SHOP STATS: SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service-Midas Location: Jackson, Calif. Operator: Jay Dhillon Average Car Count: 28.5 Staff Size: 10 Shop Size: 10 bays Ticket Average: $125
Built Right
Franchise owner Jay Dhillon acquired this building in 2018, and it was built a decade before that. While it’s a massive facility as far as quick lube and repair shops go, it’s actually modest compared to the original plans.
“It was originally supposed to be larger than that,” Dhillon says. “But they downsized it.”
The shop includes a second physical building across the parking lot. Dhillon says that he saw a few tenants cycle through before deciding to acquire it himself. It serves as a support space for the main co-branded SpeeDee-Midas shop.
Altogether, Dhillon’s is a spacious facility with great curb appeal that stands out in his market.
“Jackson is a small town, so there’s not a lot of construction that goes on,” he says. “Having a modern building definitely helps our customer base come in. If you have a spit-shined building, it just helps.”
Small Improvements
Being a newer building, Dhillon says he knew that he had a solid foundation to work with. The layout includes two pit bays for quick maintenance, which have a shared basement area.
Overall, there has been little maintenance needed.
“The only thing that we’ve ended up doing to the building so far is that we re-epoxyed the floor when I took over,”’ he says.
He also upgraded some of the tire equipment and added some customer amenities to the customer waiting area. With a modern building to start, he found ways to add nice touches to enhance the experience.
“We did put in a nice barstool counter looking out on the shop for anyone who wants to work on a laptop or anything else,” Dhillon says.
True Value in People
Of course, even the nicest facility can still become poorly maintained. Dhillon says that this Jackson shop stays in great shape thanks to the team on site that takes cleanliness seriously. It makes a huge difference in the customer experience and makes the building really shine, he says.
“I've been to a lot of shops, and I've never seen the shop as clean as the one there,” Dhillon says. “That’s a testament to the team.”
Leading the charge on site is the shop manager, who is also the lead mechanic, who has been there since 2010. The lead lube tech and assistant manager has been there since 2009.
With the focus on daily maintenance, the building speaks for itself. Follow that up with a solid service process, that Dhillon has a successful location on his hands.
