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.

“If you have a four-bay shop, and someone wants service that takes half a day, that’s okay, because you can put that vehicle in that fourth bay,” Bandy said.

That said, there are times when some of the Lube Center Management’s shops have to put limits on the number of lengthier services they can perform. Bandy says it all depends on the shop. Each store has a different volume, and most of the time the volume is heaviest at the beginning and end of each month. That makes the middle of the month the best time for his service writers to respectfully encourage customers to get other services done. Each manager has to look at his business flow and decide the right mix of bays dedicated to just oil changes and bays dedicated to other work.

“Some of our locations have so much quick lube volume that they sometimes just don’t have the time to do the more extensive stuff,” said Bandy. “You have to make the decision based on business flow.”

Other factors can impact that decision as well. A smaller facility with fewer bays will have less capacity for extensive services than a larger facility would. The expertise of the crew can also make a difference — if a location has highly skilled mechanics that can do a job quickly without sacrificing quality, that gives the manager more flexibility.

Keeping a loyal customer can also come into play. Bandy encourages managers to be more flexible with workflow for a customer who comes in frequently.

“We won’t get into really major stuff like engine rebuilds,” said Bandy, “but if a loyal customer has something that he wants done, we’ll make sure we find a way to get that done without impacting the dedicated quick lube bays. If a good customer wants a service done, and we have the expertise to provide it, we’ll find a way to meet the request.”

Ultimately, the factor that takes precedence at all times is maintaining a focus on customer service. For Bandy, that means keeping speed at the forefront.

“You can’t sacrifice that speed, or you become a general repair shop, as opposed to a quick lube,” he said. “That approach has worked out very well for us.”

It’s also an approach that any savvy quick lube operator would likely be wise to consider.

TOM SEGLETES is the Americas Automotive Marketing advisor, Installed, for ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties and leads the company’s Mobil 1 Lube Express program. He may be reached at: thomas.e.segletes@exxonmobil.com