I did not expect to hear this from the latest Jiffy Lube Franchisee of the Year:
“For us, within our group, 2021 was by far the hardest year ever since we started our business.”
That quote is from Mike Biddle, Chief Operations Officer and Partner at The Alamitos Group, which received the award earlier this year. It actually makes the award that much more impressive—how a franchise group was able to meet challenges head on. Read on through this month’s Industry Insight (page xx), and you’ll find out that the organization exceeded its revenue goals and had many other operational achievements along the way.
Congrats to The Alamitos Group and thanks to Mr. Biddle for offering a great interview. (there’s an accompanying podcast episode online, too!) It’s an inspiration to see operators accept the challenges and then get to work to overcome them.
Speaking of inspirations, I took a bit of a different angle on this month’s feature story (TOPICAL page xx). It comes from so many interviews and conversations I have with operators. I’ll be speaking to them about a specific story topic, but during a period of distraction they’ll tell me about some great interaction with a customer or a true demonstration of second-to-none customer service. Those stories are everywhere, but it can be difficult working those anecdotes into an unrelated story about social media marketing or oil types.
So, why not build an entire article based on inspirational anecdotes? That’s what we’ve got for you this month—five little stories of good deeds, brand building, and feel-good moments to remind you why you’re in the people business. I know all of you reading will be able to relate and recall a similar situation of your own. It doesn’t take much to really make an impression on a customer who needs a little appreciation and a stop at the oil change shop to go well. It’s the dedication to repeated customer service skills by shop staff that make it all possible.
Finally, I’d like to highlight this month’s Pit Stop article (PIT STOP page xx). We’re getting back to the basics to highlight which parts of the service process that need to be double-checked. Sure, that might all be old news to some operators out there, but pass the article along to the younger tech on your staff and get them up to speed on some safety practices.
Speaking of practice—it never hurts! Take care this month.
