Somehow, Joe Watson, the president of Express Oil Change LLC,
came up with the unlikely pairing of a barbershop quartet and an
oil change. And so The Express Oil Singers was born.
The group visits Express Oil locations on designated Ladies'
Days, serenading female customers getting their oil changed.
Debuting this May at a Birmingham-area center, the singers
performed "I've Been Working in the Oil Change,"
their rendition of "I've Been Working on the
Railroad." Customers are asked to honk their car horn at the
song's end.
"We had a very warm reaction from 99 percent of the
people," says John Ziegler, vice president of advertising, as
well as a singer and guitar player with the group. "There was
one lady that was a little embarrassed. She just sat there and
gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead."
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For Ziegler, the group displays the fun, close-knit attitude of
Express Oil, which has centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Mississippi and Tennessee. Watson recruited Ziegler and Ronnie
Nelson, customer service supervisor and a church music director;
Nelson in turn called on franchisees Vern Tuttle, a church choir
member, and Jeff Johnson to round out the quartet.
The gimmick seems to be working. The quartet has been featured
in local newspapers and TV-the added attention helps franchisees
attract customers. "Sometimes car accounts don't rise as
fast as we want them to, so the singing oil-change guys go over
there and it gets them media coverage in their community,"
explains Ziegler. "I'm sure we will continue to use the
group as a form of franchise support."
In fact, the group is having trouble fulfilling all the requests
they've received from franchisees. The company is considering
forming a second group to meet demand. "We're in five
states, so it's difficult to get around to all the
stores," Ziegler says. "We have a couple of guys in
Atlanta interested in spinning off a group. I'm sure they will
be as appreciated as we are."
Until then, the original singers are happy to visit centers for
Ladies' Days and grand openings. For an upcoming opening of a
Birmingham store located on Hollywood Blvd., the quartet will dress
up and perform Beatles' songs.
While Ziegler is enjoying his time with the group, he's a
little nervous about what they'll do next. "I don't
even want to think about Christmas," he says. "We'll
probably be little elves. But I hope not."