Promoting Your Lube: Check Lane Events

By Tammy Williams
NOLN Staff Writer

April is National Car Care Month (NCCM). You’ll soon start seeing — and hearing — the publicity that surrounds this month pop up everywhere. Those operators who want to increase their facility’s promotion savvy would be smart to jump on the NCCM bandwagon, and a great way to do so is by hosting a Check Lane Event.

“There’s an awful lot of buzz that’s generated during National Car Care Month from the Car Care Council and others,” said Rich White, Car Care Council executive director. “There’s a lot of attention being drawn to vehicle maintenance during the month, for obvious reasons. It’s great to leverage that national interest and publicity at the local level.”

The crew from Heritage Auto Repair in Meridian, Idaho, inspects a vehicle at the check lane event during the Meridian Motor Fair. More than 100 vehicles went through the check lanes, even though it was one of the rainiest days in Idaho's history.

One facility that has learned this firsthand is Heritage Auto Repair in Meridian, Idaho, which hosted its most recent Car Care Fair — which included a check lane event — last May, taking advantage of the publicity provided by the National Car Care Month advertisements that ran in its area throughout the month of April.

“We put together the first ever Meridian Motor Fair,” said Becca Zanders, vice president of Heritage Auto Repair. “We were the title sponsor and got all kinds of people to donate rigs. The Meridian fire department sent their huge ladder truck and gave rides, and we had the biggest crane in the country, along with ambulances, racecars, garbage trucks and all kinds of different stuff. The Boys and Girls Club, which is an afterschool development program for kids that don’t have a place to go, actually hosted the fair. People paid $10 to get in, and all of the proceeds went to the Boys and Girls Club. Then as people left they were directed to the check lanes. If they went through the check lanes, not only did they receive a free car checkup and a Car Care Aware booklet, but also free movie tickets.

“We have found it’s really hard to get people to go through the lanes for the Car Care Fair without having some kind of incentive. We found that the free movie tickets work, and we’re looking at planning one for April at a carwash, where people can receive a free carwash this year instead of movie tickets.”

Others have reached out to the community to get them involved in a Check Lane Event, seeing great response as well.

“We promote the Car Care Fairs, which we hold in both the spring and the fall, and we partner with a lot of different people,” said Tim Trudnowski, president and general manager of Automotive Jobbers Supply in Spokane, Washington. “We partner with our local radio station, which is a Clear Channel Communications station, so they have about nine different stations here in town. We also partner with the Spokane County Commute Trip Reduction Program and the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency. We also partner with Spokane Community College, which is where it is held. They have about 45 automotive technician students who are involved each time, and they do all the inspections. We have about three of our people go to supervise and watch. Last spring, Costco wholesale wanted to get involved, as well, so they supplied all the food — muffins, pizzas and pop. It’s amazing what everyone does, but they want to be involved because it’s a community event.”

An event such as a car care fair can help promote a lube shop by just getting your people out there and speaking with car owners face to face.

“In any kind of service-related business that you’re in, it really is a people business,” Zanders said. “We don’t fix cars; we serve people. So when you involve yourself in community events like this and you give yourself a chance to really get out, meet people, shake their hands and serve them, you’re going to get better results than just sending direct mail pieces.”

Both Trudnowski and Zanders said they see a great turnout of people at the events, and not even rain will keep them away. Trudnowski said last fall they saw nearly 220 vehicles come through the inspection lanes, and Zanders said more than 100 vehicles came through their latest check lanes even though it occurred on one of the rainiest days in Idaho’s history.

If hosting a car care fair or check lane event is something that interests you, the Car Care Council has everything you need to get started.

“If you are interested in these events, we’ll send you a free DVD,” White said. “It’s a brand new video, and it’s specifically geared to managers and owners to show them how easy it is to get involved and why it is important.

“All the checklists of what needs to be done, step-by-step schedules and the materials needed for a check lane event are on the Car Care Council website (www.carcare.org) under the “Industry” section. We have also reduced the cost of the starter-kits. They include banners, bi-lingual counter mats, car care guides, inspection forms, brochures, door signs and more. This kit is now $59, down from $79.

“We are just trying to do everything we can to get more people to try these events; once they do, they’re going to like it.”

Zanders is a testament to that statement.

“It was very helpful,” she said. “We got a lot of new customers. Any time you can meet people and put a personal face behind what you’re doing, it really conveys that you’re there to serve their needs. You’re going to see results.”