra mobile devices to complete services.

Digital displays in the service bays give each customer's vehicle status in real time and allow tire technicians to share updates and product or service recommendations.

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Discount Tire encourages customers who plan to use a Pit Pass store to shop for tires and/or wheels online and to book an appointment in advance using the Discount Tire mobile app or DiscountTire.com to save time.

Customers who prefer to shop on-site can visit the Discount Tire Pit Pass concept store, drive over the embedded tire scanners and receive information about their tires' condition. The digital displays in the drive-through experience give customers access to Discount Tire's online tire guide, Treadwell, which can provide customers with a self-guided experience and the same personalized recommendation they would receive from an associate.

Consumers will also be able to visit a Pit Pass store after hours to get their tire pressures and/or tread conditions checked automatically via the drive-over tire scanners.

"The expansion of the buy-online trend for tire and wheel purchases creates an opportunity to test new ways to meet the changing needs customers expect today," Williams said. "Pit Pass allows us to meet these needs and potentially change the traditional tire, wheel and service experience moving forward."

As with Reinalt-Thomas' traditional Discount Tire or America's Tire retail stores, services are tire- and/or wheel-related only.

The company did not comment on how many other Pit Pass concept stores it's planning or where, other than the Atlanta metro area.