Moot Conversations

A "Moot" Conversation with  MR. LUBE

April 11, 2014

This past Saturday, my car needed and oil change, so for convenience, I visited Mr. Lube on Mountain Road in Moncton. Everything went well, the guys working there are very professional and courteous. I also needed a wiper blade replaced. I was somewhat taken aback by the retail price of $34.99 each. Nevertheless, I had a pair installed while I was there, thinking "Wow, these must be great wipers!"

Also, while I was there, my technician asked me to fill out the online survey. I figured I would eventually, if for nothing else than to complain about the price of the wipers.

So we hit the road Monday morning, in the rain, and the passenger side wiper wasn't doing a very good job, leaving about a quarter of it's path uncleared.

After a couple of days circumnavigating New Brunswick via Miramichi, Bathurst, Atholville, Grand Falls, and Woodstock we landed for our second overnight stay in Saint John where I had time to fill out the customer survey. I did not find a place in the survey to lodge my complaint, so I emailed what I thought was Mr. Lube Franchisor Headquarters. It may have passed through them but ended up in the local store manager's inbox, for him to deal with.

I used the term "Without Prejudice" in the subject line of the email because I thought I might to need pursue the issue further, without being sued, if only to be able to warn other people about the pricing at Mr. Lube or at the very least to vent my frustration by blogging about it.

Below is a copy of the email trail that ensued between me and Jack McAnespy, Mr. Lube Manager #168. Some of you may know Jack McAnespy personally. I'm sure he's a nice guy just trying to make a living like the rest of us. But, I'm looking for advice here. I'd really like to bark up the correct tree, if you know what I mean.

Enjoy the read if you wish.

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Apr 8, 2014

Without Prejudice

Hi there,

I just filled out the TellMrLube.com online survey for you. It should have taken 5-7 minutes, according to the web site.  I'm a fast reader and a pretty fast typer/mouse clicker, but I spent nearly 15 minutes of my valuable time filling out your "customer satisfaction" survey. In reflection, in seems more like a -- Check how our "guys" are doing -- survey.  Kudos to your "guys", they did a great! But, the survey did nothing to resolve my problem.

I really don't care about entering a contest for a chance to win $1000 daily. The only reason I filled out the survey was to complain about the pricing of your wiper blades. Perhaps, if you didn't give away $1000 daily, you could charge a competitive price for you wiper blades. 

However, when I finally got to the last page of the survey, I realized there was no place to complain about your pricing. Ergo, this letter that I write to you without prejudice.

When my service technician told  me the price for a 26" wiper blade, $32.99 each, I said... "Really?". I couldn't believe it. I think the most I've ever paid for a wiper blade was around $15. Then I thought, "Whatever, this is a nice guy doing his job and I need to get on the road Monday morning and it's going to be raining for three days. I don't have time to go shopping around so, get 'er done!" But, subconsciously I was thinking: "Treliving is going to hear about this."

In my opinion, today, you should not have to spend more than $25 retail for a wiper blade.  I checked at a Walmart Supercenter today and $24.99 was the most expensive wiper they had. In my opinion, Mr. Lube could offer a slightly wider range of premium wiper blades. Not only would you increase your sales volume, but also you may avoid losing customers like me.

To add insult to injury, one of your Michelin $34.99 wipers doesn't even clean my windshield properly. It leaves an untouched area approximately 6" by 15". Fortunately, this is on the passenger side. So, the two days I've spent driving in the rain this week were annoying to say the least, knowing what I paid for these wiper blades that don't live up to their brand name.

I will return to your location to have the faulty wiper blade replaced but I can tell you right now that I will never spend that much money on wiper blades ever again. And I likely will not think of Mr. Lube as my first choice for an oil change.

I'm just so happy that the air filter for my vehicle was out of stock. That would have cost me $24.99. I picked up a Fram air filter today at Walmart for $10.28 and installed it myself.

• I contend that I was overcharged by approximately $20 for a 20 minute visit. I really don't care about this $20.
• I contend that I most probably would have been overcharged by $35, if my air filter SKU had been on hand. I really don't care about this hypothetical $35.
• I really don't care about the added value service like checking my tire air pressure and lubricating my door locks. 
• But, I really appreciate the professionalism of the service technicians who work for Mr. Lube. I really hope you can afford to pay them enough to support themselves and raise a family.
• I really feel sorry for the poor saps who didn't think about shopping the oil change market beforehand and can't really afford to be gouged on retail pricing, especially once they've been charmed by professionally trained people, while they're somewhat trapped in a service bay at Mr. Lube.

In conclusion, please feel free to forward this to the $640 million dollar man, Jim Treliving, because I don't have his email address. 

Here's hoping you will do something about your pricing on wipers and air filters. I realize pricing of extras is a big part of your business model but you should and must know that consumers are becoming less gullible and can quickly search prices online and learn through social media who the good guys are as well as who the rip-off places are.

Thanks for your time,

Gary Bastarache

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Apr 10, 

Good morning Gary,

Thank you for your feedback. I’m sorry the survey took so long but thank you for filling it out. There is normally a comment section in it but it has been undergoing some changes recently so it may be in a transition period. Also I would like to thank you for your comments regarding the technicians. I will pass on the compliments to them.

As far as the pricing goes, yes, they may seem slightly pricey but if you go to Canadian tire you will see blades similarly priced. Perhaps slightly less than ours but if you buy them at Canadian tire yourself you are not paying an employee to explain the blades or install them for you. You also don’t get a 3 month no questions asked warranty with yet again, someone to remove and reinstall the new blade for you. There is something to be said about service. It comes at a cost. When you buy a product from Wal-Mart you are getting just the product with no added cost for installation and no cost for someone to help you find it I am sure. You are also getting it at a rate that is almost unmatched for any other company due to their large buying power. Same is said for the air filter. Also I will let it be known that Fram are the lowest end filters on the market. A quick Google search will find many rantings on their quality. That is part of the reason they are so cheap.

 We mark our products up just enough to be able to be profitable but no where near what most retail places mark them up even considering that we have to factor in installation cost. We don’t expect everyone that comes in will buy our products as some are more than happy to shop around and get it themselves to install. That is why we don’t pressure people into buying. Others however, are happy to have a well trained professional educate them about items that need attention and install the parts for them. This is a premium service that I and many of our customers believe is well worth the extra money paid. I choose not to think of people that appreciate this not as gullible, but as conscious of the “time is money” concept and may choose to pay someone to do a service rather than shop around for 2 hours for a better priced wiper. We definitely do not mind if you choose to shop around for your other items. Most of our larger services are very reasonably priced in comparison to other service stations so it is a balance I suppose. We lose the price war on some and win on others.

 As far as the $20 is concerned. I will be more than happy to apply a credit to your account for this amount if you choose to return for your next oil change.

 Regards,

 Jack McAnespy

Manager-Mr. Lube #168

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Apr 10, 2014

Hi Jack,

I will be returning at least one of my wipers for a refund because it is defective. I bought a pair at Home Depot yesterday for $8.88 each. Pictures attached.

Service is definitely worth paying for especially for someone who doesn't care to fumble with wipers outside in the rain. However there is a limit to the price of convenience, imho.

Thanks for your quick response.

2 Attachments

    

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Apr 10, 2014

Hi Gary.

Home Depot probably bought a massive order of those blades at once for all of their 2242 stores world wide at a ridiculous low price. Mr. Lube only has just under 200 locations so we do not have that kind of buying power. Of course they can undercut everyone else. As I said, all of our major services that are not able to be done by the average person are very well priced but we cannot compare to big box store prices on some items. We are similar to a convenience store. You can buy a Pepsi at walmart for 99 cents but you will pay $3.00 for it at Irving because you are there and you want it and the cost of the product is different.

 Our warranty is a replacement only. However, I will be happy to give you store credit for the blade.

 Jack

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April 10, 2014

Thanks for your help Jack. Funny though, I saw big Jim say on Dragon's Den yesterday that he could probably move a container of bamboo/cotton based toilet paper just for his Boston Pizza stores. No offense to you personally but I could use some of that stuff right about now because I'm up to my ears in it.

Mr. Lube should just buy their wiper blades from Home Depot.

Thanks for trying to baffle me with excuses. I'll be going back to Coast Tire for oil changes. They actually replaced a rear window wiper for at no charge once.

Gary

=======================================================================April 10, , 2014 10:44 PM 

Jim owns 25% of the franchisor of Mr. Lube. He has control of the majority shareholders stocks. He does not own each store. They are franchised. His overall business portfolio does not decide the buying power of this one franchise. 

If you must know, we pay $1.32 less than what Home Depot is selling their blades for. We cannot make money selling wiper blades for a $1.32 profit while paying technicians to put them on.  I’m sorry you don’t understand how retail business works. Real life is not what you see on television. I think our conversation is moot at this point.

Have a good day.

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April 11, 2014, 4:08 PM 

Hi Jack, 

I agree, our conversation is definitely moot at this point, now that you've divulged that the average markup on your Michelin wiper blade is 462% from cost. 

Contrary to what you have assumed, I have been an independant retail business owner in the past and have worked in sales and merchandising for several years.

I was born in 1954, I'll be 60 years of age tomorrow. I feel I have a pretty good handle on what real life is.

Good Day sir, and have fun with your career at Mr. Lube.