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MAKING IT HAPPEN

KIT SULLIVAN

“To my wife Lynn and my awesome kids: Ashley, Chelsea, Johnny, Shelby and Keely.
Each of you have inspired me in unique ways that you will never know.”
–Kit

Copyright © 2015 TKO Multimedia
All rights reserved.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Table of Contents

Ch. 1: INCREASING CAR COUNTS............................................................................................. 5
Ch. 2: LEAD, DON’T FOLLOW...................................................................................................... 8
Ch. 3: THE INDIFFERENT ZONE................................................................................................. 11
Ch. 4: INCREASE YOUR MARGINS............................................................................................. 15
Ch. 5: DID YOU PROMOTE A LEADER OR A BOSS?............................................................. 18
Ch. 6: HIGH QUALITY VERSUS HIGH STANDARDS............................................................ 21
Ch. 7: DO YOU SERVICE VEHICLES — OR CUSTOMERS?.................................................. 24
Ch. 8: TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION................... 27
Ch. 9: EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS FROM ORDINARY EMPLOYEES............................. 30
Ch. 10: EFFORTS VERSUS REWARDS........................................................................................... 33
Ch. 11: TAKE A RISK...OR PLAY IT SAFE?................................................................................... 36
Ch. 12: BACK TO BASICS.................................................................................................................. 38
Ch. 13: LIKE MONEY IN THE BANK............................................................................................. 41
Ch. 14: SEVEN KEYS TO MANAGEMENT SUCCESS................................................................ 44
Ch. 15: WHAT ARE YOUR KNOWN FOR?................................................................................... 48
Ch. 16: MAINTAINING MOTIVATION......................................................................................... 51
Ch. 17: “NEED” VERSUS “WANT”.................................................................................................. 54
Ch. 18: WHICH GAME ARE YOU PLAYING?............................................................................. 57
Ch. 19: LUBE SHOP CONFIDENTIAL........................................................................................... 60
Ch. 20: CUSTOMER CONTROL...................................................................................................... 63
Ch. 21: UNREASONABLE CUSTOMERS: HOW DO YOU HANDLE THEM?..................... 66
Ch. 22: DON’T CUT LABOR...MAKE LABOR............................................................................. 69
Ch. 23: ARE YOU “CONNECTING” WITH CUSTOMERS?..................................................... 72
Ch. 24: TECHNOLOGY OR TECHNIQUE.................................................................................... 76
Ch. 25: THE HAT SQUAD.................................................................................................................. 79
Ch. 26: INCREASE YOUR CAR COUNTS...RIGHT NOW!....................................................... 82
Ch. 27: ARE WE HAVING FUN YET, PART I............................................................................... 85
Ch. 28: ARE WE HAVING FUN YET, PART II.............................................................................. 88
Ch. 29: IS THE TIDE TURNING?.................................................................................................... 91
Ch. 30: VALUE VERSUS PRICE........................................................................................................ 94
Ch. 31: CASCADE SUCCESS............................................................................................................. 97

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KIT SULLIVAN

Table of Contents (Continued)

Ch. 32: THE TOP FIVE PRESENTATION KILLERS.. .................................................................. 100
Ch. 33: WHAT’S YOUR STORY?...................................................................................................... 104
Ch. 34: COVERT PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES.................................................................... 107
Ch. 35: TOP FIVE CUSTOMER “WOW” FACTORS................................................................... 110
Ch. 36: THE DANGEROUS “VIRUSES” THAT CAN INFECT YOUR LOCATION............. 113
Ch. 37: MANAGING YOUR GOALS, COMMITMENTS AND PRIORITIES........................ 116
Ch. 38: IT’S A TEAM EFFORT.......................................................................................................... 120
Ch. 39: LESS IS MORE........................................................................................................................ 123
Ch. 40: MAKE YOUR PENNY SHINE............................................................................................. 126
Ch. 41: LET YOUR CUSTOMERS BUY WHAT THEY WANT.................................................. 129

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MAKING IT HAPPEN

1

INCREASING CAR COUNTS

Published August 2008

–––––––––––––––– S ––––––––––––––––

It is the age-old argument between lube are most effective when they are used in
owners and managers: “There is no way to addition to a well thought out and planned
increase car counts significantly at the store store-level program aimed at attracting
level. Once the cars get here, we can give new customers to your store. The treatment
them great service and get them to return, and experiences your customers receive
but to increase the customer base, we have from your store-level personnel have the
to attract new customers. Attracting new single biggest effect on the car counts in
customers is the job of upper management your stores.
and owners, not store-level managers.” So, to “align” your priorities, you must
Have you ever had this explanation given first embrace this belief: Increasing or
to you by one of your lube shop managers? decreasing car counts is directly related
Or worse yet, have you fallen into the trap to the service your current customers are
of believing it yourself? receiving.
Well, nothing could be further from the With this train of thought, it is obvious
truth. Car counts can most definitely be that good customer service is the main
significantly increased through store- ingredient in giving the customers the best
level efforts — without changing a single experience possible. Providing exemplary
thing in your operating plan at the upper- customer service is universally understood
management level. to be just about the most important and
effective way to satisfy your customers, but
Align Your Priorities is that enough?
The first thing to realize is there are several The plain and simple answer is no, it is not
things that can be done to help increase enough.
car-counts at your locations. Some of these
things can be done by upper management “Control” Your Customers
and will have a measurable impact on your A tremendous number of lube managers
car counts. I’m talking about coupons, give their customers great service, only
discount reminder cards, special discount to see them try the competition on their
days (“Ladies’ Day” is still a very popular next visit because that is where the coupon
one), and monthly or manager’s specials. could be redeemed. These managers are
These types of promotions are all well only borrowing their customers for as long
known for being effective; unfortunately, a as it takes to complete today’s service.
lot of owners develop an attitude and belief Instead of borrowing your customers, you
that they are the only significant way to need to “own” them. And to be in ownership
increase car counts. of your customers, you must be in “control”
In reality, these types of promotions of them.

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KIT SULLIVAN

“Controlling” your customers starts There is nothing that will make a customer
with making sure your lube shops have a believe they are getting bad service more
fundamentally sound model for completing than giving control of the situation to one
the service you describe to your customers. of your technicians, and then watching as
For example, do you advertise a nothing goes the way they expected it to. At
“15-minute” oil change? If so, are you that point, most customers will try to regain
actually doing 15-minute oil changes? Do control by making sure things happen the
you have the proper tools, staff and shop way they think they should.
design/layout to enable you to do an oil How do we maintain control? Simple.
change in 15 minutes? And I don’t mean We just tell the customer what is going to
doing a 15-minute oil change when there happen next, and then we make sure that is
is only one car in the building and you are indeed what happens next.
timing the crew. No, I’m talking about doing For example: If your greeter tells your
15-minute oil changes all day long, all while customer, “I’ll be right back with your
maintaining a healthy ticket average. paperwork,” then make sure the greeter
This is the first step in “controlling” your comes right back with the paperwork.
customer: Above all else, give them what Don’t let them get sidetracked into doing
they initially came in for. something else first. If you do, then the
When your customer arrives on your customer will see that what you say is going
property and is greeted quickly and to happen and what actually happens are
courteously, that makes a good impression. not the same.
When that customer is made aware that Another example: If you promise the
there is a well thought-out system in place, transmission service can be done in 20
they will relax and let your staff perform minutes, make sure it is done in 20 minutes.
the service. If everything goes quickly and These are the types of little psychological
smoothly without the customer having nuances that either allow or prevent you
to hurry you up by asking, “What’s taking from “controlling” your customers.
so long?” or looking at their watch and
making those little disgusted sighs, then Use That Control
they will go with the flow. In effect, they When you have control of your customers,
are relinquishing control of the situation to you need to use that control just like you
you. control the rest of the things that go on
There is a definite point in every customer/ in your shop. When you are in control,
lube technician relationship where the things happen the way you want them to.
customer relinquishes control of the Consequently, when you are in control of
situation to the technician. This is required; your customers, they should do what you
otherwise, we could never finish the service. want them to do.
It stands to reason, then, the sooner you What do we want our customers to do?
can “take control” of your customers during Buy services and come back in the future,
the service procedures, the sooner you can right? The answer to that question is
make sure the entire service progresses obviously “Yes,” but it is far too vague if you
according to your plan. are to be truly effective in controlling and
increasing car counts.
Maintain Control What you need to do is control your
Now that you have control of the customer, customers once they have left your shop.
you must use that control to ensure the There are only two types of customers
customer “travels” through the entire — those who currently patronize your
service experience the way you intended facility and those who could be doing so.
them to. The national average for lube customers to

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MAKING IT HAPPEN

return for service is about every five months 30 seconds, you should have a little going-
or so, or around every 6,000 miles — and away speech for them on the send-off. It
increasing all the time! should go something like this:
That means if you have an average “Thank you, sir, for being so patient. As
customer, and if they keep coming back to you can see, we’re very busy right now,
you, you can only expect to see that vehicle and I’m sorry I couldn’t pull you right in
about twice a year. But, if you could get your immediately. I’m not sure if you are aware
customers to come in every three months of this, but we are usually not so busy on
or 3,000 miles for an oil change, you would Tuesday afternoons between two and four.
see an increase of 50 percent in your return On your next visit, I could probably get you
customer rates. in and out without any waiting.”
If applied to your entire customer base You will be amazed at how effective this
(new and return) that could give you an tactic is, especially when your slower times
overall increase of 33 percent. start to fill up. And the beauty of this speech
Of course, it is not realistic to expect you is that your busy times will still be just as
can get each of your customers to come busy because you had more than capacity,
in every three months or 3,000 miles. anyway. Over time (three to six months),
However, it is very realistic to expect that you can expect a 5 percent increase in car
you can get a relatively small 25 percent of counts just from using this tactic.
your repeat customers to return that often. These are just a few of the many ways a lube
If so, you will increase your car count by manager can increase the car count in his
a whopping 8 percent, without adding a shop by staying in “control” of his facility,
single new customer. This increase comes his customers and his circumstances. And
from your existing customer base. by doing so, he will control the success of
How do we do this? Again, the answer is his shop.
very simple. Instead of just saying, “Thanks
a lot; see you later,” make sure the last
words every single customer of yours hears
is, “See you in three months,” or, “See you
in November,” or whatever specific time
frame is appropriate for each customer. It
is amazing how effective this one simple
statement can be.
If you offer free fluid top-offs, make sure
and tell your customers to come in for the
“free” top-offs. The more often they come
in for free top-offs, the more often they will
come back for service.
Ask if they have multiple cars in their
family and, if they do, encourage them to
bring those vehicles in soon, also.

Control Your Busy and Slow Times
Every lube shop has busy periods, typically
Fridays and Saturdays, as well as slower
periods like mid-afternoons during the
weekdays.
On your busier days, if a customer ever
has to wait to pull into a bay, even if only for

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KIT SULLIVAN

2

LEAD, DON’T FOLLOW

Published September 2008

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The title of this monthly column is decision maker? It all starts with what the
“Making it Happen,” and that is exactly leader is making decisions about, naturally.
what anyone who is successful does — they And that comes from preparation,
make it happen. knowledge and research.
I have always followed the rule that there If you are in a position to make critical
are only three types of people when it decisions about any situation, then you
comes to success: Those who are aggressive, need to stack the deck in your favor.
positive-minded leaders who take action You must understand everything it is
and make things happen; those who simply reasonably possible for you to know about
follow the leader and watch things happen; the given situation so you can make the
and those who take a bewildered look good decision. The more you know, the
around and ask, “Hey, what just happened?” more likely you will be successful in your
Before you can improve in any way, you decision-making duties.
have to ask yourself which type of leader However, all this will only get you so far up
you are. If you are the first “make-it- the management ladder — and just because
happen” kind of person, then great — you you are making good decisions based on
are on your way! the day-to-day happenings at your business
However, if you are the second type doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to
of person, one who seems to always be be a great leader. Reacting to a given set of
following the leader and maybe wanting circumstances with a good decision is the
to be like them someday, you are already right thing to do, but it will only take you
there, for the most part. You just need to so far — and nowhere near the level of a
learn to become proficient at the one thing “great” leader.
all leaders possess — the ability to make
decisions. Proactive, Not Just Reactive
Now, if you happen to be the last kind Reacting to a situation with speed and
of person, the “what happened” guy, pay a good decision is all well and good, but a
attention. This is for you, too! great leader doesn’t wait for a potentially
negative situation to unfold and then react
Decisions, Decisions with the good decision. He takes control
A great leader does not become one just by anticipating what the current set of
by making arbitrary decisions whenever circumstances are telling him will be the
the opportunity arises. He or she must likely outcome of any given situation,
consistently make the right decision and then he makes proactive decisions to
whenever the opportunity arises. So, what influence the outcome of that scenario in
we really need are good decision makers. the most positive way possible.
OK, so how does one become a good Remember, it’s not enough that you

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MAKING IT HAPPEN

are willing to be “the decider” in every all-too-obvious statement, but it is one rule
situation. The mark of success is that you that is consistently ignored by some less-
make the fundamentally correct decision than-successful management types.
in most circumstances.
For example, if you were to take a trip
Look Forward…By Looking Back from your home to “somewhere down
In the heat of the battle, how do you there” on a map of your state, with no
know if the decision you are charged with specific place you wanted to go, how would
making will be the right one? The best you know when to turn left or right? How
way to answer this question is to consider would you know which freeway to take?
what the decisions and results were when How could you make any decisions on
a similar situation occurred in the past. which route to take if you didn’t really
What happened the last time this came up, know exactly where you were going? You
and how was the problem dealt with then? might be able to vaguely navigate the trip
Was it successfully handled, or did it make using your instinct, but the amount of
the problem worse? wasted effort, fuel and time, along with the
If you don’t have a past history with extra wear and tear on your vehicle, would
this particular set of circumstances, you be staggering. Clearly, you could not get to
can probably think back to other smaller, your eventual destination in a reasonable
less significant events that when strung time frame using this method.
together closely approximate what you are
dealing with today. How were those events Unfortunately, many lube shop managers
dealt with individually, and what was their run their day-to-day business in their
outcome? locations with just such an attitude. They
Clearly, if something specific was done use the old, “Let’s just see where the day
in the past that worked perfectly well, there takes us” mentality, and they try to react
should be no reason not to choose that path favorably to situations as they occur. There
to follow again. Alternately, if a specific are many problems with this.
plan was instigated in the past and failed
miserably, you would be ill advised to try How could this type of lube shop manager
and replicate that exact scenario again. ever hope to dynamically improve and
Again, this can very clearly lead you to positively impact his business if he has no
what the good decision may be. The history clear goal or plan for each day’s business?
of management is riddled with the failed The answer, of course, is that he cannot. The
careers of many who refused to consider the setting of day-to-day goals is probably the
failures and successes of those who came single most basic, fundamentally positive
before them. Emulate the winners around decision any lube shop manager can make
you, and study what it is they do differently for the success and growth of his shop.
than what your instinct may tell you to do.
But don’t forget: Ignore the losers around As the day unfolds, the manager will know
you, and don’t waste time trying to figure instantly if it is going according to plan. If
out how you can make their failures your things are progressing as they should, the
successes. It rarely happens. Maybe never. proper decision is to keep things going
as they are. However, if something gets
Goals, Goals, Goals goofy and sideways, as is quite common
Before you can make the good decision, in the quick lube business, a good leader
you have to clearly define to yourself what will recognize that fact instantly and make
your ultimate goal or goals are for any given whatever decisions are necessary to get the
set of circumstances. This may seem like an operation of the shop back to the original
goal. The proper decision or decisions
become readily apparent to the manager
who has a plan and sets goals.

The manager who has no plan or goals,

9