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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

The Right Path

Operator of the Year Jason Berry is a newer owner with deep ties to his shops and the industry. Upon taking over, he retained key staff members for their experience.

Right Operator, Right Time

The industry is in good hands with this young quick lube owner

By Matt Hudson / Photography by Brianna Collett

RIGHT OPERATOR, RIGHT TIME

When Jason Berry was younger, he helped his father out in his metal fabrication business. One of their contracts was with the local quick lube to fabricate the underground bulk tanks.

Berry’s duties included getting into those tanks and doing some of the fi ner welding work. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was putting the fi nishing welds on tanks that would become his own.

“Both of my stores still have the same oil tanks that, chances are, I laid in them as a kid because I was smaller,” Berry says.

Re-telling that story, he says that it’s crazy how life happens sometimes. While that is a pretty remarkable connection to his lube shops, Berry had close ties to the quick maintenance industry all along. Those ties, and the relationships therein, helped him become the operator that he is today.

But that experience alone isn’t enough to succeed in this business. The quick maintenance industry is going through a lot of change, and Berry is the type of young operator who is the example of a bright future. He pays careful attention to his employees’ needs, and his devout faith helps to guide him toward a customer service culture that’s always thoughtful, truly wishing a good day for every visitor.

All the while, Berry’s shops have seen car counts and premium oil sales grow, and he’s received unprecedented corporate customer satisfaction scores. He’s a strong ambassador for the Havoline brand, and he’s also got the full endorsement of the former operators, with whom he remains close.

It was hard to get the 2021 NOLN Operator of the Year to brag about his leadership. Berry knows this—it’s embedded in his style.

“I just try to stay humble to it,” he says. “I’ve seen too many people get the big head and kind of let it go, so I just keep my nose on the grindstone. The days that we knock it out of the park and do 110 cars, I don’t let it get to me. I keep my people excited about it.”

Becoming an Operator

After college, Berry sold insurance for five years. It was a good career, but he knew he’d be happier running his own business.

In addition to actually working on the shops’ construction in his younger years, Berry was close with the couple who started the lube shops in Cullman and Hartselle, Ala. Gary and Tammy Sandlin started the ninth Texaco lube shop in the country, and it later became Havoline xpress Lube.

The Sandins knew about Berry’s character. Tammy Sandin says that when her father was in the hospital, Berry would come by with his own grandparents every day to provide some company.

When the Sandlins started thinking about selling their business, Berry was at the top of the list. How much did the Sandins trust Berry? If you’re familiar with Alabama college football rivalries, this will provide some insight:

“To know that we’re big [University of] Alabama fans and Jason’s a big Auburn [University] fan, that tells you a lot,” Sandin says.

The timing worked out well. In 2019, The Sandins were ready to part with the Hartselle location, and Berry had been interested in taking over the business. In February of that year, Berry purchased the Hartselle shop. Two years later, in early 2021, he bought the busy Cullman store.

Berry says that the Sandins have continued to be there for him for advice and guidance.

“They’ve been excellent mentors to me along the way,” he says.

Training Grounds

Jason Berry was close to the former owners of his shops. Even after he bought them, he found himself discussing ideas with the former owners questions about running the business.

JASON KNOWS HOW TO

Congratulations to our very own Mighty customer, Jason Berry, Havoline® xpress lube, Hartselle and Cullman, Alabama. He has been named the 2021 Operator of the Year by NOLN and is being recognized for his hard work and dedication to improving the industry. Way to BE MIGHTIER, Jason!

MightyAutoParts.com

QUALITY PRODUCTS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT BUSINESS INSIGHT CUSTOMIZED TRAINING

Jumping In

Soon after Jason Berry took over his Havoline xpress lube shops, he wanted to impove by 10 cars per day. The shops quickly surpassed those figures.

Quick Success

It’s not like Berry got into a struggling operation, but he was able to improve some key KPIs after taking over. At the Hartselle store, he says car counts were at an average of 48 daily in 2019. Through 2020, he got to 64. Partway through 2021, he says he has been at an average of 70 at the location.

“My goal coming in was 10 cars per day (improvement), but that was realistically five years down the road,” he says. “I didn’t expect it to do what it did.”

The Cullman location is bigger than Hartselle and has been traditionally strong; he says that it averages 95 cars daily.

Part of what makes Berry the 2021 Operator of the Year is the overwhelming support that he received from Chevron’s automotive installed sales and marketing team. Though he’s a smaller operator in Alabama, he caught attention as a rising star in the franchise system. Five different people at Chevron nominated him as a great ambassador for the brand and for the quick lube industry.

One of those nominators was Dave Schletewitz, auto installed marketing manager for Chevron. He says that as Havoline started a pilot customer satisfaction study program, Berry’s operations stood out.

The pilot program included a mystery shopper element, in which a customer would go through a service and then report the experience later. The second element is more of a visual review of the facility, its cleanliness, and its curb appeal.

Schletewitz says that Berry had the highest customer satisfaction score in the pilot relative to other participants. That included a 94.2 percent score in the customer satisfaction element and a 99 percent in the “image audit” visual report.

“Scoring over 90 percent in a customer satisfaction mystery shop, for an extended period of time, is extremely challenging to achieve which says a lot about Berry and his team,” Schletewitz says.

In addition, he says that Berry’s attributes as an effective business leader serve him well in those business metrics, showing how that hard work can translate into employee and customer retention. He says that Berry has a high level of humility, respect, appreciation and really treats his employees well.

Paying Dues

Tammy Sandlin, the previous co-owner of the shops, said that Berry has served them well by carrying on the hard work put into those locations. That included maintaining the experienced staff on site.

Faith and Community Spirit

Berry says that a strong Christian faith has led him to success and guides him to be a humble, hardworking leader. He says that it wasn’t a question for him to separate that from his business.

“I’m at my stores every day. Both locations, I make an appearance,” he says. “The first and foremost thing is that I've always been a faith-driven guy.”

That’s led him to build ties in the community and among his staff— sometimes in unexpected ways. Berry says that he had a manager in Hartselle who helped him start a Bible study session. That was just fine with Berry, whose grandfather was a preacher. They held it once per month at the shop, and they had some staff and friends participate.

Eventually, someone suggested that they videotape the sessions. Berry obliged, but a technological slip-up caused the event to become more popular.

“Long story short, I accidentally went live on our Facebook page,” he says. “And it took off like wildfire. Now people are tuning into it, we have customers who show up.”

The sessions have continued ever since, every first Saturday at Hartselle and third Saturday at Cullman, live in person and now live on Facebook.

“I don’t know what better team-building event you can have,” Berry says. “Some of them are getting up on their off day and doing it at 7 o’clock in the morning.”

Going Viral

After Jason Berry accidentally live streamed a shop Bible study group, more and more people showed up for the weekly event.

Staying Humble

One thing that impressed Sandlin the most was how Berry operated shortly after he bought the business. The Sandlins had some experienced, strong employees in place that contributed to the company’s success. Some new operators might have looked to trim costs and start fresh. Sandlin found that Berry saw them as assets, not overhead.

“Jason never batted an eye,” Sandlin says. “He never thought about cutting anything. And for a young guy coming in, that speaks volumes.”

Naturally, Berry is less forthcoming to talk about all the things he’s doing well. But that suits his personality. He says that he wants his employees to say that he’s doing well but to feel inside like he always needs to improve.

He does attribute a lot of his success to the close attention he pays to the operation and the people in it. He jumped quickly to remodel the shops’ office spaces and upgrade what he could. Employees would show up to find their company owner re-flooring the store by himself.

“I've just always been that way,” Berry says. “The hardest thing for me is that I'm such a hands-on guy. Hartselle, when I just had it alone, I was handling everything from the business side and still being hands-on every day.”

He found it hard to delegate to managers and become a two-shop operator, but he also found other ways to be present and connect with the business. What motivates him is more than the success he gains for himself. He tries to look at the biggest possible impact.

“What drives me are those 25 or 26 people,” Berry says of his staff. “Not only do I think about those 25 or 26, I think about the babies, the wives, the husbands. That’s what drives me.”

Positive Attitude

Even after a day of huge car counts, Jason Berry wants to stay focused on the long-term goals while recognizing the staff’s hard work.

A Labor of Legacy

Shane Burton is taking the family Jiffy Lube shops to new heights

It began as a family business, one generation above Shane Burton.

“It started with my uncle, Ross,” Burton says. “He was the one who started the whole thing.”

In the late ’90s, around the time that Jiffy Lube absorbed the Q Lubes chain, Burton says his uncle was working for Quaker State. Uncle Ross joined Burton’s father, Ted, and went into the quick lube business.

In those early years of the franchise, Burton was working as a high school teacher. He did that for 13 years, teaching the sciences and some other subjects.

“At the same time, I would work at the stores and just learn the positions,” he says. “I would work the pit for three months straight, or the hoods or the computer.”

That set up Burton to eventually take over the business, which he did about nine years ago. But he kept learning business lessons from his father. Those lessons continued even after Burton's father died in late 2020.

The legacy left is a strong local quick lube chain that continues to serve customers in the way Burton’s father sought to do. Burton carried on that work and has carried three locations into bustling Jiffy Lube service centers. At the same time, he’s built goodwill through philanthropy and community involvement.

“What we focus on in Twin (Falls), and what we’ve always done, is No. 1: customer service,” Burton says. “And No. 2: getting in and out quick. And No. 3: doing what you say you do. And if you cover all three of those in the fast lube business, you’re going to do pretty good.”

For his commitments to his career and his community, Burton has earned this runner-up spot in NOLN.

Perks of the Job

At the heart of Burton’s operation is a solid team of techs and managers. Devan Lyman, Burton’s general manager, tells NOLN that they have employees whose time with the company spans decades. Lyman himself has been with them for 15 years.

“I would never leave his stores because of the level of care he provides,” Lyman says of Burton. “Sales are up dramatically and employee turnover is at an all-time low. That's rare in the lube business, and if anyone has worked and earned recognition, it is Mr. Burton.”

Burton knows the importance of tech work. He did it himself for a time. When he took over the Twin Falls operations about nine years ago, he knew that success would start with that core team.

“We have longevity with some of our employees,” Burton says. “My area manager for Twin has been with us since the beginning. When I was working as a lube tech, he was my pit tech.”

It’s hard for every lube shop to hire, he says, and sometimes owners have to pay up, even though it can be a bookkeeping challenge. It’s not just pay, either. Burton

COURTESY SHANE BURTON

Giving Back

After more than a decade working as a teacher, Shane Burton went into the family quick lube business. But he still found a way to give back to the local education system with a scholarship program.

holds big holiday parties each winter and created a bonus program at the shops. He sends his top employees on fishing and hunting trips to reward them.

Burton says that he’s learned that leading a team is about being personal and looking beyond the line item. That’s the culture he wants to build.

“They want to be noticed. Everybody wants to be noticed,” he says. “So we try to implant that into our managers. And we’re there every day. We want to know what’s going on in their lives. We try to help them out as best we can. There are programs, but we find out what’s going on with them and we pay attention.”

Spreading Success

Community service has been a priority for Burton as a business owner.

“We try to do more and more of that,” he says. “If you’re not supporting your community, they're the ones who are coming in and paying everyone's salaries.”

The company donates to local groups like the Shriners. Lyman says the company has raised money for anti-domestic violence causes as well.

Burton has also made it a point to give back to the education system in which he worked. One of those is a teacher of the month gift card giveaway. There are other giveaways for office assistants and custodial staff members as well.

His company also sponsors a program called “What Drives You,” which is an essay contest for students. The students must write an essay reflecting upon the motivating forces in their lives, and how they’re pushing to achieve their own goals.

“It’s cool to read all those, and we pick a winner, and then we give them a $1,500 scholarship,” Burton says. “And second place gets a $1,000 scholarship. And the school that turns in the most gets a $500 check.”

Similar to his attitude with his own staff, Burton’s community service efforts are a chance to show the community that he wants to take part in its progress. Helping a student out with a scholarship may or may not gain a customer for the shops, but it helps out the student, and Burton says that’s the goal.

Lessons Learned

One of the biggest lessons Burton learned from his father about being an operator is a practical one for any shop.

“A dirty pit and you'll have a dirty store,” he says. “It’s so right. If you're not cleaning, you’re going to have problems.”

Another lesson Burton’s father imprinted was the need for strong shoplevel leadership—and the ability to draw from that person’s strength. Whenever there is an issue at a specific location, Burton says he will always talk to the manager first. The link is so crucial to what’s happening on the bay floor. Burton also learned to push the envelope a bit and try out new things. He says that they launched a quality inspection process years ago that went into use across the national Jiffy Lube network. He was an early adopter of cameras recording the service process, which has become very common both for customer service and liability protection. All the while, shop revenues have increased.

Finally, Burton says that he has learned the value of the overall experience. Customers might not pay close attention to how the oil change service itself is going. But techs always have the opportunity to make an impression during personal interaction. That’s what the customer will always remember.

“They’re not going to think about you after the oil change,” he says. “First impressions and your last impressions are big deals. They may not remember the service, but they will remember that it wasn’t a bad experience.”

Market-Minded Operator

Costa Kapothanasis is seeking the biggest impact for each new location

Years ago, in the early 2010s, Costa Kapothanasis had worked his way into a good finance career at a big-name institution. But something nagged at him. He wanted to set his own limits at work.

“I’ve always been entrepreneurial, so it was very difficult sitting in a cubicle, staring at a screen all day and not being able to have an impact on the organization,” he says.

But it was tough to leave a safe career track during those years, as the Great Recession left lots of college grads under-employed. Kapothanasis first started looking into quick lubes as a potential part-time gig.

More importantly, he looked into deals that could be had with a small initial investment from a young entrepreneur.

“I started reading some books on negotiating seller finance deals and sweat equity deals,” he says. “Different ways you can convince someone who’s getting out of the business to sell to you without putting a lot of money down.”

He found such a deal in Harrisburg, Pa., which he acquired and then opened in 2014 as his first quick lube shop. It became a blueprint for how he would eventually run a growing quick lube network. Kapothanasis has his eye on growth opportunities that don’t need to be neatly grouped in a single market, and he’s built a data-driven business model that focuses on the oil change basics.

His success on this path led him to take a big leap in 2021 and start franchising with a single-bay model that he devised. It’s his attention to detail, thoughtful approach, and bold step toward franchising that has earned him this runner-up award from NOLN.

Of course, Kapothanasis didn’t know all that when he took over the Harrisburg shop in 2014. But it was a pivotal deal. He recalls the date very clearly.

“We got the deal done and signed on April 1, so five days before I turned 25,” he says. “That was a big deal to me.”

Strategic Growth

The Costa Oil company-owned network stretches through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois. Kapothanasis specialized in taking over existing quick lube properties that were good deals. The goal was to shorten the time to profitability and roll out his quick lube model.

That can be tough, because the oil change business isn’t like an eatery or retail store. Customers don’t come in every week; they’re waiting for the service interval.

To ramp up quickly, Kapothanasis focused on the costs that he could control. Part of that is offering a simpler

COURTESY COSTA KAPOTHANASIS

Strategic Growth

Costa Kapothanasis’ network spans multiple states, as he has worked to find highimpact opportunities to serve the markets he calls home.

model featuring oil changes and a few other quick services. He looked closely at inventory and performance data to limit the number of SKUs he needed to carry. And he jumped into lease deals that would be favorable for growth.

“If we optimize the inventory on the shelf, in the tanks,” he says. “And then control our lease costs, control our fixtures and furniture. To an extent, control your labor costs, then you can have a very successful quick lube with that oil change model.”

Kapothanasis cherry-picked his network with those factors in mind and worked his way through Pennsylvania and Illinois first. When he reached his fifth location in Youngstown, Ohio, he met a different challenge.

The previous owner had stripped nearly the entire building of useful equipment, down to the last bit of piping. It gave him an opportunity to build out a more customized facility that was built for his kind of business.

Today, that location is doing well, he says, and it gave him a test run for the eventual franchise model.

Jump Into Franchising

During a video interview with NOLN in early 2021, Kapothanasis announced that he was launching a franchise model for Costa Oil 10 Minute Oil Change.

It’s based around his low-overhead philosophy to bring quick oil change service to customers and short ramp-up periods for franchisees. Kapothanasis says that he built the model to be good investments but also attractive to owner-operators with lower liquidity requirements that can price out some operators.

“I wanted to present a model that was owner-operator friendly,” Kapothanasis says. “It was very important for me to satisfy both ends of the bell curve—the owner-operator on one end and the multi-unit portfolio sophisticated investor on the other end.”

As of this writing, Costa Oil had announced franchise deals in three states, and he says that they’ve been recruiting for more. He’s eager to see how far his model can go.

Kapothanasis is a unique operator because he comes at his work with a business-side mind and the attention to detail of an owner-operator. His view is that of a young startup looking to revise the model a bit to give people what they truly want.

“When we as a company have our core values, and eliminating friction and being kind are at the top of our pillars, that’s really what we’re doing differently,” he says. “We’re putting an emphasis on that while creating a model that allows it to be cultivated in the first place.”

Ultimate Quick Lube

Products and services you need to run a more effi cient and profi table quick lube operation

Autel / Clix Wipers / Devon / RelaDyne / Solid Start/True Brand

Autel’s ITS600: TPMS and So Much More

Enable technicians the ability to efficiently perform every aspect of a TPMS service

The MaxiTPMS ITS600 is a sleek, lightweight touchscreen Android tablet that performs every aspect of TPMS service, including activation of all-known sensors, system diagnostics, 1-Sensor programming providing 99 percent vehicle coverage, and displays vehicle-specific position Relearn instructions. Autel’s TPMS tools’ interface has for years enabled technicians to perform these tasks easily and consistently. The ITS600 gracefully improves upon the efficiency of TPMS services and only increases Autel’s merit as a comprehensive TPMS solution provider especially when used with the dual-frequency 1-Sensor that continues to offer technicians the most efficient and cost-saving sensor solution in the industry.

Still, the ITS600 offers shops more. The tablet’s Tire Identification Number (TIN) scan and DOT tire registration feature (available with a separate CIMs tire registration subscription) produces a real-time safety check for the customer’s current vehicle tires and a method to ensure your shop is in compliance with government regulations when selling new tires. The TIN is the string of six to 13 numbers or letters marked on the tire sidewall following the letters DOT identifying among other things, the week and year the tire was manufactured.

The manufacture date, of course, is vitally important as tire makers recommend that a tire six years or older be replaced—and a quick scan and the subsequent display of the tire’s last four digits quickly identifies the age of that tire and advises the technician if he should recommend a tire placement to the customer.

TIN registration is another matter and one whose responsibility has shifted over the years between seller and consumer. But in 2016, the FAST Act made it mandatory that the tire seller register just-purchased tires on behalf of the customers. The goal, of course, is to alert customers of a tire recall and to get those tires off the road. Eighty-five percent of recalled tires are believed to be still out there. The ITS600 brings the capturing and registering of the TIN into the modern age, eliminating the hassle of mailing in postcards and reducing the possible transcribing errors (40 percent of registrations are invalid because the TIN was incorrectly written). The ITS600 makes compliance easy: input the tire information and the customers contact information, and tap submit.

Still, the ITS600 offers more. Purchase the TBE200 Tire Brake Examiner for laser-enabled measurement of tread and depth and brake disc wear analysis. Pair with the ITS600 to generate detailed customer reports advising of depth and disc wear. Here again, Autel takes thread depth and wear measurement into the modern age (surely, it’s time to move on from the penny test). The Tire Brake Examiner enlists a laser to scan the surface of the tire and generate a real-time image of the tread depth and overall tire wear. The TBE200’s 1.65” high resolution AMOLED touchscreen full-color graphical display illustrates wear and provides service recommendations, including tire and brake disc replacement, tire rotation, and 4-wheel alignment. It’s time to bring serious attention to getting vehicles with bald and expired tires off the road. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research found that of the 11,500 passenger vehicles they inspected, almost half had at least one tire with only 50 percent tread remaining. An additional 10 percent had at least one bald tire. Via the TBE200’s 4-megapixel macro camera and 8-megapixel zoomable cameras, the technician can document tire wear and damage and scan the TIN.

Inspect the vehicle brake disc without having to remove the tires. The user fixes the TBE200 (with the embedded magnet) to the disc to inspect the disc. The tool emits a scanning laser over the surface of the disc. Wear images and service recommendations display on-screen.

Regardless of the industry, the best tool investment should offer opportunities. Make sure the next TPMS tool you buy enables your shop to measure its success with improved efficiency, greater customer satisfaction and a flourishing bottom line.

Increase Wiper Blade Sales with One Click

Boost efficiency and grow your ARO by offering customers the unique design of Clix Wipers

For Anthony and Arthur Leardi, starting their windshield wiper business was a way to carry on their family legacy. Their mother began her own wiper blade business in 1991—selling windshield wipers out of the trunk of her car. Now, the brothers have put a modern, more whimsical spin on the essential product with their brand Clix Wipers.

The Florida-based company features simple, and easy-to-install wiper blades that clip into place in a matter of seconds. Making selling and installing the windshield wipers easy for quick lube technicians in every shop. Even more, the wiper blades come in a variety of colors and patterns, creating a unique and creative selling point.

“Anthony and I have really focused on making our wipers the best all around,” Arthur explains. “We aim to bring quick lube shops the best possible product, service, and pricing,”

Say “Yes” More

If there is one word an owner doesn’t want their team to ever have to say to a customer in response to providing a potential service, it’s “no”. With the countless styles, sizes, and types of windshield wipers needed for different vehicles—shops are met with the risk of not having the right wiper blades to fit the job.

“Clix Wipers allow shops the ability to say ‘yes’ to everybody in terms of providing wiper blades, which helps shops immensely,” Anthony says.

An original pack of Clix Wipers comes with just two clips, but are compatible with 98 percent of vehicles. In addition, Clix Wipers offers X-factor clips that install to nearly all of the rarest wiper arms. This versatility makes the product not only easy to stock and sell, but also simple to install. Many other windshield wiper brands include up to four or five adapters in their packaging, turning the supposedly simple and quick task into a confusing and an unnecessary time suck. The simplicity of Clix Wipers makes it easy to train each technician in the shop to be able to quickly install the wiper blades onto each vehicle, helping to push jobs through the doors faster.

“It’s a really simple product for teams to learn and to understand, which makes employees feel confident in using the product and confident in selling it,” Anthony explains.

Offer Variety and Personality

Beyond the versatility and ease-of use of Clix Wipers, the unique colors and patterns of the product line is what really makes the typically mundane windshield wipers stand apart to shops and customers alike. Clicking through the collections on Clixwipers.com showcases their “OG” design, along with multiple color sections in their “Clix Carbon Series”. For even more unique and dynamic styles, Clix Wipers offers a “Clix Ink Series”, which includes everything from a camo print, to plaid, to flannel—providing something for everyone. “Clix 4 Causes” connects wiper styles to nonprofits including the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Best Friends Animal Society.

All Clix Wipers are painted or hydro dipped and assembled in-house, allowing the company to offer the vast expansion of designs, along with custom orders if desired.

Shop team members can showcase the wide array of designs to customers looking to add some personality to their vehicle, adding the extra personal touch and connection to boost customer satisfaction and retention.

Increase Your Add-on Sales

Although windshield wipers should be a simple sale to customers coming in, shop availability and ease of purchasing a pair elsewhere can make the add-on more challenging. By offering quick and convenient solutions to typical wiper headaches, customers are more willing to make the extra investment.

In addition to the OG set of Clix Wipers, shops can showcase a wall display to advertise the variety of different colors and designs. If a customer is interested in a colorful add-on, the wiper blades can be drop shipped to the shop to allow the technician the ability to install them themself. “The variety of wiper designs offer quick lubes a new way of selling the same old, same old,” Arthur says. “Plus, they’re really awesome, exciting to talk about, and a very engaging product for the driver.”

In order to expand Clix Wipers sales opportunities within the quick lube sector of the industry, the company is coming up with new and innovative services. From a drive-thru wipers concept, to Uber-like mobile installation—the Leardis continue to bring their innovation and industry experience to help operators further grow their business.

To learn more about Clix Wipers, along with conventional and rear wiper blades, and the upcoming Clix Wipers Silicone+, visit clixwipers.com/business.

Every Answer, Resource and Part

Don’t find a supplier—find a partner who values your time, your hard work and your relationship

In the quick lube industry and aftermarket, Mark Agan has seen it all.

He began working on cars when he was thirteen years old; moved to restoration; hustled tires as a young man at the tire shop; changed oil at a lube shop; trained mechanics; became a system and services manager (and later managed million-dollar stores).

“I had seven states under my discretion with Valvoline,” he says.

Today, he’s the chief operations officer at Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil Change, a rapidly growing chain of stores and franchises that began in North Carolina and now has footholds in several surrounding states (with plans to keep growing).

“We started franchising pretty heavily last year,” he says, as over 200 stores adopted the Strickland banner, “and we currently have about over forty shops open and gaining momentum. We hope to open an additional 100-125 units in 2022.”

That’s a lot of units, a lot of customers and a lot of lube jobs, parts, components and more to account for, both on the vehicle and within the shop.

To help Strickland Brothers scale up while keeping their metaphorical feet on the ground, Agan and his team look to Devon.

A Relationship-Based Partner in Profit

As Strickland Brothers scales up, Agan is quick to note that parts and availability are certainly important, but it’s the relationship he and his team have developed with Devon that really sets them apart as a quick lube supply center equipment juggernaut and partner in profit.

“Devon is a one-stop shop for Strickland Brothers,” he says.

“The guy who sold us our first filter is still working with us today; we’re big on direct contact and our primary rep at Devon has never let us down. I knew to grow at a fast pace we needed a reliable partner.”

Agan says that Devon (and even to an extent, himself) had no idea how fast their endeavor was going to grow. When he asked for a quote on a huge variety and volume of products, Devon delivered; he liked it, he bought it and it was off to the races for Strickland Brothers.

“We built the prototype and I bought the entire equipment package from Devon—lifts, pumps, filters, oil pans and tanks—anything and everything I needed to outfit my stores.”

Agan says that Devon worked with his team to get everything to every store (seven states in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond) promptly, efficiently, without issue or complaint, besides the 2020 usual—pandemic slowdowns of the supply chain.

“He laid it down,” Agan says of his rep, “he told me right away that tanks and lifts were backed up. He laid out a timetable about how to order the products and they made good on that promise.

“We came out of COVID knocking record months out.”

To learn how Devon can help supply your store, check out devonlube.com.

R

DuraMAX is a Modern Shop Solution

Achieve Millennial loyalty through superior products and value

Kevin Weaver is living his best life.

At 57 years old, he’s in better shape than he’s been in years—he’s cut some carbs and dropped more than 50 pounds well ahead of his fall schedule.

Weaver is also operation manager of In-N-Out Lube, the two oldest quick lube service stores in Fort Worth, Texas. One was built in the mid-seventies, and the one he operates was constructed about ten years later.

So what’s the secret to long-term success deep in the heart of Texas?

“If I knew that, I’d make a million bucks!” he laughs. “Finding people to work in the industry, maybe—the right people. Employee retention. I’ve been lucky to surround myself with smart people.”

But smart people can only do so much—when they’re equipped with smart products, increased revenue isn’t a possibility; it’s a certitude.

Adapting with the Industry

Weaver began his shops’ relationship with DuraMAX (a RelaDyne brand) about ten years ago and hasn’t looked back. They began as his shops’ secondary supplier and he cites excellent supply-side customer service as an added bonus.

But the industry changed (as it always does) and his primary supplier kept raising prices and Weaver wasn’t able to offer the same value to his customers and soon looked to his secondary option as a primary supplier and partner.

“DuraMAX kept the price on synthetics and semi-synthetics low and always fair,” he says, “which allowed us to not enforce dramatic price hikes on our customers. As competitors raised their prices, mine didn’t go up nearly as much—they went up $5, I went up $1. It kept me in the market.”

Weaver notes that today’s customers aren’t brand loyalty fanatics like many of the drivers of old; instead, they’re value and experience connoisseurs who look to Google and Yelp to find what they need. He also says that RelaDyne has exceptional products across the board and has helped lower his cost of goods.

“Pricing is important, of course,” he says, “but today’s drivers just want to make sure the car runs. RelaDyne has always been exceptional, and the signage package was great. They help with tanks and anything else we need—it’s a really great and appealing program.”

And that program delivers. Weaver carries all the DuraMAX oils, oil filters, air cabin filters, coolants, wipers and more. He even carries some of their secondary lines, such as Rain-X, “and if they don’t have it or can’t get it to us, they’ll find someone who can or provide a similar product at negligible cost and inconvenience to the store.”

Now, Weaver is able to foster a consistently loyal customer base who trust his products and, in turn, trust him and his team to provide high quality quick lube service.

“Once you have a consistent clientele who trust your prices, that’s definitely good for business,” he says.

“DuraMAX has increased our profits. We can keep good quality products without paying premium prices, and in this market that’s a good thing. If you buy filters through an outside supplier, it could be 50 percent higher than this time last year.”

Weaver says that switching oil providers didn’t affect car count in any way and that In-N-Out Lube anticipates getting through another pandemic summer without a single hiccup; in fact, they’re having a great year.

“We always want to improve,” he says, and that the business model and services offered by RelaDyne and the DuraMAX line of products is the future of the industry.

“I recommend them to everyone,” he adds, “and though they have a smaller foothold in Texas, this is where the market is going. I see competitors’ prices, show others what I pay and everyone benefits. They’re competing with big companies and helping us be successful in the process.”

It’s been a banner year for Weaver and In-N-Out Lube, and with a partner such as RelaDyne, who knows what’s next? Maybe that million-dollar secret.

To learn more, check out reladyne.com.

Grow Your Shop with One Product

True Brand offers a more effective, more efficient, and more profitable induction service

“This thing really is a game-changer,” Jason Weicht, Solid Start’s director of sales, says. “We’ve seen such a huge impact in the shops that are utilizing it. It’s really exciting.”

NOLN recently sat down with Weicht to discuss the one change he recommends to every shop owner and manager.

“That’s easy,” he says. “Our pressurized canister induction service—hands-down the easiest and most profitable change any shop can implement.

“Compared to the plastic IV-style drip bottles that most shops use when performing a fuel-system or induction cleaning service, the pressurized canister service wins easily in every metric imaginable,” Weicht says. “Besides the obvious fact that the metal canister looks far more professional when performing the service, it also saves time, eliminates the stress of finding the proper vacuum source, adds in the benefits of a throttle plate cleaning, and removes any chance of flooding the catalytic converter. All of these add up to a more profitable shop.”

The True Brand Pressurized Canister utilizes shop air to pressurize the metal canister and deliver a consistent atomized mist of their GDI Induction Cleaner directly to the throttle body via the S-Hook delivery system. This cleans and lubricates the throttle plate to eliminate a sticky gas pedal without harming the throttle-position or mass-air sensors. While this is a great benefit over the traditional IV-style drip bottle application, Weicht says that the efficiency of the pressurized canister service is where shops are seeing huge benefits.

“Our in-market testing shows the pressurized canister service consistently takes less than half the time of a drip bottle service,” Weicht says. “While a drip bottle service takes an average of around 20 minutes to complete – and that doesn’t include the extra time it might take tech to search for and find a proper vacuum source - our pressurized canister service takes around seven minutes at max to complete. This means that the shop can essentially perform two to three times more services per day after they switch to the pressurized canister.”

According to Weicht, many techs end up using the brake booster for the drip bottle style service because it’s the easiest vacuum source to find and has good vacuum pressure. However, around 80 percent of the time, that’s the wrong source and will dump the cleaner into the last valve and flood the catalytic converter. “This results in poor cleaning and possible catalytic converter damage,” he says. “Since our pressurized canister always delivers the cleaner through the throttle body via the s-hook, this eliminates the chance of not hitting all the valves, the possibility of flooding the catalytic converter, time wasted searching for the correct vacuum source and the possibility of accidentally pulling a coolant line. Additionally, with newer vehicles using plastic vacuum lines, we are seeing more incidents of techs accidentally breaking the lines and shops having to replace them. With the pressurized canister, you don’t have to worry about any of that.”

In addition to increased efficiency and effectiveness, the pressurized canister service also offers the shop the option to benefit from an increase in service price, thanks to the addition of the throttle plate cleaning to the typical valve and injector cleaning benefits of a drip bottle service. Weicht says that this is an option that he discusses with each shop when reviewing the benefits of the pressurized canister.

“Since they’re adding another layer of cleaning to the service, they can—if they wish—charge more,” he explains.

The market seems to agree with Weicht:

Mark W., the general manager of a seven-store franchise group, states, “The customer perception and improved satisfaction with the price of the service is 10 times better using the True Brand pressurized canister. It just carries a better-perceived value because of the application, something you can also show the customer.”

Chris D. manages a five-store group in Eastern Idaho and loves how simple and efficient the service is for his techs to perform. He says, “No questions on how my tech is supposed to perform the service… and it works like a charm!”

With its time-saving and revenue-generating benefits, True Brand’s pressurized canister service is changing how shops approach ancillary services. If you’d like more information on implementing this easy and profitable service in your shop, contact your True Brand representative or call 877.290.3950.

MAKE ONE SMALL CHANGE FOR HUGE PROFITS

“This thing really is a game-changer. We’ve seen such a huge impact in the shops that are utilizing it. It’s really exciting.” -Jason Weicht, Director of Sales - Solid Start, Inc.

More Effective! More Efficient! More Profitable!

Are you having difficulty choosing the proper vacuum source? Take the guess work out of it and perform a “PROFFESIONAL FUEL SYSTEM SERVICE” right every time! In-market testing shows the True Brand SGX113 pressurized canister service consistently takes less than half the time of a drip bottle service. While a drip bottle Fuel System/Induction service takes an average of around 20 minutes to complete, the same service using the SGX113 takes about seven minutes, allowing you to perform two to three times the amount of services per day. Call today to make one small change that equals HUGE profits!

True Brand Products are specifically formulated to help your customers stay on the road longer!

Truth:

“Small changes can make huge destination differences.” - Sean Covey

SERVICE

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CASE STUDY

CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE

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