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Annelize Fourie, a treasury consultant with South Africa’s Grindrod Bank, has become a celebrity in her own right. Annelize was recently celebrated for being the first customer to sign on to the newly-introduced Tiger Wheel & Tyre’s online tyre sales service as well as the Book A Bay, an online booking service, to have the tyres fitted.
Just within a few hours after Tiger Wheel & Tyre’s new e-commerce website with its innovative Book A Bay appointment service went live on April 6, 2017, with little advertising or fanfare to announce the development, Annelize became the first customer to sign on to the service.
“My husband and I were returning from honeymoon and I was browsing the internet looking for new Continental tyres to replace those on my VW Polo TDi before returning to work,” she recalled.”I didn’t even know there was an online purchasing facility, but my search led me to Tiger Wheel & Tyre and I’m so glad it did.”
Annelize, a frequent online shopper, didn’t hesitate to purchase her tyres online and take advantage of the booking service.
“It was the perfect, most convenient solution for me. I don’t know a lot about tyres and wasn’t keen on driving around looking for prices and availability, plus it was a real bonus that I could make a booking beforehand. No need to sit and wait to be helped!,” she explained.
After purchasing her tyres on Friday, April 7 and scheduling the fitment, Annelize said she immediately received a call from her chosen store in Menlyn, Pretoria, to confirm her appointment. On arrival at the store, Store Manager, Richard Van Deventer, and Regional Manager, Jaco Steyn, greeted her as the first South African Book A Bay customer, with flowers and champagne.
“For a woman with no experience on tyres, it was great to have them explain everything step-by-step, and provide constant feedback on where they were at in the process,” Annelize said, adding, “I highly recommend this service. It’s so user-friendly and I was very impressed with the service and friendliness of each and every person at Tiger Wheel & Tyre – you don’t get that very often these days.”
Interestingly, it’s no accident that Tiger Wheel & Tyre’s first online and Book A Bay customer fit one of the key audience profiles the company had envisaged would take advantage of this service.
“Women are such an important part of our customer base and that’s why we have our Urban Girls Guide on our website, with tips and advice tailored for women,” Joe du Plooy, Group Marketing Executive at Tiger Wheels & Tyre, explained. “We also expect that women will form a significant portion of our online customer base.”
Tiger Wheel & Tyre was optimistic that the South African market was ready to purchase wheels and tyres online, and that shoppers would see the value in being able to Book A Bay to schedule the fitment of their purchases, and according to du Plooy, it was gratifying to be proven right on Day One.
