BEST OIL CHANGE & QUICK LUBE
Mon-Fri: 7:30am-7:00pm Sat: 8:00am-5:00pm 4179 Hwy 278 NW • Covington (Near OHCO, Across from CarMart)
678-712-9293
www.covingtonprolube.com
Bring this ad in for $7 OFF any oil change.
BEST TIRE STORE
Mon-Fri: 8:00am-5:30pm Sat: 8:00am-4:00pm 10557 Hwy 36 • Covington (½ mile South of the Bypass/CVS)
770-786-2195
Bring this ad in for $40 OFF any set of new tires.
BEST AUTO REPAIR & SERVICE
10557 Hwy 36 • Covington (Behind Economy Tire)
678-658-6388
www.kwikchangelube.com
Bring this ad in for 10% OFF any repair work.
28 VISIONS
Underneath the hood Local auto shop owner details humble beginnings, COVID impact By SARAH DAVIS news@covnews.com
Newton County resident Jared Rutberg opened Kwik Change Lube & Service Center in January 2009 because of his concern for the 2008 recession. After finding success in his first auto shop, he decided to expand and open a second shop, Covington Pro Lube, in 2011. At both of his auto shops, Rutberg places an emphasis on family and community even down to the detail of the company name. In the name of his first shop, the ‘K’ in Kwik and ‘C’ in Change stand for RUTBERG his two eldest sons Kyle and Connor, respectively. Additionally, Rutberg said he treats his employees like family by being flexible to their needs. “We try to work with the employees as far as their family situations,” Rutberg said. “ … One of my employees [was] having a problem with the bus picking their kid up on time, so Jennifer changed the schedule, so that she could make sure a kid got on the bus and get that taken care of.” After graduating from Springfield College in 1995 with a degree in physical education, Rutberg joined the U.S. Army, serving as a commander in Afghanistan and Korea. Rutberg said that his military experience taught him leadership roles that influence how he runs his business. The operations manual is formatted in an orderly military style and employees are trained to memorize and use a firm set of callouts when operating on a vehicle. In these systems of call-outs, the “hood techs” working on the front of the car yell messages to those at the customer service desk as well as to the mechanics in the “pit” of the shop. This communication consists of a call-out and then a THE COVINGTON NEWS
