Over the past decade in the drive-through oil change industry, there have been many breakthroughs and improvements in technology. As a quick lube operator, it’s important to keep an eye on new technologies that could help improve efficiency, improve service for your guests, or simply make it easy to manage your operation. There are several easy ways that technology can be leveraged in as a quick lube operator. At Oilstop, we’ve deployed technology to improve in a few key ways recently.
Four years ago, we installed bay timers in all of our service centers. Similar to the vehicle sensor equipment that McDonald's might use to track how long a guest has been waiting in the drive through line, bay timers allow you to track how long a guest is waiting for service and how long the service is taking. While some operators might focus on 10-minute, no-wait service and others specialize in full vehicle inspections, bay timer technology is helpful for all styles of service. Knowing how long a guest is spending in your bays can help you improve efficiency. By clearing the bay more quickly, you are making way for the next guest, which will help you grow your car count. Bay timers are very reasonably priced (you will be able to outfit your service center for less than $50/month). If you service one more car each month from your bay timers, you’ve already paid for this service.
Last year, we decided to improve our bay timer technology and have begun testing using cameras and computer vision instead of analog sensors to track our bay times. This camera-based technology allows us to gather more information than traditional bay timers. We can track how long a vehicle was in each position at our service center—in the bay, on deck, waiting in the queue, etc. We can also track “drive-off”' guests, who pull up but then choose not to stay because of our wait time. We can see what times of day our queue is at its longest and when there is no queue, helping us improve our staffing plan.
In the future, we can add logic to help us track how long it takes our team to greet each guest or to automatically scan the license plate of the guest when they pull up. There are several companies offering this service. The technology is only getting better with AI and computer vision improvements, and the camera/video-based system allows us to add new features and functionalities as the technology evolves. An added bonus: The cameras are the same ones that are used for security cameras, so you might already have some installed that can be used today!
Speaking of scanning license plates, a few years ago, we implemented a license plate scanner into our point-of-sale software. This allows our technicians to scan a license plate on a tablet when the guest arrives. Immediately, we know that guest's name, service history, and any special notes about that guest. This is what allows our technicians to deliver a personalized greeting and welcome. It also saves our technicians time loading the vehicle information and specs to start the service. Most quick lube point of sale technologies have license plate scanning (sometimes called “LPR”). Ask your point-of-sale provider about how to use it and then train your team to leverage it.
Another way to introduce helpful technology into your quick lube is to ask your oil supplier about bulk oil tank monitors. Tank monitors track the inventory level of your bulk tanks and allow you and your supplier to track when a product is getting low. This insight into your inventory is helpful, but your oil supplier can move to a “keep full” program, where they will dispatch out a truck anytime your bulk tanks start to get low. This reduces the need for you or your service center manager to place an order for more oil. Our primary oil supplier, RelaDyne, even offers to include tank monitors for free with their service because it helps improve their delivery efficiency. Ask your oil supplier about this easy operational improvement opportunity.
There are many ways to leverage technology into your oil change business. The opportunities will only continue to grow as AI technology continues to improve. While new technology can be scary and hard to understand, finding simple ways to leverage technology to improve your operation, make your life easier, and grow your business is well worth the time and effort! If you have any creative ways you are leveraging technology in your business, reach out at [email protected].
