Valvoline Instant Oil Change Recognizes Top Franchisees

Three-Person Team Crowned “America’s Best Oil Change Team,” Besting Eight Other Corporate and Franchisee Finalists

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY (Monday, October 14, 2002) - A team of employees from a Valvoline Instant Oil Change (VIOC) franchise location in Bemidji, Minn., was recently named “America’s Best Oil Change Team” by a panel of 14 expert judges. The group of service professionals, consisting of Service Center Manager Tim Anderson and Assistant Managers Jesse Prince and Joe Rick, took top honors in VIOC’s National Oil-Lympics, an annual competition between teams representing the automotive service chain’s 700 company- and franchise-operated service centers.
“It is a true inspiration to everyone at VIOC that a franchisee should lay claim to this highly sought-after title within our organization,” said VIOC President John Q. Wesley. “At VIOC, we focus on customer service and are successful because of our ability to provide consistently exceptional service at each of our corporate and franchise locations.”

Wesley added that a milestone such as this demonstrates the commitment of VIOC franchisees and the strength of the VIOC franchise offering.
A team representing Bemidji, Minn.-based Valvoline Instant Oil Change (VIOC) franchisee MinnTex Investment Company, Inc., took home the championship title in the VIOC National Oil-Lympics competition.

“We supply each franchisee with the tools they need to continually and expertly provide high-quality and thorough customer service to each and every customer,” he said.

Chief among these tools is VIOC’s proprietary SuperPro® training program, a hands-on technical certification program that maps out operational procedures and doubles as an ongoing reference source. All service center employees must be SuperPro®-certified before they can perform any work on a customer’s vehicle.

Wesley pointed out that the SuperPro® training program was what inspired VIOC to create the Oil-Lympics competition in the first place.

“The Oil-Lympics allows employees to demonstrate the skills they’ve acquired through SuperPro® and hands-on experience in our service centers. It also promotes teamwork among all employees,” he said.

As opposed to being based on speed of service, the nonetheless fast-paced Oil-Lympics focuses on precision in executing two 72-step, full-service oil changes with exacting detail in less than 20 minutes. The 14 expert judges rated each team on 123 criteria tied to SuperPro®. As in a normal VIOC setting, this included interfacing with the customer, working above and below the vehicles and clearly and accurately calling out all the checks and requests between each team member.

Nine teams representing regional finalists from each of VIOC’s five corporate regions as well as the best of VIOC’s 335 franchise locations competed in the national finals on Saturday, August 17, at VIOC’s Smyrna, Tenn., service center. In addition to being declared “America’s Best Oil Change Team,” Anderson, Prince and Rick each won an all-expense-paid, VIP-access trip to the Quality 500 NASCAR race in Charlotte, N.C., this October, as well as official racing helmets signed by NASCAR driver Johnny Benson, among other prizes.

Alan Korpi, President of Bemidji, Minn.-based MinnTex Investment Company, Inc., a VIOC franchisee with seven locations throughout Minnesota, says he is proud of his team’s performance at this year’s championships as well as throughout the year.

“This is a fantastic honor for Tim, Jesse and Joe, as it is for our entire organization,” Korpi says. “Our team took third place last year and we vowed to do even better this time. We were true to our word, and I think that shows what can happen when you combine determination with the right tools.”

A company team from Lexington, Ky., including Service Center Manager Lisa Powers, Assistant Manager Aaron Rosenstiel and Senior Technician Bo Gooslin, took second place in the competition and received medals, a trophy and a special 2002 VIOC Oil-Lympics jacket each. Another company team from Woodbury, Minn., consisting of Service Center Manager Kevin Crews, Assistant Manager Karrol Thomas and Assistant Manager Aaron Wood, placed third and also received a trophy, medals and the custom-made Oil-Lympics coat for each team member.

The company will begin holding preliminary rounds for next year’s competition in mid-summer 2003.

About VIOC

Lexington, Ky.-based VIOC operates nearly 700 locations nationwide. The company is one of the nation’s largest providers of “do-it-for-me” automotive fluid maintenance services. Each service center offers a complete selection of oil changes, preventive maintenance checks, free fluid top-offs and other services and products, presented in an environment with the highest emphasis on customer service. VIOC is a subsidiary of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), a Fortune 500 company.

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