The other day, we were planning a short excursion to the beach and I went on a search for a place to have my minivan’s oil changed. I typically have this service performed at Walmart, quite frankly, because it’s cheap. Unfortunately, we moved to an area located far from a Walmart, so I punched in “lube” into my GPS and discovered a Jiffy Lube in Pineville, North Carolina.
What I experienced at Jiffy Lube surprised me. I try to avoid the quick oil change places as they often will:
- Cost a lot of money
- Annoy you with the upsells
- Provide an uncomfortable waiting experience
This experience at Jiffy Lube was unlike any auto maintenance experience in the past. It started from the moment I got out of my car – the attendant asked me to leave my key in the car and as I exited and tried to close the door, she stopped me and said “you do not need to do that – they like it if we do that.” After showing me the options for oil changes, I selected the standard option (which had a $5 rebate). Whenever I see a rebate, dread comes over me as I expect a painful rebate process.
As they pulled my minivan up, I saw several attendants wiping the windows clean around the car. I was shown the waiting room and was asked to wait until someone was with me.
About 5 minutes later, a gentleman came in, called me outside and started the “upsell” process. He explained everything that was wrong with my car and told me all the great packages I could purchased (air filter for $50, etc). I declined all of the added services and waited for the pressure sale – but none came!
Next, he gave me a rebate form with an envelope and showed me what to fill out to receive my $5 rebate.
He said they would be finished in a moment and showed me back to the waiting room. About 3 minutes later, the cashier came in to perform the checkout.
He explained everything they did in detail and the recommendations they made earlier in case I wanted to change the other filters myself. He also explained that 85% of their business is repeat customers. They offer a 3,000 mile fluid guarantee and will top any off if I stop by.
He also explained they washed all of the windows and vacuumed out the car. He took my credit card and provided me the receipt and rebate form in an envelope ready to be sent in for my $5 rebate. No hassle rebate service!
As he showed me out to my car, he said “let me grab one of my managers.” Steve stopped by to thank me for my visit to Jiffy Lube. He asked if everything was satisfactory. Then has asked one of my most important questions that companies miss, “Can I count on you to come back to this Jiffy Lube in the future?”
So few companies ask for a customer to come back. Make it a habit of asking your customers for their repeat business.