Lino and Liz Ramos Leverage Community Ties in Napa to Grow SpeeDee Franchise

With more than 150 locations across the U.S., SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service® is committed to providing an honest and transparent experience for customers. Thanks to services such as its 17-point oil change, state inspections, smog checks and more, the brand can help customers with a variety of needs and effectively serve as a one-stop-shop for auto services.

Now SpeeDee is making its mark in Napa, California thanks to new franchisees, husband-and-wife team Lino and Liz Ramos.

Their decision to open a SpeeDee franchise involved on-the-ground research and a bit of good luck. Originally, they sought to franchise with Grease Monkey International LLC, SpeeDee’s parent company. During the hunt for real estate, though, they came across a location they fell in love with—a former Meineke station located close to wineries and downtown Napa. They were told that it would be better suited for a SpeeDee franchise.

“We were site-searching for a Grease Monkey franchise, which requires a very specific building configuration,” Liz said. “We ended up finding a location that really spoke to us and that would be better for a SpeeDee franchise. It all turned out for the better because SpeeDee has high brand recognition in California.”

The Ramoses also knew they’d made the right decision after doing brand research and attending Discovery Day, a day-long informational seminar held at headquarters.

“The SpeeDee locations we saw were all so clean and organized,” Liz said. “We’ve also received amazing support from our local SpeeDee representatives, including Mike Guasch and Jon Brown. They’re both phenomenal and down-to-earth and have a lot of experience with the SpeeDee brand.”

Their SpeeDee franchise opened on Oct. 7.

The Ramoses are thrilled with their decision to franchise with SpeeDee and plan to open more locations down the road.

Their professional backgrounds are well-suited for SpeeDee franchise management. Lino previously worked in the auto racing industry. He worked for the Sonoma Raceway for 26 years, starting at the age of 16.

“I loved being around race cars and working with NASCAR and all those different types of events,” Lino said. “It was always in the back of my mind to have my own business. That’s what prompted me to start my own thing and do something that would make me happy and comfortable. I decided I wanted to franchise with something related to what I understood. That’s where franchising with an auto company came to mind.”

Lino will devote himself full time to their SpeeDee franchise and work as the shop’s manager. He’ll get a full management team in place over the next 12 to 18 months, but for now, it’s important to him to understand the business.

Liz, whose professional experiences have been in human resources and organizational development, continues to work at a local hospital but also works at the franchise, where she performs administrative tasks—and even vacuums cars.

Their SpeeDee franchise has generated positive buzz in the community.

“This building we’re in has a history of serving cars in the area,” she said. “People knew about the previous store, which was closed for five months until we opened our franchise. We’ve been getting a lot of great local community support.”

With five bays, the Ramoses SpeeDee franchise is prepared for a high volume of customers.

“We can do everything here in the shop,” Lino said. “We’re able to offer anything needed for a vehicle, from oil changes to brakes to tire alignments. Our biggest thing is customer service. We offer a 17-point inspection, which a lot of people are not used to and which makes our customers happy, which makes us happy.”

Delivering SpeeDee’s Total Trust Guarantee™****, which encompasses key points of transparency such as a bay-monitoring video system, knowing one’s service team and transparent pricing, is a top priority for the Ramoses.

“We love offering a high level of transparency,” Liz said. “For example, we have cameras over every single bay so that customers waiting in the lobby can watch their cars being serviced. Building trust with our customers is very important to us, and we’re continuously trying to improve our services.”

In terms of community involvement, the Ramoses have deep ties to the area. Their community efforts over the years include participating in seasonal toy drives for local organizations. Liz has also worked in the wine industry. They are also involved with the Napa Chamber of Commerce and their local BNI chapter.

“It’s important for us to connect with the local business community,” Liz said. “We even made a conscious effort to hire a local bookkeeper to build more connections.”

In terms of advice for prospective franchisees, the Ramoses suggest they visit as many existing SpeeDee stores as possible and speak with the store owners. The Ramoses also suggest that prospective franchisees look into providing all of the services they can with their SpeeDee franchise, should they choose to franchise with the brand.

“You want all of your customers to be able to come to you for everything instead of spreading out,” Lino said. “By providing more services, you’ll have loyal customers coming back to you.”