In a recent conversation at the morning’s round table, a retired 40-year veteran of industry was informing me location isn’t as important as service. He said people will always drive out of their way for service. I disagreed with him silently; he was a paying customer.
The Team Oil Travel Center in Spring Valley, Wis. is located on nine- acres of commercial property surrounded on two sides by major highways. A couple of the revenue sources of the Travel Center are a touchless carwash and a self-serve double head vacuum and shampoo station. We have had the vacuum/shampoo station located in various areas of the two-acres paved parking lot over the years. Taking the advice from customers, we moved it several times. Some like it away from everything for privacy. Some like it close to a building for security and others don’t care.
We finally followed our instinct and placed it to the side of the lineup for the car wash, about 12 cars back. Location, Location, Location….. Proper placement increased revenue at the vacuum by 80% and reduced labor considerably because it gets cleaned the same time the car wash is cleaned.
The location of your revenue generators is just as important, if not more so, than the location of your facility. Once you have the customer at your location, it is advantageous to make the most of their visit. Cater to their needs and enjoy the benefits of proper placement.
Location, location, location isn’t just an annoying repetitive saying, its old-school proven knowledge.
Tony Huppert is a Wisconsin businessman of more than 40 years, and CEO of Team Oil Inc., the family-owned and operated Team Oil Travel Center in Spring Valley, Wis.