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Local Valvoline Not That Busy

Joe Marconi

By Joe Marconi
in Auto Shop Franchises

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CARMandP Proficient

CARMandP

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Our local Valvoline is normally slow. I find it interesting that I see the guys out front swinging the no wait signs pretty often. Our local quick lube was owned my a local business man for a long time and the service he offered was amazing. Since "corporate" Valvoline bought the location and had started running it, I have gained a lot of oil change customers that do not like the change at all. They say the prices are higher and the service not up to what they are expecting. Good for us :)

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lakejoytoy Newbie

lakejoytoy

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Things are just as spotty here in the Puget Sound area. I was talking to one of the kids who works at a Jiffy Lube and he said average car count per day was 12. Considering what is offered; saving time, one would think the car count to be much higher.

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Shopcat Community Regular

Shopcat

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It may be "fast food" type burn out. Olive Garden now has an $8.00 lunch menu, and its easy to spend that at Mickey D's or B.K. Where are you going for lunch? There is a lesson in this for great independent shops everywhere.

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UsedTireShop Collaborator

UsedTireShop

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I like to think that the repair shops are doing a better job sending oil change reminder emails and post cards. At my shop we take the date and mileage of every car's windshield sticker. We then send an oil change reminder along with a coupon 3 weeks before the oil change is due and again 1 week before. We do the same for the state inspection.

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PACMAN Rookie

PACMAN

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Clown suits, ape suits and anything else they can think of to attract attention. The local Pro Oil Change location has added tire changing and storage to their menu as well. Lots of upselling with wallet flushing on special every day.

Gary

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KMS Collaborator

KMS

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It's all about convenience and customer service. Our independents shops can do both, and usually a lot cheaper. It seems to me people are looking for the full service shops more. I see that they are sick and tired of dealing with multiple service shops, and just want to find one that does it all.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      Want to End Your Technician Shortage? Focus on Retention!
      By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog
         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”

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