Competition isn’t the Real Threat, Complacency Is

In our industry, it has become more and more common to see new service centers opening nearby. In fact, opening near a strong independent quick lube actually seems to be the strategy of some of the large national brands. Strong operators in strong markets attract competitors. So how can you compete and win with the new, shiny, national quick lube chain that just opened on your street?

When a new service center opens, it’s reasonable to expect they’ll pull in some car count early on. That initial impact doesn’t mean anything is wrong. Guests want to see what the new place is like, try a heavy promotional offer, or stop in because it’s convenient. Short-term movement in traffic is part of a growing, competitive landscape, not the death knell of your business.

What really matters isn’t that first visit your guest makes to a new competitor. It’s whether they can win the second, third, and fourth.

At Oilstop, we’ve watched this cycle play out many times. A guest tries a newly opened service center in town because of a coupon offer. Given the long visit intervals in quick lube, it can seem like we lost that guest. But then a few months later, they return. When we ask how their visit went elsewhere, we often hear the same story. The price may have been lower, but the experience didn’t measure up. They didn’t feel welcomed, the presentations were pushy, or no one made them feel cared for. Moments like that reinforce why hospitality matters. Discounts attract visits, but trust earns loyalty

New competitors rarely take your strongest customers; they tend to reveal where loyalty wasn’t fully built yet. When guests feel recognized, respected, and confident in your service, they don’t switch easily. Loyalty creates stability that pricing alone can’t match. Operators can run into trouble when complacency slips in quietly to their service center. Standards loosen, training gets rushed, and leaders stop watching details as closely.

From the outside, everything still looks fine. Yet the experience gradually loses its sharpness. And your guests will be the first to notice, and be more inclined to try a new option for service.

Stay focused on tight execution, strengthening your team, and recommit to the service that built trust in the first place. Your guests will notice the consistency, not novelty. It’s what keeps guests coming back year after year. This is better at combatting a new entrant to the market than price cuts, heavy discounts, or a new marketing strategy.

Competition will always be part of this business. Markets evolve, new operators enter, national operators are expanding rapidly. It’s the sign of a thriving industry. Car count shifts from time to time. What determines long-term performance is not those outside forces, but the strength of the relationships you’ve built with your guests. So, whether you are competing directly with a new competitor in town or still have a small monopoly on your area, focus on serving your guests with excellence, every time.