“Wheely” cool Counters!

The Wheel Specialist is a UK-based alloy wheel refurbishment and repair franchise that uses one of Smiirls's custom counters for a unique and exciting use.

In 2019, The Wheel Specialist opened its new head office premises, just outside of Birmingham, UK. This large modern building resides in the heart of a countryside village called Lapworth - inside, the aesthetic incorporates throwback industrial vibes (think bare brick wall elements and steel girders) into a clean, modern office environment.

Scattered across the UK are The Wheel Specialist's many branches. Each day, customers arrive at The Wheel Specialist's franchised locations to drop off their cars for alloy wheel refurbishment. Sometimes it's to get rid of corrosion and scratches; other times, a customer just wants to change the color of their wheels.

The role of The Wheel Specialist's head office goes far beyond being the decision-making command centre, and this is where Smiirl came to play a part in the daily operation.

Speaking from the head office, Jack Murphy (Managing Director of The Wheel Specialist) explains: "One of our main jobs here is to provide support to our entire network. We've got a whole team from our admin staff, to marketing, to management - we call ourselves 'the hub', pun intended! When we were close to opening this office, I stumbled across Smiirl's counters online, and it instantly clicked as a perfect complement to the feel we were going for".

Jack asked his marketing team to order Smiirl's 7-digit Custom Counter and tie it to their CRM system. The idea was to display how many wheels their UK-wide wheel refurbishment network had completed in real-time.

Pete Clarke (Marketing Assistant at The Wheel Specialist) explains: "It was an unusual request, and to be honest, our initial reaction was that this was going to be very complicated, particularly as we use a custom-built CRM system, but we couldn't have been more wrong. We had everything set up and working very quickly; we were all very giddy when we saw the counter start fluttering away".

Two years since their custom wheel refurbishment counter started pumping out numbers, the counter still has pride of place in The Wheel Specialist's head office. Last year they added an Instagram follower counter too.

Another benefit is team motivation. Jack Murphy said: "Everyone who visits our office comments on it, and they're always impressed when we explain what the counter is doing. We're not refurbishing wheels here at the head office, we're growing and supporting the business as a whole, so it's great to see and hear a little slice of what's happening on the front line every few minutes. Last summer, we even had the pleasure of gathering around and watching the counter count our one-millionth wheel refurbished; we all cheered; it was an awesome moment."