Quick Takeaways
- Maxi-Lube operates six days a week, remaining closed on Sundays to prioritize employee morale and personal values.
- The decision to stay closed on Sundays has not hindered business; in fact, the shop has experienced growth and positive customer feedback.
- Adjustments to hours, such as closing early on holidays, reflect the shop's focus on employee well-being and operational flexibility.
- The shop's success challenges the notion that longer hours or seven-day operations are necessary for profitability in the quick lube industry.
Determining the right hours and days for business is a critical decision, especially for customer-facing operations like a quick lube shop. While many shops consider opening seven days a week to accommodate customer schedules, one Griffin, Georgia, facility demonstrates that remaining closed on Sundays can serve both business and staff effectively.
Located south of Atlanta, Maxi-Lube has six bays and a staff of 20 to 25 employees. The shop services about 75 cars per day, six days per week. Owners Mike and June Shell have no plans to add a seventh day to the weekly schedule any time soon.
The Challenge
It’s important to evaluate hours of business from time to time to be sure you are serving your customers. While Maxi-Lube has changed its hours over the years, it has always remained closed on Sundays since Mike and June Shell took over the operation in 1989. The idea of opening on Sundays is a nonstarter.
The Shells realized during the COVID-19 pandemic that they could cut hours down, including remaining closed on Sundays.
“During COVID, we never shut down,” says Mike Shell. “We just found out we were working too much, we were working our employees too hard.”
The shop didn’t shut down — in fact, the Maxi-Lube increased business; however, the Shells took the opportunity to adjust the shop's hours.
“I’m sure it slowed down for a while, but for the total year we weren’t off any,” says Shell. “The Lord just blessed us. We’ve always had good business. We used to say we’d send people home when we had slack, but we never did. Our employees work all the overtime they want.”
At times, maintaining the current course is more effective than pursuing change.
The Solutions
For Maxi-Lube, keeping Sundays off the table is a foundational business choice that underscores its priorities.
Having Sundays off helps morale. “[The employees] definitely need a day to be with their families and refresh,” June Shell tells NOLN. “By Monday, they’re ready to come back in and start again.”
The Shells attend church on Sundays. It is not enforced; it is encouraged that employees do the same. “Hopefully, people go to church,” she says. Hopefully, people will make it a priority. They know it’s a priority for us, and we want to give them the opportunity.”
“We’re Christians,” says Mike Shell. On Sundays, we go to church, and whatever employees want to do. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Closing on Sunday is a Christian thing for us.”
In addition to Sundays off, most employees have another day off each week. The Shells are also open to requests for days off.
During COVID, Maxi-Lube changed its hours. The shop, with six bays in two buildings, went from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“The town used to close at noon on Wednesdays,” explains Mike Shell.
The Aftermath
Even while cutting back hours, the shop continues to do well.
“We’ve never lost any business,” says Shell. “Even cutting back hours, we’ve grown.”
Other adjustments to hours of operation include closing early or even remaining closed on certain holidays. While the shop used to close early on Christmas Eve, it now closes for the entire day.
Shell attributes the more recent adjustment to the holiday schedule to the number of years the shop has been in business, as it is now in a position to give employees holidays and more time off.
“Sometimes you can’t do things when you’re building a business,” Shell says.
The operator receives positive feedback for both the available hours and the days the business is closed.
“We haven’t had anything but good remarks out of customers for being closed on Sundays,” Shell says. “Griffin is a small town. It’s just far enough south of Atlanta. We’ve got some new tire stores in town. (One national tire chain) is open on Sundays.”
The Takeaway
Business is strong for the shop outside of Atlanta. Maxi-Lube went through 27,398 gallons of oil in oil changes. The shop’s distributor says most quick lubes go through 7,500 gallons and upward.
The Shells argue that businesses can thrive without being open on Sundays or offering longer hours. They point to Chick-fil-A, which is closed on Sundays yet generated about $9.4 million per location in 2023, compared to McDonald's, which generated $4 million per location.
The distributor for the Maxi-Lube location stands behind Shell’s decision to remain closed on Sundays: “If people want your service, they adjust and come another day, versus Sunday.”
About the Author
Enid Burns
Enid Burns is a writer and editor living in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and is a freelance contributor to NOLN. She has covered a wide range of topics from video games and consumer electronics to online advertising and business. When living in Manhattan for 20 years she did not own a car, and is often mistaken for that woman who brings her car to the shop and knows nothing. She has learned a great deal from writing for NOLN, but also learns from those shop owners who try to educate her on their services. Enid is a news junkie who spends evenings streaming TV shows and time off on long walks, bike rides, and fiber arts.