Finding Space for Repair Work

Sept. 2, 2020

Thinking about doing a bit more repair work at your quick lube? Space is an important consideration, as one shop shows.

Sept. 2, 2020—Travis Miller was the shop manager when the operation started dipping into some repair work.

The shop, Speedy Lube in Bozeman, Mont., saw the opportunity for repairs. In those days, he scheduled jobs as needed and performed much of the work himself.

“We used to just do our transmission and coolant services in there," says Miller, who now owns the shop. "We said, 'We’re kind of missing out on some of the money we could be making by offering some of those repairs.'"

Nowadays, the shop has a full-time mechanic, and they've installed a lift in the third bay to accommodate the work. But what's important is that they still run a strong quick lube operation. The shop had just the right space to make it happen.

Speedy Lube's building is a wide structure with two express bays lined right up with the driveway. The third bay, off to the side a bit, is in a great spot to incorporate repair work but not impede on the rapid quick lube process.

As you'll see in NOLN's September feature article, Miller and other operators take a lot into consideration when deciding what services to offer. But no matter the outcome, the most successful choices always reflect their shop's abilities and their customers' needs. Read all about Miller's story, as well as two other operators, here.