Speed Versus Service: Which is More Important?

By Tom Segletes

For years now, quick lube operators have been adding an increasing number of services to their offerings in order to boost profits in an age of challenging car counts driven by increased competition and ever-increasing oil drain intervals. Where once the customer was only choosing what type of oil to put in his vehicle, now he can decide whether or not to have his vehicle’s transmission serviced, wipers replaced or windshield cracks repaired.

As operators add a wider variety of services to their menu boards, however, it becomes more challenging to continue delivering on the primary benefit that frequently draws consumers to quick lubes in the first place: speed of service. We do, after all, call them “quick” lubes for a reason. If a customer comes in for an oil change but finds herself in line behind several cars that are having more extensive services performed, she may not have a positive experience if she’s kept waiting for an inordinately long time. It’s not uncommon for customers to have children with them, in which case they won’t want to sit in the lobby for too long. On the other hand, performing services too quickly in order to maximize speed increases the potential for mistakes — which can definitely keep customers from coming back.

In order to get a feel for how some good quick lubes balance speed and services in a way that creates a quality experience for customers, I talked to Bill Bandy, the managing partner of Lube Center Management in Plano, Texas. Lube Center Management operates a chain of 17 quick lubes, so if there’s a trend happening in the quick lube industry, Bandy has seen it.

For Lube Center Management, when it comes to weighing the benefits of speed versus services, it’s important that the “quick” in their quick lubes never takes a back seat.

“Our philosophy is this: Never sacrifice your identity with the customer,” Bandy said. “We are a quick lube operation. Once you lose that identity, you’re going to have problems. I’ve seen quick lubes get too far away from that and not survive. You have to make sure your customers can get in and get out, and that those other services don’t get in the way.”

This doesn’t mean that Bandy’s shops avoid providing more extensive services. Quite the opposite — they want to provide enough services to be a “one-stop shop” and build loyalty in order to minimize customers’ need to go elsewhere. As such, they will frequently reserve certain bays only for performing quick oil changes, while others are used for services that take longer, such as brake pad replacement and light vehicle repairs.

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