Meineke Car Care Centers has announced that Joe Cooper, owner of seven franchise locations throughout the greater Charlotte area, has agreed to open 10 more locations over the next five years.
Cooper had previously worked in new center development for Meineke at the corporate level before becoming a franchise owner with the brand. He opened his first center in 2014 with five employees and has grown to seven centers and 65 employees. Cooper continues this growth plan and has signed on to open 10 more centers in the greater Charlotte area.
“Meineke is a leader in the industry,” said Cooper. “They are on the cutting-edge of technology, and that’s important to me because they are always introducing programs to help grow our business. The digital eInspection process, the Meineke mobile app, Meineke Rewards program and Meineke credit cards are all great programs for our customers.
“In our first year we were fortunate enough to receive the Meineke Rookie of the Year Award,” said Cooper. “The second year we received Franchise of the Year Award and last year we were recognized as the Multi-Center Operators of the Year.
“The keys to our success are two-fold: the process and the people,” said Cooper. “Meineke provides us with a solid process to be successful through a proven playbook that has been developed and refined over many years. We follow that process in each store and that consistency helps our people do their jobs and our customers get the results they are looking for. If you have a good team and a solid process, you will be successful.”
Cooper is passionate when talking about his team. He says he hires people who want to grow in their careers and grow with the company. When interviewing people for any level job, he is always on the lookout for people who want to move up and progress to someday manage a center. He also hires many veterans, for whom the process piece goes hand in hand, Cooper says.
Cooper is sold on the Meineke model and has experienced first-hand the benefits of being a multi-unit owner.
“My ultimate goal with Meineke is to continue to grow,” said Cooper. “The business model is very good, and because vehicles will always need maintenance and repair, it is a very recession-resistant business. I would like to own as many Meineke’s as possible. One hundred of them is not unrealistic.”
Meineke is actively seeking single-unit and multi-unit franchise owners to expand the brand’s footprint. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Meineke, visit https://www.meinekefranchise.com/.
