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I just started my mobile oil change business in June 2011. As of this date I have only done 1 oil change. I have plastered the mall parking lot with over 500 flyers and haven't gotten any phone calls.
I'm gonna try the door to door approach this month and see what happens. If anyone has any ideas for me please post them....
reggieg
Reggieg,
People do not like have flyers put on their windshields so I am not surprised that no one has called. Door to door is not a good idea either. Generally you want to target fleet accounts so you can service more vehicles at one location. To do that you want to go in person to talk to the fleet manager or mail them a brochure, business card etc., addressed to "fleet manager". If you are wanting the "at home" customer you need to contact your local newspaper and see about getting a press release - that will grab more attention. You can follow that up by placing ads in your local newspaper.
Good luck
You can use the BEST media - reach the MOST prospects, but if you don't give them a REASON for stopping - they won't. You have to figure most people have SOMEONE doing that now - why switch to you?
Good luck
Melinda,
I have been following your posts for quite some time now and I know that you know what you are talking about. Thanks for the input. I hope things are going well with you and your husband. You guys are an inspiration to me, and |I know that with the right guidance my company is gonna be the next Melrics.
Thank you
reggieg
Ed,
Are you saying I have to have something that no one else has or offers? My slogan is Ride-Rite Mobile Oil Change,LLC "We Come To You".
I focus on the convenience that our service provides and not so much on the cost of the service. Even though our cost is about the same as the local Jiffy Lube. We also offer other services such as brake pads, fuel filters, tire rotation, etc.
I don't know what else to do to stand out from the crowd. As far as my research, there is not another mobile oil change service in my area.
Hey Nomad, did you ever start this business? If so, how is it going?
The problem with the sage system is that your ability to pump oil is limited to the pressure that your compressor can generate which is usually between 100 psi and at most 185 psi . the system relies the air pressure to displace the oil in the tank in order to dispense the same way that a aerosol can of hair spray works . The problem is that you are always going to dispense through a hose and usually a meter all of which generate line loss . One does not have to wait long before you figure out that most oils and products used for lube have a high viscosity or centipoise number . You can find spreadsheets that let you put the fluid you are pumping the size of the hose the centipoise of the fluid and distance you want to pump to find out how much pressure it takes to move your fluid . You will find in most cases it will be much more than a 180 psi at 65 deg f . That is why lube trucks will have ratio pumps for example graco sells a 1 to 1 diaphragm pump it will generate 1 psi of fluid pressure for every pound of air you put in it same as the aerosol set up. However they sell the 5 to 1 fireball for oil dispense that means you put 1 psi of air you get 5 psi of fluid pressure so if I put 180 psi in the pump will generate 900 psi of fluid pressure a big difference than the sage . That is why when you want to pump grease you need a 50 to 1 pump you put in 100 psi in and the pump will push the grease at 5000 psi a big difference. The thicker the fluid or oil the more pressure needed to move it . The outside temp will also send the viscosity numbers through the roof either making the fluid impossible to push or slow the flow down to a crawl. Water antifreeze diesel fuel do not require a lot of pressure because they have low centipoise numbers . Oil 10 wt 20 wt and 40 wt and gear lube and grease are going to require a lot of pressure to push it through the hoses. The colder the temp the more pressure you need the smaller the id hose or the longer the run even more pressure. For example if you drink coffee from mcdonalds with the coffee straw the thin fluid moves freely through the straw try to tank the same straw and try to drink a milk shake it does not work it requires a hell of a lot more pressure to move the thicker fluid. You may also not that the sage set up has no tank for grease or gear oil that's because the compressor can not generate enough pressure to move it with 200 psi. The other thing you may notice is that dispense hoses are usually 25 feet and are 3/4 inch or one inch you will never see 1/2 inch hoses because they can not overcome the line loss. Most garages you see have 1/2 inch hoses hanging from the ceiling that is because they use ratio pumps and they need the system to be reliable and consistant. We purchase all of our stationary tanks and our mobil lube trucks from a company not to many people are aware of they mostly are a custom tank maker for the major oil companies and they make lube set ups for john deere and general motors for jiffy lubes. They are out of Chicago and have both standard and custom set ups to suit your needs all my systems are designed based on my specific application and the fluids and delivery rates I need . the company name is WW Engineering I have talked to Claud on my last lube trucks and he was very good at setting up my mechanics trucks with some turn key systems that were tailored to my needs I have also worked with Tom on my stationary tanks for my shop . The phone is 773-376-9494
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