How Pit Stop Confidently Rolled Out Auxo Workshop – and Why Sites Quickly Left Paper Behind
When Pit Stop made the decision to change its workshop management system, it wasn’t a light one. Rolling out a new platform across a franchise network carries real operational and commercial risk – for head office and for every individual site.
“For us as a franchisor, it’s a big risk… when we change a system for all our 45 franchisees,” says Andrew Clark, General Manager of Pit Stop.
The goal was clear: improve efficiency across the network, help franchisees make more money, and give head office confidence that the system could scale. What followed was a rollout that combined careful planning at HQ with rapid, tangible wins at site level.
Starting with confidence at Head Office
The initial push for change came from the network itself.
“We wanted a job management system so we could manage our bookings. That’s what we were getting pushed for from our network,” says Stacey Bree, Franchise Division Manager.
Pit Stop initially explored improving just one part of their setup, but quickly realised the opportunity was bigger.
“The more we looked at it, the more we realised just how interconnected all the other modules were,” Stacey explains. “By taking out just that one part… it was going to lose a lot of its functionality.”
Working closely with Auxo Workshop gave Pit Stop confidence to think bigger – not just about individual sites, but about how the franchise could operate as a whole.
“They listened, they understood very well, and they’ve come up with solutions,” Andrew says. “I haven’t felt that they’ve been pushing back… they’ve been really inquisitive and curious.”
That partnership mindset mattered. Pit Stop wasn’t just choosing software – they were choosing who they trusted to support a network-wide change.
Piloting the rollout – and proving it would work
Rather than forcing a top-down rollout, Pit Stop deliberately piloted Auxo Workshop in two very different, busy sites: Pit Stop Silverdale and Pit Stop Te Awamutu.
Both sites relied heavily on paper. Diaries, job cards, printed invoices, and manual processes were deeply embedded in day-to-day operations. And in both cases, the plan was cautious.
“We thought we would run both systems for a while. It felt safer that way,” says Michelle from Pit Stop Silverdale.
At Te Awamutu, Jamie and Peter felt the same initial apprehension.
“We knew it would take adjustment,” Jamie says, “but it didn’t take long at all. The support was always there through chat, text or phone.”
In practice, the transition happened far faster than expected.
“Within a month, everything was gone. The diary, the job cards, all of it,” Michelle says.
“They will never go back to handwriting anything,” Jamie adds.
Why sites adopted so quickly
At both Silverdale and Te Awamutu, the biggest shift wasn’t a single feature – it was the removal of friction from the day.
Without paper diaries and handwritten job cards, teams gained immediate clarity over bookings and workload.
“As soon as a customer makes a booking request, it drops straight into Auxo. We can confirm it in seconds,” Michelle explains. “It goes right into our weekly plan.”
Online bookings and messaging dramatically reduced phone traffic.
“Everyone always said, ‘Just send me a text.’ Now we can, and it’s a game changer,” Jamie says.
At Te Awamutu, the cloud-based schedule meant Jamie could manage the business remotely when needed – preparing estimates and reconciling invoices even while travelling.
Most importantly, both sites reported the same outcome: less admin, smoother workflow, and more confidence in how the workshop was running.
Support that reduced risk – for sites and Head Office
A key reason the pilot succeeded was the level of support during rollout.
At Silverdale, Michelle recalls the hands-on approach clearly.
“Maraea from Auxo’s Customer Success team spent a full day training us, then came back for go-live and offered to come back again the next day,” she says.
“We felt completely supported… everyone wanted the rollout to go well.”
That support model gave Pit Stop Head Office confidence too. Auxo didn’t create dependency – they enabled Pit Stop’s own team to lead rollout while knowing help was always available.
“The support was always there,” Stacey says. “Once we knew how to do it, it went well for us to roll that out.”
For Mark Thomson, Franchise Support Manager, that responsiveness made ambitious timelines achievable.
“That wouldn’t have been remotely possible without the support and the willingness to jump in and make it happen.”
From pilot success to network confidence
As Silverdale and Te Awamutu settled into Auxo Workshop, they became proof points for the rest of the network.
“It wasn’t just coming from us trying to convince them,” Mark says. “It was their peers… saying, ‘this is fantastic.’”
That peer advocacy reduced resistance and helped other sites approach the change with confidence rather than fear.
“Just go for it,” Michelle now tells other sites. “You’ll drop the paper faster than you think.”
A system and a partner built for franchise growth
Today, Auxo Workshop underpins how Pit Stop supports its franchisees: improving efficiency at site level while giving head office the visibility and confidence needed to scale.
“It helps attract franchisees to us that we’ve got the best system out there,” Stacey says.
For Andrew, the experience stands out not just for what was delivered, but how it was delivered.
“There’s a commercial arrangement, but really it’s an ongoing partnership,” he says. “From the start it’s been easy.”
By combining a franchisor-led rollout with fast, tangible wins in busy workshops, Pit Stop proved that large-scale change doesn’t have to be disruptive – when the right partner is alongside you.
