Shop Name: PittStop 10 Minute Oil Change - Akron
Location: Akron, Ohio
Owner: Steve Pittman Jr.
Bay Count: 3
Staff size: 5
Average Daily Car Count: 29 cars
Steven Pittman Jr.’s introduction into the quick lube industry came from spending seven years as an outside sales and new business development rep for Mighty Auto Parts. Fast oil change shops were his customers, and he quickly learned which ones in Northeast Ohio were thriving and which could use some help.
Today, he sits on the other side of the desk, a quick lube operator himself. Pittman oversees four PittStop 10 Minute Oil Change shops in Northeast Ohio, and he recently welcomed NOLN for a tour of his brand’s Akron location.
Pittman made the transition into the field in 2017, when he observed a client in nearby North Canton struggling. The shop “was in rough shape at the time,” he said, adding that it was down to serving about 4 to 6 cars per day.
Pittman had considered one day making a career change and getting into the world of operating a quick lube of his own. When he saw an opportunity present itself, he decided the time was right to jump in, although he admits he faced a bit of skepticism from his wife, Molly.
“My wife is very risk-averse, and I am the gambler, so. it works well, right?” Pittman says. “She can reel me in a little bit, and I can kind of get her to take some chances.
“She's like, ‘Are you crazy? What are you talking about?’ And I'm like, ‘I’m confident I can do this. You know, I know this business. I might be crazy, but at the end of the day, my thought process was like, hey, I’ve got to borrow a little bit of money to start this. I wasn't buying anything crazy, so what's the worst-case scenario, right? … (If) I lose some money, what do I do? I go back and get a job like I have before.”
Pittman purchased the assets of the Canton business and entered a new lease agreement with the property’s owner.
“It was in bad shape,” he says. “I essentially bought the inventory and tools, and started over.”
For Pittman, “starting over” meant cleaning up the site and creating a fresh brand. On July 1, 2017, the North Canton store officially reopened as the aptly named PittStop 10 Minute Oil Change.
Pittman stayed in communication with the property owner for the North Canton spot, and in late 2020, an opportunity emerged for Pittman to acquire two of the owner’s other properties in Akron and Salem. A deal was reached in January 2021, and the PittStop brand grew to three locations. A fourth shop, located in nearby Louisville, was added in 2023.
Meeting Local Demand
Today, the four PittStop shops are thriving by meeting the unique needs of customers in each community. A key to success, Pittman says, is finding a balance between being consistent in pricing and service offerings across locations, but being flexible when deciding which products and services to highlight depending on local demand.
“Our pricing structure is the same because our locations, being where they are, we do have fleet customers that use all four stores, and we have customers that bounce between locations, especially North Canton and Louisville. and even North Canton and here (in Akron) because (of the) proximity. So, we want that experience to be the same. I don't want somebody to come here and pay $44 for an oil change, and somebody to go to North Canton and spend $47. It’s just not good business.
“How we tailor that to what we're doing (at each location) on a daily basis is just what product lines and services we choose to highlight. There are certain things that customers will buy in North Canton or Louisville that we couldn't sell here (in Akron) to save our lives. It’s all about choosing the right product to highlight. We're going to offer everything, but what product lines and services we are driving is going to depend on the customers you're seeing.”
The Akron shop, for example, gets a lot of older cars among the 30 or so vehicles it services per day, so high-mileage oil changes are in demand. North Canton and Salem, which now serve about 25 and 32 vehicles per day, respectively, tend to see customers with higher ticket averages and newer vehicles.
“Obviously, income level and the age of the vehicles you're seeing—all of that is going to determine the type of services you're going to be able to sell,” says Pittman. “You know certain things you're not going to sell on a 2023 BMW that you can sell on a 2012 Chevy Cruze.”
Expectations Met
Closing in on 8 years of being a quick lube operator, Pittman says the role has generally matched what he envisioned when he entered the field. Pittman’s time in sales was invaluable, hey says, because it gave him the opportunity to talk with a wide range of shop owners to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.
Pittman says he would ask shop owners and employees about what was working for them and what changes they would make if they could.
“I was very lucky having been that close to these other businesses and their operations and how they do things,” Pittman says. “To see, hey, these guys do it really, really well, and this is how they do it. And these guys do it really poorly. What’s the difference (between them)?”
Pittman mostly works out of an office at home, but he keeps in frequent contact with managers at each of his stores and tries to get to at least one location each week. Pittman says he’s open to the possibility of adding more shops to his portfolio, but has been measured in his approach to expansion.
Future growth is likely to come from acquiring competing shops willing to sell, as retrofitting an existing structure has been more cost-effective than trying to build new, he says.
Once the gambler, these days Pittman is exercising patience, knowing when to hold ’em.
“I have snatched up just about all the quick lube buildings (in the area) that are available, with the exception of one I've got my eye on,” Pittman says. “I'm playing the waiting game currently.”
