We’ll Come to You: Pickup/Drop-Off Service a Boon for Quick Lube

Convenience is the name of the game in the quick lube world. Bring our customers in, get them out, and keep them safe for the road. For many drivers, though, just finding time to drive over to a shop can be difficult—especially for those who are busy during regular business hours.

While many repair shops offer their customers the option to have their vehicles picked up for a job and dropped back off for the sake of convenience, it isn’t something that’s as common in the quick lube space. Eric Sharp, owner of Eric’s LubeXpress in Torrington, Wyoming, noticed this as well, and saw a demand that he knew he could fill.

Though the shop is brand new—having just opened last month—it’s already seen huge success with implementing its own drop-off/pickup services, and has won over the trust of the customer base in its small town.  

Sharp, pulling from past dealership experience, has taken every measure to protect his business, staff, and customers throughout the whole process. He lays out what drop-off and pickup looks like for his shop, and all that is required to make it work for a quick lube like his.

How It Works

Though Eric’s LubeXpress doesn’t take appointments, the shop does sometimes have people calling in attempting to make one. Instead, they offer their mobile service, allowing their vehicle maintenance needs to be taken care of while they’re busy.

A shop employee will come by in a company vehicle, verify information about the customer and their vehicle, and take it back to the shop to be worked on. There is a $5 charge for the pickup/drop-off, but Sharp has yet to encounter anyone who’s balked at the price.

The shop will usually take payments over the phone beforehand, and will have customers pre-authorize replacements for air filters, wiper blades, or cabin air filters, if needed. Customers also have the option for the shop to reach out and contact them in the event any components need replacement.  

Photos of an air filter, before and after, may also be provided to a customer along with their invoice. Sharp’s shop utilizes a management system that easily allows for photos of filters or wipers replaced with any customer’s work order. Although Sharp is in a small town and has the trust of most customers, he knows he has a responsibility to have that option easily available for his customers.

Once a customer’s car does arrive at the shop, it’s pulled up into the line—if there is one—and goes through as any other car.

The shop’s crew averages nine minutes for each car they service—but, in the meantime, as a customer’s car is being transported back and forth, Sharp’s company vehicle will sit in its place, which prominently features the shop’s logo.

“I treat it as mobile advertising. Somebody can see ‘Eric’s LubeXpress,’ at the hospital, park, or any one of the offices around town. It might jog somebody's memory that we do that—or at least spark a question,” says Sharp. “If anything, if it piques at least one other person to call in and get a pickup, then that's even more mobile advertising.”

Have the Right People Representing You

In addition to a custom company vehicle, all of the shop’s employees wear clean, standardized uniforms, helping to present a professional image of the shop and represent the brand well.

Sharp and most of his crew have prior experience in the dealership world, so much of the drop-off/pickup process isn’t entirely new. But he does ensure that his staff are conscious of how they should be treating each customer’s vehicle.

“It’s basically the golden rule: Make sure you treat the customer's vehicle like you would treat yours. Or, even better, treat it like your grandma's car,” tells Sharp. “Especially with the driving. Make sure you're driving perfectly polite. Our shop vehicle is branded. It's got our logo and stuff on it. So, you don't want to be driving like an idiot or doing anything that would cause a negative reflection upon us.”

Sharp recommends that the staff member who is going out to pick up vehicles is courteous, professional, and has customer service skills. Most importantly, they’ll need to have a clean driving record in order to be insured, which is likely the most important aspect of the pickup/drop-off service.

Put Every Safeguard in Place First

Employees driving a customer’s car must be insured for anything that could happen on the way, because there are a lot of risks that come with pickup/drop-off. Sharp says he recognizes knowing things outside your control could happen, but taking necesary precautions could be the difference between his shop’s reputation being destroyed or not.

“Make sure that you're insured for every conceivable thing. It might not even be your fault; somebody else could run a red light and hit you in a customer’s vehicle,” warns Sharp. “That's the flip side of it—then you get into negative advertising. Suddenly you've got people saying, ‘They came to pick up my vehicle, and they crashed it.’ Even if it's not your fault, then it's a whole other fire that you have to put out. But I think the benefits (of drop-off/pickup) far outweigh any of the negatives.”

Indeed, for Sharp, it helped keep his car count up and has brought in extra revenue for his shop, all while providing his customers with a more convenient way to maintain their vehicles that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

“You're missing out on your opportunity with getting that vehicle in there, and your regular stuff that you're doing—air filters and all your regular up sales that vehicles need,” Sharp says. “That's just an opportunity that we totally would have missed by not offering this.”