Jiffy Lube International, Inc. is an American chain of automotive

oil change Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, detergen ...

specialty shops founded in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, United States, in 1971. It has been a subsidiary of

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

since 2002, and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Overview

Jiffy Lube in Cedar Mill, Oregon - front

There are about 2,000 Jiffy Lube franchises in North America, all of them independently owned by 252 operators, with about 24 million customers each year as of 2002. The company was ranked first on ''National Oil and Lube News'' 2011 Tops in the Fast Lubes Industry Rankings. Also, Jiffy Lube was ranked number 15 in ''

Entrepreneur Magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. The magazine was first published in 1977. It is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquarte ...

''s 2012 Franchise 500 and number 73 on ''Franchise Times'' 2011 Top 200 Franchise Chains by Worldwide Sales.

History

The first Jiffy Lube store was established on 36th Street in Ogden, Utah by Edwin H. Washburn as early as 1971. Over the following years, Washburn franchised a number of Jiffy Lube stores within Utah. In 1979, W. James Hindman, a football

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Western Maryland College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

, bought out Washburn's seven franchises and established Jiffy Lube International, relocating the headquarters to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. It is this year which Jiffy Lube generally states as its founding date with Hindman as its founder. Jiffy Lube went public in 1987, and had opened over 1,019 franchises and company stores by 1989. In 1991, Jiffy Lube became a subsidiary of

Pennzoil Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...

. Following the merger of Pennzoil and

Quaker State Quaker State is an American brand of motor oil produced by Shell, the US-based division of Shell plc since 2002, Pennzoil-Quaker State was ultimately purchased by

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...

in 2002.

Services

In June 2011, Jiffy Lube introduced a new program called Oil Change Schedule (OCS). The new program allows Jiffy Lube customers to choose how often they have their oil changed based on a number of variables including vehicle manufacturer recommendations, driving habits, and road conditions. The OCS program moves away from the old model of changing oil every 3,000 miles and provides a schedule that is unique for each driver.

Controversy

In 2003, Jiffy Lube was the focus of a KNBC investigative report that alleged that Jiffy Lube was charging customers for services not performed. During the investigation, five out of nine Jiffy Lube locations charged undercover reporters for work that was not performed. After the investigation aired, Jiffy Lube claimed to perform sweeping changes to their training program to prevent this, though among the training tactics, was having workers recognize the tactics of an investigative reporter and evade further scrutiny. At the end of the investigation, Jiffy Lube installed cameras in their stores to allow customers to observe repairs. In 2009, Jiffy Lube was found to be performing repair procedures on vehicles that were recommended against by the manufacturer due to the potential to cause engine damage. These procedures included engine flushes and fuel injection cleaning which can cause engine and fuel injection problems. In May 2013,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Jiffy Lube locations were again the subject of a KNBC investigation. The station reported that not only had fraudulent practices again been detected at the majority of investigated Southern California Jiffy Lube stores, but the current fraud was worse than that found in the original investigation.

References

External links

* {{Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc brands American companies established in 1971 Retail companies established in 1971 Automotive repair shops of the United States Companies based in Houston 1971 establishments in Utah American brands