From Enterprise
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — Grease Monkey, a Denver, Colo.-based automotive quick-lube and preventive maintenance chain, is entering Utah this fall with locations in South Jordan and Pleasant Grove and later St. George and Clinton.
Why Grease Monkey — headquartered in a bordering state and operating 220 centers across the U.S. and Mexico — took 25 years to expand to its western neighbor could be based in the early days of the auto lube industry, when Q-Lube launched in Utah and Grease Monkey in Colorado.
“In the beginning, I think it was more a gentlemen’s market, where if you stay out of our sandbox, we’ll stay out of yours,” said Rick Miller, Grease Monkey owner and developer.
Researching franchise opportunities, he discovered Grease Monkey and especially liked it for what it doesn’t sell.
“Their whole package, their whole program, their service package they have for the customer – they market only what you need,” said Miller, who owns exclusive franchise rights in parts of Utah. “Our sales people, our service people, aren’t paid based on how much up-selling they do. If customers need it, we offer those services, but there’s not that conflict of interest.”
In addition to full-service oil changes with fluid top-offs, Grease Monkey offers preventive maintenance such as wiper blade replacement, air conditioner cleaning, tire rotation and balancing and air filter replacements. Miller prefers a laid-back mom-and-pop shop, a 1950s type of station where a friendly neighbor changed the oil and shared a cup of coffee.
“It’s more of a small-town service feel,” he said. “It’s really going back more to some of the older services, the traditional customer service, cleaner sites, refreshment counters, much more user-friendly waiting rooms.
Copyright 2004 Enterprise-Salt Lake City. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.
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