NOLN - March 2022 by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup

STRENGTHEN VENDOR TIES

PAGE 40

FIND THE RIGHT MANAGER

PAGE 38

Hands On Chris Schroeder grew his quick lube and repair network with a strong team that believes in the company mission.

Winning Cultures The Best Workplaces of 2022 put employee success first PAGE 24

MARCH 2022 / NOLN.NET

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TAKE ON TELEMATICS

PAGE 36

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CONTENTS

06 ONLINE

Control chain of custody 09 EDITOR’S LETTER

All about the team

10 BY THE NUMBERS

Car counts and top tickets

QUICK HITS 14 INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Franchise 500 rankings 16 AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Company marks 700th location 19 ADAPT

Looking at EV fire data 20 SHOP LOOK

Pit Lane Oil Change

SERVICE 35 PIT STOP

The positive disciplinarian 36 TECH+TOOLS

Dig into telematics for the shop 38 CASE STUDY

Find top shop managers 40 FINANCE+OPERATIONS

Achieve victory with vendors

COLUMNS 22 FROM THE SHOP

24 TOP STORY

The Best Workplaces

This year’s winners show how strong businesses grow by being responsive to team members’ needs. BY M AT T H U D S O N

Cover yourself for liability claims BY A DA M TAT U M

47 AOCA CORNER

Dealership model changes BY BRETT FRASER

50 LEADING EDGE

Understanding customer experiences BY LENNY SAUCIER

NOLN, VOL. 37, NO. 03 (ISSN 1071-1260), IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 10 MISSIONS MEDIA, LLC, 571 SNELLING AVENUE NORTH, ST. PAUL, MN 55104-1804. COPYRIGHT ©2022 BY 10 MISSIONS MEDIA LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NOLN CONTENT MAY NOT BE PHOTOCOPIED, REPRODUCED, OR REDISTRIBUTED WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHER. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ST. PAUL, MN AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTERS SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: NOLN, 571 SNELLING AVENUE NORTH, ST. PAUL, MN 55104-1804.

BRITNEE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY

FE ATURE

Take Action Lonnie Hinkle, left, and Steve Sanner of Jiffy Lube of Indiana created a Best Workplace through by making employee success a priority and following through with action.

NOLN.NET

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WE BUY QUICK LUBES

685 685 LOCATIONS PURCHASED SINCE JANUARY 2014, AND COUNTING! Valvoline is seeking single and/or multiple locations performing 7500+ oil changes per year. ™

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MARCH 2022

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03.22

ONLINE

VISIT

NOLN.NET TODAY

PODCAST

THE NOLN PODCAST NOLN has expanded its offerings of podcasts, bringing four monthly episodes to the airwaves. The podcast brings operators and industry experts to the screen to go in-depth with the editorial staff on topics that matter to shop owners.

JIFFY LUBE ROLLS OUT EV SERVICES Did you catch this podcast interview with Jiffy Lube President Edward Hymes? Back in September, Jiff y Lube launched a pilot program testing a complete service package for electric vehicles. Hymes, along with Marketing Director Sara Smith, joined The NOLN Podcast in January to talk about the launch of the program over the last few months and how they see quick lubes fitting into an electric-focused future.

Listen to all the episodes and subscribe at: noln.net/podcasts.

TIGHTEN UP SUPPLY CHAINS

N O L N . N E T/ L I N K E D I N

N O L N . N E T/ F A C E B O O K

N O L N . N E T/ T W I T T E R

N O L N . N E T/ P O D C A S T S

NOLN NEWS Have you subscribed to the newsletter? NOLN will send the latest industry news, strategies and profiles straight to your inbox. Sign up at noln.net/subscribe.

N O L N . N E T/ B L O G

GETTY

The American Petroleum Institute in November published the second edition of its 1525A, a collection of procedures and best practices to make sure engine oil is handled properly at every step of the supply chain, from the manufacturer all the way to individual shops. Jeff Harmening, a senior manager with API, joins the show to highlight some of the biggest changes made in the second edition and what quick lube shops should be taking from the document. If you’ve followed the Automotive Oil Change Association’s work on weights and measures, this should be a nice supplement to those practices.

N O L N . N E T/ V I D E O S

NOLN.NET

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MARCH 2022

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EDIT LETTER

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR

Matt Hudson

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

Nora Johnson

DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Noah Brown

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Adam Tatum, Lenny Saucier, Brett Fraser

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Lenny Saucier, Director of Retail Training, FullSpeed Automotive Pete Frey, Operator, Take 5 Oil Change Adam Tatum, Director of Operations, Virginia Group Bill Floyd, Operator, Lucas Oil Centers

SALES

VP AND PUBLISHER

Chris Messer, cmesser@10missions.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Andrew Johnson, ajohnson@10missions.com MARKETING STRATEGISTS

Marianne Dyal, mdyal@10missions.com Chad Hjellming, chjellming@10missions.com Bob Marinez, bmarinez@10missions.com Martha Severson, mseverson@10missions.com Kyle Shaw, kshaw@10missions.com Dan Thornton, dthornton@10missions.com Sean Thornton, sthornton@10missions.com ASSOCIATE MARKETING STRATEGIST

Kenzie Verschoor, kverschoor@10missions.com CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST

Jen George, jgeorge@10missions.com

ART AND PRODUCTION

ART DIRECTOR

Zach Pate

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Mitch Bradford, Morgan Glisczinski, Emme Osmonson PRODUCTION ARTIST

Lauren Coleman

10 M I S S I O N S M E D I A PRESIDENT

Jay DeWitt

GENERAL MANAGER AND PRODUCTION MANAGER

Mariah Straub

EVENT PRODUCER

Kate Fahlen

COMMUNIT Y DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Meghan Horan

SENIOR DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGIST

Tiffany Fowler

BOOKKEEPER AND CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST

Meghann Moore

HOW TO REACH US

571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104 tel 651.224.6207 fax 651.224.6212 web 10missions.com The annual subscription rate is $72 (U.S.A. only) for companies not qualified to receive complimentary copies of NOLN. Past issue single copies are $8. Go to noln.net/backissues Send letters to news@noln.net. For high-quality reprints or e-prints of articles in this issue, call 651.846.9488 or email reprints@noln.net. Opinions expressed in NOLN are not necessarily those of 10 Missions Media, and 10 Missions Media does not accept responsibility for advertising content.

STANDOUT CULTURES

Working from within on shop operations HAPPY MARCH, EVERYONE.

I hope that your shops saw productive winters and are ready to greet long queues in front of your bays as the weather warms. I’m pleased this month to bring you the second-annual Best Workplaces awards, which we at NOLN launched last year for the March feature story. The award puts the focus on how operators provide for their teams to achieve topnotch cultures. When operators really lean into that part of their businesses, they find that the benefits trickle down to benefit the customer experience pretty effectively. This year’s award stories feature one franchise and one independent operation. I’ll save the formal introductions for the actual stories (page 24), but I will share with you the central theme. That is responsiveness. What stuck out to me as I spoke with this year’s winners was

how attuned they are to their staff members. In a smaller operation, such as our independent shop winner, it means that the owner makes time to be present and accessible in shops. Every last tech has the owner’s phone number (use that advice at your own discretion). On the franchise side, this year’s winner features a leadership team that oversees dozens of locations. That can make it tough to pay close attention to how individuals are doing in the system. This operator makes it work in a couple of ways. First, they make it a point to listen to techs at the shop level and get a feel for their situations. That can get lost sometimes for busy operators who are working at the 30,000-foot level. Second, they put real financial resources into employee benefit programs. It’s the true example of spending money to make money. Elsewhere in the issue this month is a great primer on telematics (page 36). Often on technology topics, the landscape can quickly change, and this month’s story brings new updates in the world of wireless diagnostics and right to repair in a way that can be useful to your shops. You’ll also find some useful articles on a part of the job that isn’t fun: discipline (page 35). In addition, there’s a handy action checklist for you to give yourself a checkup on vendor relations (page 40). Outside of your shops, that might be the most valuable relationship to maintain. As always, thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for more excitement as we head further into 2022.

MATT HUDSON

SENIOR EDITOR, 10 MISSIONS MEDIA

MARCH 2022

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BY T H E N U M B E R S

BOOST FACTORS There’s no single way to run a quick lube. But thanks to the NOLN Operator Survey, operators can see how the shops with the highest tickets compare, for example, to shops that have the highest car counts.

One of the quickest ways to boost tickets is to emphasize premium oil sales. Most shops carry synthetic oils, but what’s behind the rise of those formulations? Check out noln.net/unconventional to learn about the history of synthetic oil in quick lubes.

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SHOP LOOK

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

ADAPT

SHOP LOOK

BEN KEELING

QUICK HITS

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Classic automotive styling

with modern touches make this Kentucky quick lube stand out. PAGE 20

NOLN.NET

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Most brands showed improvement on the annual Franchise 500 rankings BY MAT T HUDSON

MOST AUTOMOTIVE BRANDS SAW

improvements in the 2022 Franchise 500 list compared to the previous year. The annual list, put together by Entrepreneur magazine, highlights franchise brands from all industries. Quick maintenance brands make up a large part of that franchise business environment. The magazine says it takes a lot of data into account when putting the list together, including costs and fees, growth, support, brand strength, and financial stability. Looking at the quick maintenance and other automotive brands listed in the Franchise 500, nearly every company jumped ahead in the rankings. Only two slipped in the list for 2022. Jiffy Lube led the automotive category, coming in at No. 37 on the list. Valvoline Instant Oil Change came

in second among quick maintenance brands at No. 39, though it is among the brands that went down in rankings. Other notable mentions on the list include Christian Brothers, which made one of the biggest jumps forward among automotive brands. The company improved 99 spots to reach No. 202 for 2022. Mighty Auto Parts, which wasn’t listed last year, made the rankings at No. 426. Highlights in 2022 While Jiffy Lube hasn’t been on a big growth spurt like other quick maintenance brands, the company has been busy and remains the biggest in the industry. It boasts 2,157 locations as of 2021, according to the Franchise 500 list. The company caught wide attention with the rollout of services tailored to electric vehicles. In January, Jiffy Lube

Franchise 500 2022 Highlights

(2021 rank in parantheses)

—

First overall: 1. Taco Bell (2020: same) Quick maintenance highlights: 21. Snap-On Tools (48) 29. Matco Tools (50) 37. Jiffy Lube (77) 39. Valvoline Instant Oil Change (20) 78. Mac Tools (85) 126. Grease Monkey (167) 138. Big O Tires (167) 150. Midas (111) 161: Take 5 Oil Change (216) 202. Christian Brothers (301) 277. Tuffy Tire and Auto Service (277) 249. AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care (486) 407. SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service (470) 426. Mighty Auto Parts (not listed) Source: Entrepreneur Franchise 500

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President Edward Hymes expanded on that move in a podcast with NOLN. The brand sees itself on the leading edge of automotive trends, and the scale of it’s network means that any changes will have impacts on the industry. As for this year’s Franchise 500 ranking, the company went from No. 77 last year to No. 37 in 2022. In statement sent to NOLN, Hymes said that they aren’t slowing momentum. “Jiffy Lube continues to grow not only our footprint but our service offerings and brand strength so I’m proud of the acknowledgement from Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 ranking,” he said. “I also want to recognize our amazing network of Jiffy Lube franchisees for their commitment and dedication to the brand. We have great plans for 2022 to keep the momentum going!” Another honorable mention from the list goes to FullSpeed Automotive, which saw both main brands improve on the rankings. Grease Monkey rose 41 spots to No. 126, while SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service came in at No. 407. FullSpeed had a big year in 2021, and that’s reflected in the Franchise 500 improvements. The company made lots of acquisitions throughout the year and announced its 700th location in early February 2022. In a statement, FullSpeed President and COO Wes Stephenson said that both brands continue to climb higher. “This kind of growth is driven by the success of our individual franchise owners, whose commitment to our brand systems ensure our guests are delighted with our services,” he said. “FullSpeed’s owner, MidOcean Partners, has also invested significant resources in technology and in human resources to position SpeeDee and Grease Monkey for accelerated growth now and in the years to come. We remain ever-confident in the road ahead.”

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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

“Clean Harbors and Vertex have mutually agreed to terminate the transaction,” said Clean Harbors Chief Executive Alan McKim. “We can now refocus our energy on other ways to deploy our capital, including continuing to invest in our Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segment.” As part of the early cancellation of the agreement, Vertex will pay a $3 million “breakup fee” of $3 million to Clean Harbors.

FULLSPEED AUTOMOTIVE OPENS 700TH LOCATION

FullSpeed Automotive announced it has opened its 700th service center. According to a news release, the shop is a Grease Monkey location in Garden Grove, Calif., and had its grand opening on January 26. The new location is owned and operated by Dana Leitner, a local real estate entrepreneur. “I’m humbled and honored to be a part of such a major brand milestone,” said Leitner. “The aftermarket auto care

industry is booming—there’s never been a more opportune investment.” FullSpeed Automotive awarded 51 quick lube franchises in 2021, split between Grease Monkey and its other quick lube brand, SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service. The company “hopes to acquire as many as 150 units” in 2022, which would significantly close the gap in reaching its target of 1,000 shops by the end of next year.

TENNESSEE QUICK LUBE EXPANDS

Danny’s Tire and Quick Lube, a local quick oil shop in eastern Tennessee, recently announced a significant expansion. Since opening in 1998 in Johnson County, Tenn., the shop has had a loyal customer base. However, it has had to deal with a significant lack of space, according to a report from the Tomahawk newspaper. Now, shop co-owner Danny Morefield says his business has acquired the property next door, which

will allow for a much-needed expansion. The expansion will include a new “climate controlled customer waiting area–complete with comfortable seating, television, and tire display area.” In addition to oil changes, the shop also provides tire and other maintenance services; Morefield says the expansion in space doesn’t include an expansion in services offered. He added additional hiring could happen once the expansion is finished.

$140M OIL RECYCLING DEAL FALLS THROUGH

Clean Harbors has “mutually agreed” to terminate its planned acquisition of Vertex Energy’s used motor oil and re-refinery assets. According to a report from MarketWatch, the two companies initially agreed to the acquisition in June.

Clean Harbors would have made an all-cash transaction of $140 million for the acquisition, though the deal included a condition in which “either party could walk away unencumbered” so long as the deal was not finalized by March 31, 2022.

TEXAS MAN SUES, ALLEGES BOTCHED OIL CHANGE

A Harris County, Texas, man is seeking monetary damages against Take 5 Oil Change after he alleged a shop put the wrong oil in his truck, causing significant damage. In a complaint filed with Harris County District Court, Pedro Martinez says the Take 5 Oil Change on North Shepherd Road in northwest Houston poured the wrong oil into his 2003 Ford Expedition during a March 2021 service appointment. Per the Southeast Texas Record, Martinez claims the Expedition “began to make a knocking noise” that a mechanic attributed to the wrong oil being used. In the complaint, Martinez claims the vehicle’s engine needs to be rebuilt, adding that Take 5 has “failed to compensate him for the unworkmanlike services and that their actions constitute breach of contract and violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.” Martinez is seeking damages between $250,000 and $1 million.

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A second location is planned for the Austin area and is expected to open in the next 18 months, and a third will shortly follow that one within the next two years. Grease Monkey has almost 300 locations across the country. Thirty-one of those are in Texas, but only two are within a 50-mile radius of the Austin area.

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According to a report from the Community Impact Newspaper, franchisee Ralph Rickey will open the first of the three shops in Round Rock, which is about 20 miles north of downtown Austin on Interstate 35. That location is expected to open within the next nine months.

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According to a report from the Ukiah Daily Journal, the Ukiah Planning Commission is scheduled to meet January 26 to decide whether it will allow a “Valvoline quick lube” facility to be built in the town, which is around 115 miles northwest of San Francisco. The facility, if approved, would have three bays and room to hold 12 cars in a queue, as well as a 2,137-square-foot basement pit. Per the report, the only initial concern that planning commission members had about the proposal was the potential for lines to spill out onto Airport Park Boulevard, though staff said the space allotted for 12 cars in the back seems to mitigate that concern.

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Trademark, Valvoline or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.

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Service mark, Valvoline or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.

7/7/21 10:55 AM 2/22/2022 7:27:26 AM

K E Y I N S I G H T S , T R E N D S A N D S T R AT E G I E S F O R T O M O R R O W ’ S I N D U S T R Y—T O D AY

EV FIRES HIGHLY UNLIKELY

Despite the common perception, EVs are less likely to catch fire compared to ICEs and hybrids BY NOAH BROWN

GETTY

Electric vehicles have taken a big hit over the last year or two to their safety reputation. More specifically, a public perception has developed that EV batteries, which are bulkier and significantly more expensive than standard lead-acid batteries, are more prone to catching fire. Some big news stories have given weight to this perception—namely, General Motors in August recalled all 140,000 of its Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUV models due to a rare defect that could cause a vehicle’s battery to ignite. The difficulty in fighting EV fires also adds to the reputation that they aren’t as safe as ICE-powered vehicles. “Electric vehicles with lithium ion batteries burn hotter, faster and require far more water to reach final extinguishment,” EV Fire Safe Project Director Emma Sutcliffe said in a CNBC report. “And the batteries can re-ignite hours or even days after the fire is initially controlled, leaving salvage yards, repair shops and others at risk.” A perception of safety is critical in making a vehicle appealing to a broad range of buyers, and electric vehicles dealing with a reputation that they are more prone to fires could prove

S E P T. 2 4 -2 5 • D A L L A S - F O R T W O R T H , T E X A S

to be a major hurdle in reaching widespread adoption. Except, there’s one issue with that reputation: It’s wrong. At least, new studies have found data to dispute the argument that EVs are more fire-prone. Data collected from a survey conducted by AutoinsuranceEZ found that in 2020, electric vehicles had fewer total fires and fewer fires per 100,000 units when compared to both ICE- and hybrid-powered vehicles. Adding to that, nine models were recalled in 2020 due to fire risk, totalling just under 1.27 million units recalled. Only two models were fully electric—the Bolt and the Hyundai Kona—and only accounted for 152,000 units, or just under 12 percent, of the total that were recalled. Even though EV fires, and vehicle fires in general, are a rare phenomenon, it’s still essential to have your shop prepared for one in case of an emergency. EV fires, as mentioned above, are significantly more complicated to extinguish, and that’s due to the lithium-ion battery’s design and components. “Gasoline fires have a single reaction, while electric car batteries can have a prolonged source of energy to fuel the fire,” Force by Mojio Operations Director Daivat Dholakia said in the report. “This makes extinguishing an electric car fire more difficult.” EVs also don’t have a central stored fuel source like ICE-powered vehicles do with their fuel tanks. That means it can still catch fire and keep burning even if the battery is completely drained of energy. One of the primary ways an EV can catch fire in your shop is through a short circuit, which could happen if a high-voltage tool comes in contact with the vehicle’s electrical system. Vehicles often put off telltale signs of an impending fire, such as a smoking smell or weird noises. Being cognizant of those can help your shop remain alert for fires. Disconnecting a vehicle’s electrical system and letting it sit for a day before beginning work on it will help significantly reduce combustion risk. Making sure your team wears proper safety gear when working on electric vehicles and having fire suppression tools such as extinguishers nearby are also good mitigation techniques, though Spyic founder Katherine Brown says in the report that ultimately, you won’t be able to put out an electric vehicle fire without help. “You will never be able to extinguish a car fire,” she says. “Your role is to evacuate safely and get as much distance from the vehicle as you can while seeking help.”

The ADAPT: Automotive Technology Summit is a three-day event covering the most progressive and pressing trends disrupting the industry. Learn more at adaptsummit.com.

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S H O P LO O K

PIT LANE OIL CHANGE OF RICHMOND, KY. OPERATOR:

KEVIN ROBINSON

LOCATION:

RICHMOND, KY.

AVERAGE CAR COUNT

SHOP SIZE:

3 BAYS

BY NOAH BROWN PHOTOS BY BEN KEELING

FROM THE GROUND UP Originally built in 2009, the shop was vacated in 2016 and stayed abandoned until Robinson purchased it in February 2021. Despite still having a strong foundation, Robinson said the building had been trashed inside and out over five years of nonuse and required a complete overhaul before opening in May. Robinson’s team redid the interior of the lobby and bathrooms with porcelain floors and a checkerboard finish to give it, as Robinson called it, “a dealership feel.” “We’re treating some of the higher-end BMWs, Mercedes, Land Rovers,” Robinson says. “They like coming here and getting dealership quality rather than spending up to $400 at an actual dealership.”

BEST FOOT FORWARD Robinson is proud of his team and the way they’ve turned Pit Lane Oil Change into what they describe as the best oil change spot around. But above all else, Robinson is especially proud of an unexpected feature in his shop: the bathrooms. “We’ve been known to have, probably, the nicest facilities in the entire country,” he says. “Not just the state. In the nation.” The previous ownership group had a reputation for being less-than-attentive

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H AV E A N O U T S TA N D I N G S H O P T O S H A R E ? E M A I L N E W S @ N O L N . N E T

to their shop and for having generally dirty facilities, according to Robinson, and that included the bathrooms. Robinson also says some of that prioritization of a clean waiting area and bathroom came from his wife, who told him it’s incredibly difficult to find clean and pleasant-to-use public bathrooms, especially for women. “We had to overcome the stereotype of this place being a shady place, a dirty place,” he says, “and so we just want to keep it as clean and open as possible.”

temperatures and scenic views outside the shop as much as they enjoy the clean interior and friendly service. Customers will often drop off their car for an oil change during their lunch break at work and will sit outside at one of the several picnic tables provided by the shop and eat while they wait. Robinson says, though car count has been fairly low in the shop’s first year of of business, he’s already starting to see an upward trend. While he wants his shop’s service to be its No. 1 selling point, he wants the clean, friendly, enjoyable accommodations to be a close second. “People are just tired of having dark, dingy facilities,” he says. “They like having something new all together, and that’s what’s catching on here for us.”

ROOM TO RELAX Richmond, Ky., has average high temperatures above 50 degrees for nine months out of the year. With his shop nestled in next to a professional golf course, Robinson says he’s made it a priority for his customers to be able to enjoy the relatively warm

MARCH 2022

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FROM THE SHOP

See You in Court

THIS MONTH WE WILL DISCUSS AN UGLY TRUTH

ADAM

TATUM

Adam Tatum is director of operations for the Virginia Group, a Jiﬀy Lube franchisee with 11 locations. He has over a decade of experience in the industry with a proven track record of building customer counts and sales, as well as using innovative ways to bring a new look to the automotive field for both the customer and the employee. Performance comes from growing your business through people.

ATAT U M

@VALUBE.COM

about our industry and its customers. It all starts with a mistake, or sometimes the notion that you touched the vehicle last, so it had to be you. It’s the warranty claim and how we need to prepare ourselves for the reality of today’s generation of customer with a “you wronged me” mentality. At some point or another, you will find yourself in a situation where you are standing in a court feeling like you need to prove your shop’s innocence. Here are a few examples of things that happen and the results. The most obvious thing that operators need to do, and sometimes do not want to do, is accept responsibility for an issue if you know how it happened. How many of you have balked at a warranty claim on an oil pan that was stripped because another shop looked at it to determine a leak? It happens, and if you just recently did the oil change, then odds are you did something wrong. To save yourself the headache, just pay the claim. So many times, we find ourselves in court trying to fight a simple mistake because we try to use the defense of, “Well, we were not the last to touch it.” What we do not always understand is that when a customer has an issue that they can’t explain, odds are they are not taking it back to a quick lube for diagnosis. In general, if I can see a situation in my own business that we may have caused, I pay it. It’s cheaper in the long run than to go to court and pay a lawyer for defense. The next situation that you may find yourself in happens when a customer has a major issue, like an engine or a transmission problem. Most times, this is why you are in court. You are responsible in a customer’s eyes because you did their service. It does not matter what happened, but it was you. How many times have you gone to look at a claim and the plug is tight, and the filter is tight, there is oil in the car, but it is locked up?

That is a tough conversation to attempt to have with an upset driver. This is an obvious, to us, internal motor failure. But there are enough ambulance-chaser law firms that will take you to court anyway to try and get a few grand. In all honesty, they are just hoping that you will cave and offer something to avoid court. I fight these claims. I also make sure that we have all our ducks in a row with pictures, videos and more. You will need evidence in court, so do not forget to collect all of this prior to explaining what has happened to the car, because you will not get that opportunity afterwards. The newest craze among some lawyers and some states is the consumer-breach-of-contract angle. This allows them to go for hundreds of thousands of dollars if they choose to, and you must be represented by a lawyer in these cases. If you get hit with one of these shady lawsuits, call your insurance company and let them handle it. You will end up settling these claims because the risk of major financial burden if you were to potentially lose is crippling. Pay your deductible and let them fight it out with an insurance company. This is the preferred method for a quick settlement because we will not fight it very often. I know of a few cases when someone has tried to go to court, and $30,000 later, the lesson has been learned. As you can see in my examples of ways that you may find yourself on court and how to react, we are always at a disadvantage. Warranty claims are always the bain of our existence. They make us look bad in public opinion and it costs us bottom line profit. In the pandemic era that we are in now, with rising costs and lack of equipment and inventory options, our profit lines are already shrinking without having a judge decide that you need to lose more. Do your due diligence and make sure that if you decide to put your fight up in the court of law that you are ready to win. The other alternative is just not acceptable.

LUCAS MOORE

When a warranty claim leads to legal action, know how to respond

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1/27/2022 2:32:22 2/14/2022 3:24:53 PM

Feature Story

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2/23/22 9:35 AM

Written by Matt Hudson Photography by Britnee Lynn Photography & Séverine Photography: Luis Pena

Offering more to teams and building healthy cultures Hiring and retention have always been top challenges for quick lubes, but in recent years, operators have found the task to be even tougher. COVID-19 not only disrupted the unemployment benefits landscape, but it also led many workers to reexamine what it means to be a part of a company. In the labor market, that means operators are working in a highly competitive field. When they are able to hire and train a great team, it’s incredibly important to help them be happy, healthy, and helpful to customers.

In that spirit, the 2022 Best Workplaces award profiles offer glimpses into two team-first operators who are always looking to do more for their employees. Their strategies aren’t silver bullets— they see turnover like everyone else. But they have seen retention success, especially in key positions. This year’s awards feature one franchise and one independent operator. What they have in common is a commitment to responsiveness. It’s about being open to what employees need to succeed and acting on it. The primary goal is greater retention, but it’s also worth noting the sense of community that these operators build in the process. National Oil and Lube News is proud to feature these Best Workplaces winners for this second-annual edition of the awards.

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Best Workplaces: Franchise

Best Workplaces 2022: Franchise few months back, Lonnie Hinkle celebrated his 26th anniversary with Jiff y Lube of Indiana. Back at the start, he didn’t anticipate the career that was ahead. “I came to Indiana just to go to school, and I planned to go back to California,” Hinkle says. “But I met Steve, and the rest is history.” He’s referring to Steve Sanner, president of the Jiffy Lube franchise that operates more than 50 locations in and around Indianapolis. Hinkle was also a bit of a guinea pig for some of the employee support programs that are now in place. “Lonnie was the first one who participated in the home buying program for managers,” Sanner says. “And we’ve been doing that ever since.” At the time, Hinkle was graduating from a store-level manager to a district manager. He was putting down roots and exploring options for home ownership. Like many first-time buyers, down payments are big checks to write. Sanner saw an opportunity to help and assist with that expense. Hinkle made the purchase and continued growing within the company.

“It meant the world to me to get into my own home,” Hinkle says. “It was such a reward.” The down payment assistance program is now one of many support tools for employees at Jiffy Lube of Indiana. It’s part of Sanner’s guiding principle of “growing people through work,” which emphasizes the experience and values that employees learn while working for them—whether they stick around for the long term or not. Hinkle’s experience moving up through the management ranks at the company is held up as an example of how the culture cultivates leaders in the system. He’s now the chief operating officer and Sanner’s co-conspirator for a host of employee and community programs. The programs alone are great criteria for a Best Workplaces award. But it’s the additional work and personal attention from Sanner, Hinkle, and their colleagues that really drive home this year’s award. Take the down payment assistance example: Even after the company had been offering it for a while, Sanner and Hinkle saw an opportunity to improve upon it. Now, instead of simply approving the assistance, Hinkle meets with

every potential recipient to talk about the home buying process, the financial implications, and other best practices for the long term. It’s that extra attention given to any project that shows how much Sanner and Hinkle back up their mantra of growing people through work. That’s what makes it a Best Workplace.

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Family Effort

Each new hire at Jiffy Lube of Indiana is able to meet with a member of the leadership team for a formal welcome and an introduction.

Jiffy Lube of Indiana Headquarters:

Indianapolis Service Centers:

Employees:

475

Growing People, Growing Skills Sanner based his “growing people through work” philosophy from Jiffy Lube founder Jim Hindman, who often used the phrase. The goal is to help employees come out of the company in a better place than when they came in—whether that’s after a short tenure or a long career. At all times, Sanner is looking for opportunities to build support programs for employees. But in times when the company is prosperous, they go into overdrive. “We sit around and come up with crazy ideas,” Sanner says. One of the first programs was a culture-building exercise. They took the existing Jiffy Lube training programs and added tiered achievement levels, complete with pins that techs could wear to display their training. It helped drive a desire to improve skills. “Jiffy Lube has always had certification programs, but we created the gold, silver, and bronze levels of certifications, and it really helped the guys feel like they were achieving,” Hinkle says. Employee support programs, like the home down payment assistance, were added over the years. In the last dozen years or so, the company has seen steady success, and Sanner says they began looking to reinvest even more in employee success. “I sat with Lonnie and said, ‘Let’s talk about the legacy that we want to leave for this business,” Sanner says. Many programs come from going to shops and listening to what team members are going through. Company leadership gets many opportunities to do that, because Hinkle and Sanner make sure to visit with every new hire shortly after they start. Hinkle even runs seminars that introduce the concept of growing people through work. “That classroom that Lonnie holds is always incredible and life-changing for the guys,” Sanner says.

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Best Workplaces: Franchise

Best Workplaces Scorecard

Responsive

It includes attitude training, financial literacy information, and other introductions to the way Jiffy Lube of Indiana functions. Hinkle also speaks to automotive students at the Lincoln Tech college in Indianapolis. He shares his story of starting as a quick lube tech and building it into a great career. It creates visibility, not just for recruitment prospects for Jiffy Lube of Indiana, but also for the quick lube industry in general as a real career opportunity. “A lot of people don’t dream of getting into the automotive world to work at a quick lube, but we’re changing that,” Sanner says. Those are examples of how Sanner and Hinkle use their leadership positions at the company to be present and involved in the employee development programs they create. Building Support In addition to the down payment assistance program, Hinkle was the first recipient of another form of employee support that became a mainstay program. That’s the tuition reimbursement program. It came about when Hinkle was about to graduate from technical school. Sanner wanted to keep Hinkle on at Jiffy Lube of Indiana and sweetened the deal with tuition reimbursement. “He said, ‘You stay here, and we will make your student loan payment for as long as you’re in the Jiffy Lube family,’” Hinkle says. Hinkle ended up getting his entire student loans paid by the company. Today,

Innovative

the program is institutionalized. The company vets applicants and then makes the monthly student loan payments as long as the employee is working with them. “This program, I think, really tops them all,” Hinkle says. “If you’re long term with us, we could end up paying your entire tuition.” Another program at the company is called Jiffy Lube Cares. Sanner and Hinkle found that many big challenges can come out of a shortfall of a few hundred dollars. It could be a car repair, a medical bill, or something similar. They developed Jiffy Lube Cares in two phases. First, the company offers employees discounts on car repairs and allows them to finance the work through payroll deductions to keep them or a family member on the road. Second, a voluntary general fund was created to loan out small dollar amounts to employees in need. That’s been a successful program that employees pay back into. In less than eight years, the program has loaned more than $475,000 and raised $73,000 to keep the fund going. Eye on Retention Jiffy Lube of Indiana has had great retention, but labor challenges touched nearly every quick lube operation in 2021. Like other operations, the company offered some hiring incentives to get new recruits in the door. But they also realized that so many great employees stuck with them through the pandemic, working sometimes in short-staffed situations. “Throughout this year, staffing has been short, and it’s been tough on our

Building Culture

people,” Hinkle says. “But our core people stuck with us, and I firmly believe that the reason they stuck so closely through the last 24 months is the culture we’ve built over the last three decades.” They looked for a way to recognize those employees as well and ended up sending an additional paycheck to 280 employees in late 2021. Sometimes, a little extra dough is the quickest way to show appreciation. Do they see results from all of the resources they put into employee support? “As Lonnie said, we’ve been short staffed this year but are up 25 percent in sales,” Sanner said of 2021. Jiffy Lube of Indiana isn’t done creating new programs, either. In 2022, Hinkle has worked with the network’s 51 managers to come up with improvement goals for the year. In exchange, they get to pitch something they’d like as a reward for reaching that goal. “We told them to come up with something really cool that you’d like to do with you and your family,” Hinkle says. “What you would consider to be an awesome memory and awesome experience.” They won’t know until the end of the year how many dream experiences will be rewarded, but Sanner says that it has been awesome to see what the managers come up with. True to form, he’s always trying to learn a bit more about his people to figure out ways to help. “I just want to know what kinds of dreams they have,” he says. “So this was one way of doing that. Hopefully a lot of them will make their goals.”

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Famous Quick Lube Best Workplaces 2022: Independent hris Schroeder had to reschedule his first interview with National Oil and Lube News because he was filling in at one of his shops. A good owner and operator, Schroeder is more than just present and attentive in his shops. He’s working at them, helping his people grow the business. And it isn’t to micro-manage. He’s dedicated to the idea that if emwployees are succeeding, then the entire company can succeed. After experiencing work for a large corporate quick lube company, Schroeder wanted a more personal touch when he became an owner. And that style of leadership has paid off with explosive growth and strong retention over the years at his Florida network of Famous Quick Lube stores. “Everybody wants to be treated like a person,” he says. “We call it the Famous Family. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for one of our employees.” Famous Quick Lube is the Best Workplaces winner for 2022 and received the most nominations of any single operator this year. Schroeder says he attributes his success to his steadfast dedication to giving each employee the attention and acknowledgement they deserve. That gets tough when your company is reaching 20 locations.

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Best Workplaces: Independent

More than a Number Schroeder has been in the quick lube business for more than 15 years. He started working for a friend of his at shops in Florida. He took advantage of a great mentorship from that time. “Worked for him for about eight years,” Schroeder says. “He taught me a lot.” That ownership eventually changed after a corporate sale. Schroeder was less impressed with the detached feeling he got from company ownership. There wasn’t as much ability to make direct impacts outside of sales figures. Schroeder and some partners wanted to go into business for themselves and operate on the principle of attentive, personable employee culture. Eventually they found their opening. “We got a phone call about a building that we tried to get years ago that opened up again,” he says. “And we took a chance. We rolled the dice. And ever since then, I haven't looked back. Just keep growing and stay positive.”

Access-Driven

Famous Quick Lube has grown a lot over the years, but owner Chris Schroeder still passes his phone number to employees to help when needed.

Famous Quick Lube Headquarters:

Jacksonville, Fla. Service Centers:

12 (plus 7

repair shops) Employees:

100+ 30

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The first Famous Quick Lube opened in 2016. After eight months, they acquired a second location. Within 18 months, they were up to three, and the growth continued. The company also got into mechanical repair, which has been a strong segment of its own. Today, there are 12 quick lube shops and seven repair shops, all separate and successful throughout the Jacksonville, Fla., market area. That’s a lot of growth to handle when your leadership philosophy is to be available to all employees. All of them have his phone number. “Right now, I probably manage over 100 people,” he says. There’s a level of stress. Sometimes it is challenging to be responsive and helpful when lots of people are reaching out at once, but he sees this as an investment in his company culture. The accessibility allows team members to feel like they’re more than a number, and that they can affect positive change across the entire operation. He’s been rewarded with a growing network and strong retention, especially in key positions. “All my managers have been with me for at least five years now,” he says. “Every last one of my managers.” When Culture Thrives Schroeder knows a few key values that employees hold, and he tries to work them into operations. First, he wants his team to

Best Workplaces Scorecard

know that they have growth plans for longevity. That starts even at the new hire. “We’d like to find somebody who wants to stick around and learn,” he says. “And that’s how we continue to grow from within.” One nominator told NOLN that in his first week on the job, he had goals outlined for his success, and he knew exactly what was expected. Another said that his training process encompassed all aspects of the operation with an emphasis on advancement in the company. One nominator said that after a few different quick lube jobs, this was the first company where he met the owner in the first week of work. Store manager James Temple has been with the company since it began, and he says that he’s been able to thrive. He likes working on cars and working with people, so the position fits well. “It’s been a great experience and has been a good career,” he says. “I look forward to bigger and better growth.” Temple reinforced the opportunities given to employees at all levels, which includes a bonus pay system that’s open to everyone. The training opportunities are given to all employees as well. That’s key when the brand is adding locations. As the company grows, Schroeder wants to emphasize internal promotions to create new opportunities. “That way, nobody feels overlooked,” he says. Even past the new hire and training phase, nominators stressed that

Responsive

Hands-On

goal-setting and achievement are big parts of the culture. Schroeder says this was a system he formalized early on. “I have conference calls every Wednesday morning with all my managers and assistant managers,” he says. “We discuss the game plan, the previous week, where we need to get better and what we need to do.” People First The people-first philosophy that Schroeder has as an operator is a way to show accountability. If there’s an issue among his ranks, then he will likely answer it. Ownership presence isn’t what he experienced in the larger corporate quick lube setting. While his phone might be buzzing nearly all day at times, he realizes the importance of being accountable to those conversations. “If they can reach out and talk to you, they will respect you more,” he says. The upside has been the growth and opportunity that Schroeder created by building a sustainable workplace. Former techs have grown into successful managers and made successful careers of their own within the Famous Quick Lube system. Schroeder says it has been like planting a seed and tending to the plant over time. Now he’s reaping the rewards. “It’s just great to hear the success stories from other people,” he says. “And to watch it grow.”

Team Focus

MARCH 2022

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MARCH 2022

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PI T STOP

DISCIPLINE WITH CARE

Learn how to deal with immature employee behavior before it gets out of hand BY NOAH BROWN

EVERY SHOP HAS DEALT WITH THAT

employee before. The one who is unproductive, disrupts workflow, and acts like a child a lot of the time. Not every employee who acts this way does so for the same reasons, but Karen Young, president and founder of HR Solutions, says the framework she uses to help companies deal with employees who are acting childishly has remained fairly consistent throughout her 30 years in human resources. Conversations about poor performance are always a little uncomfortable and can be challenging, but Young says having those will help improve the productivity of your shop and the chemistry of your team.

Step 1: Clearly define expectations. The first step in identifying problem behavior, Young says, is to make sure job expectations are clearly defined. Often, poor performance and employees acting out is caused by a misunderstanding of what they’re expected to do. If they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing or feel that they aren’t performing well, that embarrassment could cause them to act out. “Most times, employees misbehave or don't do what we're expecting because, frankly, they don't have the exact same idea as we do about what's expected,” Young says. “I highly recommend always starting a conversation with, ‘Hey, I just want to make sure we both understand exactly what the company expects of you.’” You should outline what an employee’s job responsibilities and duties are, as well as the consequences of not fulfilling those expectations. Step 2: Name the behavior. Though they might be acting like a child, most of the time a problem employee is an adult. That may sound obvious, but Young says it’s critical to remember that and to

treat your employees as such when confronting them about problem behavior. “It's understandable for a manager to get frustrated, but don't lower yourself to their level,” Young says. “Be direct. I would actually call them out and say, ‘You're acting like a child, and we need to have a business conversation about that.’” Stay cool and let them know that it isn’t personal. It’s about their performance as an employee of your shop. Step 3: Ask questions genuinely. Accusing someone of bad work or behaving childishly, no matter how correct or in the right you may be for doing so, will put an employee on the defensive. Letting them know that it isn’t a personal accusation is a good start to diffusing a potentially contentious situation, but going a step further and giving them an active role in the conversation can help smooth things over even more. Ask basic questions such as, “Can you help me understand?” It opens the conversation up, and it will allow your employee to actively reflect on their behavior and make an effort to explain why they’re acting that way. “All of a sudden, you'll see that your employee is a little less defensive because you’re asking for his or her input,” Young says. “That then allows you as a leader to let them know you appreciate that and diffuse things even more.” Step 4: Act with empathy. Employees don’t exist in a vacuum, and though it’s good to try and separate work life and personal issues, that isn’t always feasible. Sometimes a problem employee could be having problems of their own, and that could be a primary cause of their behavior. Though you may not be able to help solve an employee’s personal troubles, at least

letting them know that you care and are there to support them could go a long way in improving their performance. “Sometimes, negative emotions manifest themselves in poor performance and bad behavior,” Young says. “Instead of focusing on the temper tantrum or negative behavior itself, try to focus on why an employee reacted that way in that situation.” Young says most employees want to do good work, and allowing them the opportunity to address problems—whether they be in the workplace or not—that are preventing them from doing that good work can help resolve problem behaviors before they get out of hand. Step 5: Follow through on the hard conversations. If all other avenues have been exhausted and problem behavior still persists, Young says managers have to follow through on the consequences that they outlined as part of step one. “At the end of the day, unacceptable behavior is exactly that: unacceptable.” Young says. “If there is no change then there will be consequences. That’s where a lot of managers fall through.” Letting go of an employee is always a tough conversation, regardless of how much of a headache they can be. But having an employee with problematic behavior can set a bad precedent with your other employees if the current worker causing trouble keeps getting away with it. “It is really important to have those courageous conversations with our employees and then follow through on what we say we're going to do,” Young says. “It's not a threat. It's following through.” No matter how difficult the conversation can be, sometimes letting someone go is the best thing you can do for your shop, your other employees and for yourself. “We need to retain our good employees, and if we are letting bad behaviors and poor-performing employees rule the roost, we're doing a massive disservice to our good employees,” Young says. “Take a little bit of pain out of respect for your good employees.”

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T E C H + TO OLS

TELEMATICS TELL-ALL

Vehicle data and Right to Repair have dominated headlines recently. See how that could affect your shop. BY NOAH BROWN

TELEMATICS, IN ITS SIMPLEST

definition, refers to the network of systems in a car that record, store and transmit vehicle data. The term is vague and encomasses a lot because vehicles produce a tremendous amount of data. Telematics systems include everything from diagnostics and repair history to location services, user preferences and much more. Not only are vehicles producing more data than ever, but over the last two years there has been a surge in the number of ways to access that data. “What we see now is the vehicle manufacturers embedding telematics more in the new car build,” says Derek

Kaufman, aftermarket consultant and managing partner at Schwartz Advisors. “We've seen it go from OBD-II port plug-in devices to more built-in, mobile integrated devices. That makes the data more accessible to people from their phones or whatever device they are using.” It can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out how to get information from a vehicle these days, much less parse through what information from a vehicle is relevant for your shop. As telematics systems become more prevalent, Kaufman says it’s becoming easier and more intuitive to make telematics work for quick lubes.

Predictive Versus Reactive As Kaufman mentioned, one of the biggest advancements in telematics technology has been the ability to send data wirelessly. No longer do shops, dealerships, or other parties have to physically plug into a car to get even basic information. While there is probably too much data for one shop to use all of it, Kaufman says receiving data from a customer’s vehicle before they come into a shop could be a huge boon for the quick lube industry. “If a shop has a relationship with a customer, they can incorporate that customer’s telematics service into that relationship,” he says. “They can take the relationship from being reactive—the customer shows up for an oil change or repair—to predictive because the vehicle throws off a trouble code to the owner of that vehicle, who then chooses to send that to a shop of their choice.”

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Predictive services can help significantly change how shops schedule their work, increasing efficiency and giving shops opportunities to expand their business. Kaufman says many shops have seen a significant increase in the amount of fleet work over the last several years, and being able to work with larger companies will continue to be a strong advantage moving forward. Data Interfaces and Right to Repair With more wireless options than ever before, Kaufman says shops are able to have some form of interface to receive data from customers’ vehicles. “There are telematics service providers and different diagnostic platforms available,” Kaufman says. “That’s where a big problem comes in, though, because the OEMs don’t necessarily want independent shops to be in connection with their vehicles.” The Right to Repair battle has grabbed headlines for years now, but some progress was recently made in favor of the aftermarket. Massachusetts voters passed a more robust Right to Repair law in 2020, though that has faced some significant challenges and appeals from OEM lobbyists. Despite those challenges, Kaufman says the fact the law passed in the first place is a sign that consumers are invested in the debate and want to have some say in it, which is good for the aftermarket. “The people of Massachusetts have said they want the ability to own the data coming off their cars and to use that data to direct the vehicle to the service location of their choice,” Kaufman says. “That is going to be an ongoing battle between the OEMs and the independent shops, and that hand-off of information is something that is going to have to be managed.” Kaufman says OEMs should do more than just want a better relationship, though. Each vehicle is an extension of an automaker’s reputation, and with

the average age of a car now around 12.1 years old, those vehicles are outlasting their warranties by significant stretches. As vehicles get older, Kaufman says owners are less likely to bring them into dealership or OEM-certified shops for maintenance. During the ADAPT Summit OEM panel discussion, moderator and collision repair industry expert Mike Anderson said that roughly 60 percent of drivers who experience an issue with a repair or maintenance on their car think it “will never be the same” and switch cars within a year or so. Of those who do switch, around 60 percent choose a different brand. Because of that, Kaufman says it is in the OEMs’ best interest to make telematics data readily available to repairers. “All the shops are asking is the same amount of data that a dealership has to work on a car so they can do it correctly. It’s in [the OEM’s] best interest to partner with the independent aftermarket to maintain the reputation of their brands.” The Bottom Line Telematics will only continue to evolve and become more prevalent in vehicles. Even as Right to Repair battles continue to rage on across the country, Kaufman says it seems inevitable that being able to access and interpret data from vehicles will continue to become an essential part of every sector in the aftermarket. “Fast lube, more than just about any other type of shop, depends on drive-by business. Using telematics will allow them to ... actually create a higher level of customer loyalty and a more predictive scheduling of when vehicles need an oil change.” As consumers become more conscious of how Right to Repair affects them and as OEMs start to make the transition from seeing the aftermarket as adversaries to allies, Kaufman says that will only continue to help the aftermarket. “Quick lube shops are going to benefit from that.”

OEMs Address the Independent Aftermarket

It’s well known that the relationship between the aftermarket and OEMs is strained.

However, as telematics and other on-

board technologies become more advanced, several major automakers have started to

realize that the aftermarket is an essential

component of the automotive maintenance and repair ecosystem.

“We understand that independent

repairers are an extension. Our customers are your customers,” Mark Zoba, product

and services planning manager for Nissan,

said. “We want to make sure that shops have the information, training and tools available to make those safe and proper repairs. We want to have a better relationship.” During the ADAPT: Automotive

Technology Summit last December in

Nashville, a panel of OEM representatives

from Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Audi all acknowledged the importance of the

aftermarket and that a healthy relationship

between the aftermarket and automakers is critical for both sectors.

General Motors Aftermarket Support

Manager Bob Stewart that OEMs are starting to realize the reputation of a manufacturer is ultimately on the line, regardless of who performs a repair.

“At the end of the day, these are our

customers,” General Motors Aftermarket

Support Manager Bob Stewart said. “At GM, safety is the No.1 priority for everything.

Our vehicles need to be repaired safely and properly, and in order for that to happen, all the tools and info need to be available.”

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C A S E S T U DY

SECOND IN COMMAND

Finding the perfect manager for a new shop is essential OPENING A NEW LOCATION IS

exciting, regardless of the size of the operation. New shops are also big risks, and if not run properly, they can be as much an anchor on a business as they can be a rocket booster upward. Chris Avery has been in the business for 30 years and has been running his chain of Snappy Lube shops in North Carolina for the last 20. Over the course of those two decades, he built his network from three stores to 34, with several more slated to break ground this year. He says the key to an effective expansion, more so than anything else, is having strong mid-level management to guide a shop through its infancy. Finding an effective manager, though, can prove to be easier said than done. The Challenge Amid the Great Resignation, it can sometimes seem that the only important quality in a potential employee is their willingness to come into work. In any shop, and especially a new one without an established customer base, a good manager can be solely responsible for its success—and a bad manager could also be its downfall. Avery says it’s critical to get mid-level management hires right the first time in order to save yourself a tremendous amount of hassle down the road. What, then, can owners and operators do to hire with confidence and mitigate as much potential risk as possible? The Solutions Gain experience. For most positions in a shop, whether it be a pit tech, front-end customer service representative or someone

else, Avery says having basic experience dealing with clients and being a generally pleasant person to be around is sufficient. For management positions, and specifically if you’re hiring someone to run a shop for you, ample experience in the quick lube business is an absolute must. “The first thing I looked for was an experienced person in the quick lube business,” Avery says. “It's a really hard, unique business. Even within the automotive space, it's not like other shops that provide full service. We're concentrating on the oil change model, and the manager has to understand that.” With 34 locations, Avery has hired his fair share of mid-level managers to help run his stores. The hire that has impressed him the most was his oldest son, who is currently the operations manager for all 34 shops. Avery says his son began with Snappy Lube when he was 14 years old, washing windshields and helping out where he could. All these years later, Avery says that passion and desire to work in the family business helped his son earn a management position, and knowing first-hand what has to happen on a shop floor in order for everything to run smoothly is critical in his day-to-day work. Look within. Throughout the years, Avery says his hiring process has looked more or less the same. Whether he’s had three stores or 34, he still wants his managers to have experience in the industry and have a proven ability to lead a team. He says he’s had an easier time hiring mid-level management with great

success because he has more internal candidates from which to choose. “Now that I have 34 locations, it is a bit easier because I have 175 employees to pull from,” he says. “A lot of my techs, managers and assistant managers are in the position they are because they’ve been willing to move to be promoted within the company.” When Avery promoted his son to regional manager, he already had exceptional experience with the business and interacting with shop employees. He says his other employees also found having someone from the company and in the ownership family serving as a manager kept the company’s family-owned feel and gave them a “direct line” to the owner if they needed it. “Some guys have been in the system for a long time. The longevity of managers and employees in general is

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He credits his mid-level managers across the state with helping build and maintain a positive and productive culture in each of his shops, which reinforces just how important it is to get those hires right the first time. “The longevity and the success that all of our managers are having is because we bought into them,” Avery says. “If we feed into them, their energy and talent, they'll feed into us.” Avery points to his son, who is now well into his career in quick lube, as a prime example of how fostering a love for the industry and providing opportunities for growth can help make good employees even better leaders for your business.. “He really did enjoy and still enjoys the business, and it's not because of his name that he got promoted,” Avery says. “He earned it.”

getting longer also,” Avery says about his shops. “Anyone that gets hired, regardless of the industry, wants to see their pay go up. They want to know they're moving in the right direction for their life and their family.” Sell your strengths. Different employees have different qualities they look for in a work environment, and whether you own one shop or dozens, someone will find your shop to be exactly what they’re looking for in a job. For Avery, who prides himself for running a tight-knit family business with direct communication between the top of the hierarchy and the bottom, he makes sharing that the forefront of his hiring conversations. “Being locally owned and operated gives us a little bit of a leg up. They're

not just a number and they don't get lost in the big sea of employees,” he says. “We still have that hometown feel and not only for our customers, but for our employees as well. When they apply, we let them know what kind of company we are and what we have to offer. For larger operators with multiple locations, selling a potential candidate on the vast number of opportunities and the financial stability working for a large chain are effective tactics that can make people excited to work for your company. Every quick lube has something to offer its managers. Make sure you’re selling your strengths. The Aftermath With 34 shops and over three decades in the business, Avery has had a successful quick lube career by any metric.

The Takeaway No matter how many shops your business might have, Avery says getting someone with quick lube experience is a necessity when branching out into a new store. Beyond that, making sure that a new manager is a fit for your company culture and is actively excited about what your shop brings to its community, whether it’s a small chain or a multishop franchise, can help easily build the culture your company is trying to permeate through its shops. Hiring current employees can cross both of those items off the checklist at the same time, and is a great way to get a new shop up to speed more quickly. “The biggest success stories for us are some of the managers that have been hired at a young age and where we gave them an opportunity to come in and let us teach them the business and mold them,” Avery says. “Here we are, 10-plus years later, and now they're managing stores. The key for us was to get them in the door early and train them.

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C U STOM E R S E RVIC E

THE VENDOR ACTION CHECKLIST

Review these criteria to make sure your supplier relationships shine B Y M AT T H U D S O N

IN THIS PAST YEAR OF SUPPLY CHAIN

challenges and shortages, did your vendor relationship help you weather the storm or add headaches? A streamlined inventory plan requires healthy, long-term relationships with suppliers. When that area of the business runs smoothly, operators are able to focus more on their people and processes in the shop. Even when products arrive as scheduled, they’re no good to shops if they’re perpetually sitting on the shelf. Technicians need to have the knowledge required to sell the products’ usefulness to customers. That information, as well as periodic updates, come through healthy vendor relationships. As the industry looks toward an improved supply chain environment, take this time to examine what makes a great vendor relationship and what operators should keep in mind when working with suppliers. Operators need to be proactive with their vendors—they need to take action. Use this action guide as a way to guide you toward improving and maintaining this crucial part of the business. GET all the information you can. The company manufacturing or selling products is going to be the best source of information to pass onto customers. This is important for all products, but it’s especially so for engine oil sales. Specs change, vehicle needs differ from year to year, and a good vendor can help operators stay on top of those changes. Jack Breman is an oil industry veteran and works in business

development for Jackson Oil and Solvents, an Indiana-based distributor of oil and equipment. He says that good vendors will be proactive with helpful information, especially in lesser-known product areas like diesel oil. “If a vendor rep is sharp, he should be able to say, “By the way, do you have this oil? Do you have the FA-4 product? Do you need the CK product?” Breman says. “And they have to know the difference between a 5W-40 Mercedes spec and a 5W-40 heavy duty diesel spec. There’s a difference.” For operators who have a wide variety of oil options, vendors can help parse the differences between a 5W-40 from one manufacturer and the same from another. Those differences might help the customer move up to a premium oil choice. “What is the product you’re using, and any updates that happen,” Breman says. “Supply product data sheets with the specs on them.” An operator needs to be clear about the variety of vehicles they serve and the services they offer in order to get the right information for all customers. Even if you have one customer that requires a special product, it pays to study up and be prepared for that situation. SEEK ongoing training opportunities. Vendors that offer continuing support and training go above and beyond for operators. It helps to maintain the longterm relationship and boost sales—both for the operator and the vendor. That’s how Amber Kossak, CEO of Solid Start, sees it. The company manufactures and sells True Brand products

and provides both online and in-person training opportunities for clients. Kossak says that a good vendor should help to set up operators to succeed in sales, because the best case is to have a mutually beneficial relationship. “We have a saying: We sell through you, not to you,” she says. To achieve that mutual benefit, Kossak has a team of experts who train clients on the products and how to sell them. There is an online component that can be accessed anytime, but it’s the in-person sessions that really make impacts, she says. “We’re providing group training, store training, and hands-on work,” Kossak says. “That is where it starts to sink in and they start to have their a-ha moments.” Depending on the client’s needs, they aim to hold quarterly training sessions. Kossak says that they might have a string of monthly visits with others. It all depends on what’s necessary to succeed with the products. The benefit here goes beyond just information sharing. In-person training helps techs to get comfortable with products and the sales pitch. That puts the customer at ease when it’s time to sell the service. ENSURE access to vendor partners. Operators should choose vendors who are going to be responsive and accessible, especially during challenging times. When building that vendor relationship, it’s OK to ask questions about access. Who can a manager reach out to if there’s a supply emergency? How often will vendors be checking in? “A good sales rep allows these people to have their phone numbers and emails so they can be reached fairly quickly when there’s a problem,” Breman says. Another good question to ask of vendors is what kind of information is readily available in a pinch. Breman says that clients often call with urgent information needs about a new product or a service that’s in progress. “All of our vendors have access to their computer systems,” he says. “If

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someone needed a product data sheet on, let’s say, transmission fluid, I can get that to them in a minute and be able to email it to them.” This is also important for equipment vendors. Repair and maintenance needs could be urgent, and your shop managers should know who to call and how to get the ball rolling in case of an emergency equipment breakdown. Those perks, like phone number access or guaranteed service times, might not be as immediate as a product information sheet or training session. But your sales might depend on those intangibles all the same. “The intangibles have a tangible value,” Breman says. TEACH each other. It’s important to view your vendor relationship as a two-way street. Many

salespeople have probably told you over the years that when the operator succeeds, the vendor succeeds. There’s a lot of truth to that if both parties put in the effort to learn from one another. Kossak knows this from the vendor perspective. “You have to listen to them,” she says. “It’s not a one size fits all, so you have to adjust and create a value that adapts to them as the customer. It all depends on the customer, and it depends on how they see things, how they like things. And if you’re listening, you can adapt.” This is especially true at the beginning of a working relationship with a vendor. Don’t be afraid to tell them about your operation, your supply needs, and what changes you’d like to see. If there’s going to be a big change in your business, like an acquisition or change in service, talk with your

vendors ahead of time and make a game plan for the transition. Especially for vendors with many clients, it helps to streamline communications if the operator is clear upfront about their needs. “A vendor can learn a lot from a fast lube owner,” Breman says. This is also true to help vendor representatives do their jobs. It’s helpful for them to hear from operators, learn about customer trends, and see how services are performed in real-life situations. Those shop situations are testing grounds for best practices in selling products and services. “It’s always nice to see when they do a transmission flush or a differential flush to watch that system,” Breman says. “How it works, and pay attention to the details so that you have that knowledge in your back pocket.”

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ITSTPMS+MORE IT S60 0

IN TEL LIGEN T TIRE SERVICE

1-SENSOR

TBE200

DUAL FREQUENCY

LASER MEASUREMENT • Tire Tread Depth Measurement

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• 99% Vehicle Coverage

• No Need To Remove Wheel During Measurement

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• 0.1mm Laser Accuracy

COMPLETE TPMS SERVICE 4 SENSOR PROGRAMMING OPTIONS

ITS600

DIAGNOSTICS & SERVICE

• 5.5” Touchscreen Tablet with Android 9.0 OS • Optical Scanner Identifies VIN / MMY • Four Service Resets OLS, BMS, SAS and EPB • Read & Erase All System Codes • FREE Wi-Fi Software Updates for Life Of Tool

TEL: 1.855.288.3587 I WEB: AUTEL.COM EMAIL: USSUPPORT@AUTEL.COM FOLLOW US @AUTELTOOLS 42

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SPONSORED CONTENT

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AUTEL’S TPMS SOLUTION

IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT AUTEL HAS BECOME THE WORLD’S LEADING SUPPLIER OF AFTERMARKET TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM (TPMS) SENSORS IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. AUTEL CREDITS ITS SUCCESS TO A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO THE INDUSTRY BY BECOMING THE ONLY COMPANY PRODUCING TPMS TOOLS AND SENSORS.

MAXITPMS ITS600

ith the repair process in mind, Autel designs, engineer and manufacture all its TPMS products. This comprehensive approach gives the company total control over the tools and sensors’ continuity, quality control, and functionality. Autel’s universal programmable 1-Sensor has truly dominated the aftermarket TPMS industry. Autel considered the repair process and developed its sensors with technology that would make TPMS more efficient. Autel devel-oped a dual-frequency universally programma-ble sensor with a press-and-release valve stem needing no tool for installation. The 1-Sensor can emulate 315 MHz and 433 MHz frequencies (314.95, 433.95, and 434 MHZ are also supported) and can be programmed to replace 99 percent of the TPMS sensors on today’s vehicles. So that’s one-part number to service nearly every TPMS-equipped vehicle that enters the bay. Batch programming is a feature Autel pioneered and is not offered elsewhere in the industry. Current Autel TPMS tools can program up to 20 sensors at once, with each sensor having its unique ID. Fleet managers love this feature as they can pre-program in batches and always have them ready on the shelf. Autel’s latest tool, the MaxiTPMS ITS600 underlines Autel’s commitment to its customers with tools that offer expanding capabilities and

increasing value. A sleek, lightweight touchscreen Android tablet, the ITS600 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. And the ITS600 gracefully improves upon these TPMS services’ efficiency. Recent software updates give the ITS600 expanded tire service capability. The tablet’s Tire Identification Number (TIN) scan function enables a real-time safety check for the customer’s current vehicle tires. And the DOT tire registration feature (available with a separate CIMs tire registration subscription) and a method to ensure your shop complies 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 (Department of Transportation) identifying, among other things, the tire’s manufacture date (week and year). After

AUTEL’S UNIVERSAL PROGRAMMABLE 1-SENSOR HAS TRULY DOMINATED THE AFTERMARKET TPMS INDUSTRY

scanning the TIN, the ITS600 will display a replacement recommendation if applicable. TIN registration is another matter and one whose responsibility has shifted over the years between seller and consumer. The FAST Act of 2015 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 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 customer’s contact information, and tap submit. Autel’s comprehensive approach to TPMS— universal programmable sensors teamed with function-rich tools— makes servicing this vital vehicle safety system not just more efficient but also more lucrative.

36 HARBOR DRIVE, PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050 • USSUPPORT@AUTEL.COM

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2/8/22 5:10 PM 2/21/2022 4:05:16 PM

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SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR QUICK LUBE NEEDS

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To learn more, visit devonlube.com or call 800.468.1970.

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AO CA C O R N E R

Market Opportunities

How the direct-to-consumer sales model might affect lube centers CAR DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN STALWARTS OF

BRETT

FRASER

is the member programs specialist for the Automotive Oil Change Association (AOCA), the only trade group for the quick maintenance industry.

INFO

@AOCA.COM O R 8 0 0 . 2 30 . 0 7 0 2

American cities for decades. Drive through almost any city and you will find a car dealership, a row of car dealerships on a main drag, or an area as big as a small town set aside as an auto mall. Not only do dealerships sell cars to you, but they also provide services to keep your car running well. They have the specialized equipment needed and access to all the OEM pieces so that you know your replacement part will fit snugly. Windshield replacements, catalytic converters, oil changes—the works! I am sure everything that I have just said is a total shock to all of you auto industry professionals reading this piece right now. While this is obvious to industry professionals as well as the nearly 230 million drivers in the United States, what is not so evident is how this business model may change. Going into a dealership to purchase a car is a practice that may not stand the test of time.

Tesla’s Model For the time being, the direct-to-consumer model is not easily adaptable for the legacy manufacturers because it is not easy to overhaul the vast network of dealerships across the country. Tesla gets around this by side-stepping laws that govern the dealership network. Instead, the company set up showroom stores for test drives, while the actual sales happen online. This model has only worked in certain states so far—in other states, Tesla and other startup manufacturers are lobbying for legislation to allow direct-to-consumer sales. I am not even coming close to telling you the whole story. If you want to go down a rabbit hole on this topic, there are plenty of court cases argued, federal laws, state laws, and the like that you can read that will provide clarity. For the sake of actionable and business-oriented discussion, understand that there are currently regulations making direct-to-consumer sales unreasonable for most manufacturers in the short term. A Changing Landscape In the long-term, however, it is reasonable to assume that this will change, or that more companies will seek to replicate Tesla’s model. Below are a few key factors that indicate the car sales industry will move this direction. More companies are providing more convenient ways to get products. Amazon delivers in two days. Grocery stores deliver to your door. Out

on the town? You can place an order for food, tech products, an energy drink, or almost whatever you want, and have someone bring it out to your car so you don’t have to get out. Why pay someone to customize a car for you when you can custom build the car online? For well over a decade, customers have been able to customize every aspect of their cars to meet their exacting, or not so exacting, specifications. BMW provides codes at the end of their online buildout process that you can pass along to your sales representative so they can complete the order on your behalf. Toyota is optimizing their online sales platform to provide user flexibility for the sale method they prefer, with very little interaction from a salesperson if the customer does not want that experience. Physical infrastructure is expensive. A company will generate more profit by foregoing the carrying costs associated with running a dealership and delivering directly to a customer’s house. This decreases risk, especially with uncertain demand in a future with technological advancements allowing self-driving cars and more comfortable ride sharing. Assuming that these factors lead to the decline in the number of dealerships, it’s not unreasonable to think that the maintenance model of the dealership will change as well. Without the need for the large physical footprint, will car manufacturers open more service-only shops, or will they contract with existing lube centers that already have the infrastructure to carry out the services? This provides a window for lube centers to increase profit with more customers and manufacturers to realize more profit through cost savings. Tesla already rents out some existing maintenance locations for services on their cars. This shift could be an opportunity for oil change centers to gain market share. While the future is uncertain in this field, the first mover advantage will be in play. We understand that you cannot provide services to all cars, but an oil change center would be well served by paying attention to which manufacturers are transitioning to a direct-to-consumer model and seeing how that will affect your local dealer. If laws change, or if a company can navigate the loopholes to use the new sales model, that just might lead to an unfulfilled need in your community that your business can satisfy.

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LEADING EDGE

The Guest Experience GUESS WHAT! YOU ARE DIRTY, UNEDUCATED AND

LENNY

SAUCIER

Lenny Saucier has been serving the automotive aftermarket and its future leaders since 2000. He serves as the director of retail training for Fullspeed Automotive.

LSAUCIER @FULLSPEEDAUTOMOTIVE.COM

rip everyone off—at least that is how some guests view the preventative maintenance industry. And why not? You cannot seem to touch the underside of a hood without getting grime on your hands. That transfers to the computer, paperwork and every door and door frame touched. You do not need an ASE mechanics certificate to pull an oil plug or perform a fuel injection cleaning. You focus on universal metrics of ticket averages, premium mixes and ancillary sales percentages to ensure you can pay the bills. To fill your shop’s labor force, you look for the person who prefers a dirty hand over a cleanly typed analytics report made in a cubicle (Those are my kind of people there!). You bring in a white board and make a grid showing all the important sales per day targets needed and you send your team out to make it happen using handouts, fluid sample sheets, and scripted sales tactics expecting the guest to open their checkbooks to your pitch. The challenging realization is that your guest has usually made up his or her mind before you ask, “Can I take care of this today?” It has been determined based on budget and tolerance and perception. The good news is that we can generally move these roadblocks if we can show a true value to a visit.

Gain Understanding Budgets of vehicle maintenance are usually not written into the household as a line item. While there may be an allowance of fuel, there is generally not the same for an unexpected air filter, transmission service, or other service. When you don’t plan for additional items, you are more likely to reject them. There are two ways to get through this obstacle. Show value of how this part is going to save them money in the long run (fuel economy services and parts failure costs). Or you can allow them to budget for the future services—also known as next time. Next time can be a scary scenario, as it gives your guest the time to reconsider the purchase or shop around. This also does not put dollars in the bank or check off that item from your white board. We do need to remember that we are preventative maintenance shops. Many items the guest can feel like can

wait, we should educate them on the need and not push them for the ticket average. It’s much more important to focus on the perception of the experience. Many people relate the experience to going to the dentist (but the dentist office is much cleaner). If you anticipate a bad environment and you receive your anticipation, chances are you are looking to get out of that situation as soon as possible. Adding additional services only increases the aggravation fears that have been built up and justified on these visits. How can we ease the frustration? Be what they didn’t expect! Is your waiting room clean? If you are a drivethru, are the shop bays clean? Chances are that you are going to say yes because you work there. Since you work there, you are used to the environment and the gradual degradation of the atmosphere. Consider you have not seen a child for a few months. When you do see the kid, you are alerted to the changes so much that you comment, “She is getting so big!” Yet the parent is not as shocked as they see it every day and may be less alert to the changes. The same holds true for your shop as the white, drop-in ceiling tiles become yellow. The sharp posters displaying important information about services become hazy. The floors are now grimy because the new guy used the shop mop in the waiting room one too many times. Who wants to sit in that condition? Not your guest. Are you pressuring your guests? I am not referring to the service review speech, but are they sitting there listening to everyone else’s sales pitch in the waiting room just waiting for someone to call out their name holding a filter and a clipboard. The chatter that goes on after you leave the waiting room can negatively prepare your guest for their turn. The old guy sitting in the chair, drinking coffee and telling everyone, “you don’t need that,” is there. Ironically, he is using your services, but feasts off of sharing his perceptions to your other guests. Can you check in with the customer somewhere else? By the car, outside the bay, at the front counter in a soft voice? I will leave you with this until next month. Most of your challenges do not live in procedures, but rather in the cultures you have built. To be continued!

COURTESY LENNY SUACIER

Can you see your shop through the customer’s eyes?

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