The 2021 AOCA Courage and Leadership Awards celebrate fast lube industry staff who have gone above and beyond to exemplify courage and leadership especially under difficult circumstances, such as the pandemic, natural disasters, and personal hardships.
This gives owners, operators, and managers of AOCA member fast lubes and vendors a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on everything that makes their teams’ work exceptional: customer service, teamwork, precision automotive maintenance work, car count, environmental compliance, stellar record keeping, receipts and inventory control, training, ingenuity, reliability, and more.
In honor of the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, this year’s award will go to 19 outstanding fast lube industry staff teams (up to 10 individuals per team).
Nominations for the next round of awards will be accepted online until October 1. AOCA publications like the monthly Government Affairs Update highlight nominated teams, so don’t miss out on good press by waiting until the last minute. The winners will be announced during iFlex at the Car Wash Show in Las Vegas, November 15 through 17.
Award sponsors include Devon Industries, Eco-Plug System LLC, Federated Insurance, FILPAC, Kafko Int’l Ltd, NGEN, Petra Oil Company, Phillips 66, Service Champ, and True Brand. Winners will enjoy their swag bags courtesy of these contributors.
The first nominations submitted represent teams from across the country:
Hoffman Jiffy Lube in New York: Brenden McAuley (Store Manager), Andrew Sale (Assistant Manager), Jeff Ciarfello (Assistant Manager), Maxwell Jones (Team Leader), Bianca Gonzalez (Team Leader), and Alex Culora (Team Leader).
According to David Brooks, Director of Operations for Hoffman Jiffy Lube, “This team has great Customer Experience Tracker (CET) scores resulting from excellent customer service and customer feedback. The store received 526 positive reviews in the last year. The team handled the stresses and challenges that came with the pandemic. They followed the CDC guidelines and communicated regularly with our customers to ensure they understood the new process. By focusing on what it could control, the team was there for each other and our customers.”
Mr. Lube/Diamond Plated Automotive in Wasilla, Alaska: Kami Lorentz (Customer Service Advocate), Jacob Thornton (Tire Tech, Lube and Mechanics Apprentice), Jessica Streight (Customer Service Advocate), Cory Perich (Tire Lead & Lube Hood tech), and Keith Santerre (Parts & Inventory Supervisor).
President/CEO Gretchen Geist said of her team, “All of our staff is crossed trained in all departments to ensure a smooth and organized system for the health of our customers' vehicles!”
Premier Oil Change in Palo Cedro, California: Angelise Peters (HR & Compliance), Jacobe Krizman (District Manager), Jason Harlow (Store Manager), Philly Jones (Store Manager), Justin Krizman (Store Manager), Tim Long (Store Manager), and Steven Vanthida (Store Manager).
According to company owner, Matt Webb, “This team of folks is truly a team of superstars. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic they all stepped up to the plate overcoming significant uncertainty and everchanging conditions. Angelise Peters spent hours making sure that managers and team members were given the proper tools, communication and best practices for keeping staff and guests safe. Jacobe Krizman did a phenomenal job maintaining a positive atmosphere in our stores despite significant challenges with car count decreases and staffing challenges and everchanging rules. Everyone on this team represented our company and the oil change industry at a level over and above what was expected.”
PM Attendant in Edmond, Oklahoma: Tiffany Colon (CIO); Ash Bullard (Vice President of Sales); Jennifer Klakulak (Vice President of Marketing), and Heather Day (Vice President of Customer Management).
According to CEO Ricardo Colon, “Our team works as a cohesive unit. We are always talking and innovating about how to make our software better. We know that when we do that, it helps our customers run their business efficiently and cost-effectively. If they can't see how their business is doing at a glance or collect income, we aren't doing our job. During Covid-19, we had several customers that were forced to close their doors due to state-mandates. As a team, we decided to provide some relief to them by not charging them their subscription fee while they were closed. We were also able to allow future payment for current service to those who just weren't seeing their quota of cars.”
Congratulations on your nominations! AOCA looks forward to more members joining the party!
