Although the staff at my local Jiffy Lube have always been competent and friendly, I never thought I’d have the occasion to blog about them. But today, they didn’t just change my oil, they changed my attitude towards Jiffy Lube.
I’m frugal, I admit. I drive a 15 year-old Ford Focus, and will do so until it stops being a perfectly functional car. Part of keeping it functional is providing it with regular oil changes. I could change it myself, but I’m not that frugal.
For the last couple of months, I’ve been increasingly aware that my car was due for a change, and that meant dropping by my neighborhood Jiffy Lube. For years, I’ve been getting intermittent oil changes there. I’ve never had a complaint about the actual service.
It’s on a common route for me, and right across the street from a Costco that I shop at every week, so I’ve had dozens of chances to drop in, and felt a little more guilt every time as my car’s mileage accumulated.
What held me back? Just this…
Every time I’ve gone, they always pump me for any number of upcharges. I’ve got a high-mileage engine; do I want a more expensive oil blended (or least, labeled) for that purpose? Winter’s coming; do I want my radiator flushed? Tires rotated? Brake fluid topped up, or even battery electrolyte? They were always nice about it, but it still felt like a baby version of that passive-aggressive series of insurance questions you get when renting a car. (“Sign here to indicate that you will pay for the manager’s massages during the time your rental car is out of service in the event of damage.”)
No, no, no, no, no. I understand that those extras increase Jiffy Lube’s profit margin when suckers – oops, I mean ‘customers’ – opt for them. But I know what I want, which is a generic oil change, and that’s what I’ll get even if I have to push back all the way. I often wondered if the staff were being bonused on the basis of the number of times they succeeded in adding an upcharge.
Until today
Today, a kid scanned my car’s VIN, entered it into the shop’s computer, and saw that all I’ve ever bought was a basic oil change. He asked me if that’s what I wanted again.
Yes, I said.
He ushered me into the little waiting room, and ten minutes later he came in, and called me up to the counter. Here we go, I thought. 20 questions.
But all he said was, “$52.11”
I was taken aback. In a good way. I actually asked the kid, Did you not ask me about upcharges because you could see in your system that all I ever want is the basic oil change?
Yes, he said.
Would you have offered me all that stuff if I was a new customer?
Yes, he said again, adding, “We just don’t think we should waste your time if we know you don’t want any of it.”
I don’t know if that’s something that’s changed in the one shop I frequent, or if it’s a corporate policy. But either way there’s a huge lesson in this for other marketers. It was way, way less stressful than I expected. Did they pocket any extra margin on special oil my car doesn’t need? No, but they weren’t going to get that out of me, anyway.
The thing is, I’ll almost certainly get oil changes a little more frequently now that I know I am not going to have the added stress in the actual transaction.