After 20 years in the direct mail industry, Dave and Jody Repass were ready for a change.
“The travel became tiresome, I was looking for a new challenge, and I wanted to pursue my passion and hobby, which was cars,” said Dave Repass, a Meineke Car Care Center owner in Lewes, DE. “Cars became my passion from working in my father’s hot rod shop as a teenager.”
“We also fell in love with Lewes, DE and wanted to move from our home outside of Washington DC,” adds Dave’s wife Jody.
When evaluating automotive related franchise opportunities, Meineke was clearly the best fit for Repass.
“I saw that Meineke had a proven playbook for success,” said Repass. And with the ever-changing technology in vehicles today, Meineke would provide the information and training to help us stay up to date on all the latest procedures. My technicians work on so many different makes, models and years of vehicles, it could be a real challenge without the training and support of the Meineke team and their vendors.”
The Repass family moved to Lewes and opened their Meineke Car Care Center eight years ago. Because of their customer-friendly attitude, the community embraced them, and as a result, their business has steadily grown. As further evidence of that success, the Repass family was named Franchisee of the Year at the 2019 Meineke Convention, held in Las Vegas this past March.
“From the start, our focus was not about the sale, but about building customers for life,” said Repass.
That meant designing their shop and their services with the customer in mind. Their 14-bay shop has monitors in the waiting room, so that customers can watch their repairs being made. Repass also utilizes the Meineke e-inspection program, where technicians can communicate electronically with the customer, sending them a professional, electronic estimate, along with photos and video of what maintenance items the vehicle needs, and also what it doesn’t.
“With the Meineke e-inspection system, the technician can send the car owner a photo of the dirty air filter that needs replacing…or one that doesn’t,” said Repass. “That communication and transparency help to build trust. Our customers know that we are looking after their best interest.”
The Repass family also understands that for professionals such as doctors, nurses and school teachers it’s not easy to get away from work to have their car serviced, so they include a vehicle pickup and delivery service for the local hospitals and schools.
The Repass family believes strongly in giving back to their community, and they participate in so many programs that there are too many to name them all. They sponsor programs such as 5K events to raise money to fight breast cancer, a restoration project for historic Fort Miles Army Museum, and Cars for a Cause which honors a Delaware State Trooper who passed. To recognize others and encourage community giving, they provide scholarships to local high school students based solely on the student’s support of others in the community. Another great program is their free oil change for veterans and active duty military members on Veterans Day.
“We honor those who sacrifice for their country by providing free oil changes on Veterans Day. Last Veterans day we performed 352 oil changes” said Repass proudly.
“Meineke is a wonderful fit for a technician wanting to become an owner, or an investor looking to own multiple locations,” said Repass. “Meineke helps you with the technical and the business side. Their playbook is phenomenal, and if you just follow it, you can really achieve great success!”