A Clinging Reminder

by Jessica Odom
NOLN Staff Writer

Static reminder stickers. They’ve been around for decades, those cute little pieces of vinyl that adhere to windshields and remind your customers when they should return to you for service. At least, that’s what they’re supposed to do. But in today’s high-tech world, do they still work? According to most operators, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

“(They’re) a reminder,” said Matt Gaffey, owner of Gaffey’s Fast Lube in Herkimer, New York. He uses these stickers in his shop and said they do what they’re supposed to do.

Gaffey said he uses a small, transparent sticker with a date and mileage reminder system, and he opts to use the traditional 3,000-mile interval on his stickers.

Jeff Henderson, with Z Best Fast Lube in Wichita Falls, Texas, uses a similar system. Like Gaffey, his shop uses the stickers to remind customers that their next oil change is just around the corner.

Henderson also uses a small, transparent, static-cling sticker with the name of the shop and the traditional three-month and 3,000-mile reminder intervals, as opposed to the mileage that the owners manual for a particular vehicle may suggest.

“If a customer wants a different mileage, we can put that on there,” he added.

Henderson said that all the competitors in his area use the same type of system, but his shop adds a little something extra to its stickers.

“Our stickers have the brand of the last oil used in the car,” he said. “Some of our competitors don’t do that; they just have the name and address.”

Henderson’s system also differs from Gaffey’s in that his shop uses a loyalty system with customers. If a customer returns to Z Best Fast Lube for their oil changes, every fifth change is free, and the sticker reminds customers of that.

Henderson said Z Best Fast Lube has used these stickers in their shop since day one, so he hasn’t seen a customer return rate in comparison without using them, but Gaffey is convinced they do their job in his shop.

“Yeah they work, because (customers) yell if you don’t put them on,” he said with a laugh.

Scotti Lee, owner of Oil Change Express in New Castle, Delaware, has been in the fast lube business for 22 years, and since the technology for static stickers first became available his shop has utilized it and has seen a high rate of customer returns. Instead of a transparent square though, Lee favors one with bright and vibrant colors.

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