Although currently living life as a car repair franchise, the Midas franchise in Norwood, South Australia sure has a story to tell.
The refreshed and revamped car care franchise exterior belies its long history. The previous incarnation saw the car repair franchise become a petrol station and many years ago a blacksmith. In fact, while digging around the place, the car care franchise owner Ian Heresy has discovered a horseshoe or two.
Knowing the Midas franchise would prove to be a fruitful undertaking, one of Ian’s friends convinced him to establish a car care franchise 16 years ago. Today, the Midas franchise has become quite the automotive landmark about town.
Ian and his car repair franchise team which includes son Craig and technician Andy have built up many long standing relationships with customers and have a large database for their very own Midas franchise.
“About 60 per cent of our customer base is female, initially it’s difficult to convince them that they re not being ripped off which is why we stick to a routine. We make sure they are always informed and try never to let them leave without a clear idea of what we’ve done to their car,” said Ian.
Ian has worked in the automotive industry his whole life, first in spare parts and then new car dealerships before finally decided to run the car care franchise.
“As a kid, I grew up on a farm which meant we were always tinkering with cars and fixing things ourselves,” he said.
The proud owner of the car repair franchise, Ian and his wife Pam have travelled extensively overseas and hope to add a trip to the USA in the coming years. A father of three and grandfather of six it’s likely that sooner or later this Midas legend will hang up his spanner and retire from the Midas franchise network.
When he’s not nurturing his car care franchise, Ian has his eye on renovating and maintaining his beach house in the not so distant future, a job that is sure to keep him busy.
2-Jun-2006