Hempy: Service Starts Where You Stand

Our society often celebrates big, sweeping change-—the kind that trends on social media, fills stadiums, or breaks headlines. We're drawn to influencers with millions of followers, viral challenges, catchy songs, and witty memes that capture the world’s attention for a moment. These large-scale movements promise transformation, fame, or cultural relevance, and while they may spark change, they often distract us from where the most lasting impact actually begins.

The truth is, the most meaningful change doesn’t start with a broadcast to millions. It starts within a 10-foot radius of our daily lives. That is the root of the service principle at Oilstop that we named “Serving Starts Where You Stand”.

Every day in our service centers, hundreds of people move through our 10-foot circle. In a fast-paced environment, it’s tempting to see the work as a sequence of tasks. But every person we encounter is an opportunity to serve. There are several ways that as a service center leader, manager, or technician, you can serve those within the 10-foot radius you exist in each and every day.

Serving Your Guests: This starts with understanding that hospitality happens in seconds, not minutes. The way you step forward as a car pulls in, the warmth of your tone, and the eye contact you make all happen within those first 10 feet. Guests can feel it immediately. They notice if they’re welcomed in and whether someone sees them. That’s why our hospitality moments matter: the greet, a cold beverage, the invitation to come for their next service. These are small acts that build trust quickly. And when something goes wrong, “serving where you stand” means stepping into that moment with ownership. A complaint isn’t a disruption. It’s a chance to create loyalty. Guests rarely remember the problem, but they always remember how you made them feel in the moment you chose to serve.

Serving Your Team: Culture isn’t built in meetings or memos. It’s built during the everyday interactions inside your service center. A manager’s presence sets the tone of an entire store. When you’re consistent, positive, and available, your team mirrors it. When you coach in the moment, you show your team that growth is part of the job, not an afterthought. Young team members learn best not through lectures, but through leaders who care enough to notice. That’s how future leaders are developed: one conversation, one piece of feedback, one moment of care at a time. Serving where you stand means seeing potential before the person sees it in themselves.

Serving Your Community: With dozens of guests a day at every service center, we interact with a huge portion of our neighborhoods over the course of a year. Partnering with a local charity, sponsoring a youth  baseball team, or being present at the town’s holiday parade all shape the story our community tells about your service center. Community impact doesn’t start with big events; it starts with the daily interactions happening inside our bays. Instead of just changing the community's oil, serve the community by becoming a part of the community. When we live our mission in and out of our bays, we’re serving the community from where we stand.

“Serving starts where you stand” is a mindset that recognizes we have the agency to make an impact in the space we presently occupy. When our teams fully embrace this mindset, we begin to make a positive change in the world—10 feet at a time.