Maintenance Hunter + Valvoline VPS Service Plus: How Meineke Garner Group Doubled Revenue in 12 Months

On April 1, 2025, Meineke Garner Group — a Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc. franchise location owned by Darin and Cole Garner — went live with SideKick360. The shop was struggling. Annual sales for the prior twelve months (April 2024 through March 2025) had been $760,069. Average repair order was $288. Darin, Cole and the team worked hard every day, but the business wasn’t growing the way the Garners knew it could.

That same April, the Garners brought in Todd Murphy as their new General Manager. Todd had used SideKick360’s Maintenance Hunter at his prior shop and knew exactly what it could do. He brought the tool, the discipline, and the consultation playbook with him. April 1, 2025 was the day Todd started, the day the Garner team went live with SideKick360, and the day the transformation began.

Twelve months later, the same shop — same owners, same customer base, same location — has completed a full year running SideKick360 under Todd’s leadership. Here’s what the numbers show:

The Full-Year Scoreboard

Annual sales: $760,069 → $1,660,243 (+$900,174 / +118%)
Annual gross profit: $501,161 → $1,087,945 (+$586,784 / +117%)
Average repair order: $288 → $566 (+$278 / +97%)
Labor hours billed: 3,058 → 5,855 (+2,797 hours / +91%)
Effective labor rate: $119.60 → $140.20 (+$20.60 / +17%)
Tire units sold: 310 → 503 (+193 / +62%)
New customers acquired: 599 → 915 (+316 / +53%)
Gross profit margin held: 65.9% → 65.5% (essentially flat while doubling volume)

Read that one more time. The shop doubled revenue and doubled gross profit dollars while holding margin percentage nearly flat. That’s the hardest kind of growth there is. Most shops that double their top line give up 3-5 points of GP margin in the process. Meineke Garner Group added $586,784 in gross profit without giving up margin.

The Remarkable Part: Car Count Barely Moved

In the 12 months before SideKick360, the shop wrote 2,641 invoices. In the 12 months after, they wrote 2,935 — just 11% more tickets. That’s not what drove the growth. Car count growth alone would have produced maybe $85,000 in additional sales, not $900,000.

The real lever was average repair order: $288 to $566. That’s almost a 2x ARO on essentially the same customer volume. The customer base didn’t change. The market didn’t change. What got recommended on every vehicle changed. That’s the entire story.

What Todd Murphy Did Different: A Disciplined Consultation Process

Todd Murphy joined Meineke Garner Group as General Manager on April 1, 2025. He’d run shops long enough to know what good looks like — and at his prior shop, he’d used SideKick360’s Maintenance Hunter to drive the kind of disciplined maintenance consultation that consistently grows ARO. When the Garners hired Todd, he brought that proven playbook with him.

Before Todd arrived, Garner Group’s team didn’t have the visibility they needed to consistently advise customers on what their vehicles actually needed. Customers were coming in. Advisors were writing tickets. The team was working hard. But the business wasn’t growing because too many maintenance opportunities were going unrecommended — not because of laziness, but because no one could remember every service interval for every make and model, plus recall what was last done on each specific vehicle.

From day one, Todd implemented one disciplined process change: run Maintenance Hunter on every vehicle at the time of write-up, then have a real consultation with the customer about how they wanted to take care of their car. That consultation — the same one Todd had refined at his previous shop — became the foundation of how Garner Group operates today.

Todd’s Philosophy: "It’s My Responsibility to Advise Every Customer"

Todd frames it simply: it’s the shop’s responsibility — his responsibility — to ensure every customer is properly advised about how to maintain their vehicle. Not to upsell. Not to push. To advise. Customers don’t walk in knowing their differential fluid is overdue at 60,000 miles, or that their transmission service interval per the manufacturer is approaching. That’s the shop’s job to know, and the shop’s job to communicate clearly.

Maintenance Hunter is what makes that consistency possible. As Todd puts it, the tool is invaluable for ensuring he has the same conversation with every customer — not a different conversation depending on which advisor wrote the ticket, or whether anyone happened to remember what was due. Same data. Same conversation. Every customer. Every time.

The Two-Path Consultation: Max Life vs. Manufacturer Warranty

Here’s the conversation Todd’s team has with every customer at write-up, after Maintenance Hunter runs:

“Looking at your vehicle’s service history and your manufacturer’s recommendations, here’s what’s due. Before we build your estimate, I want to ask you a question: are you trying to get the maximum life out of this vehicle, or are you primarily focused on maintaining the manufacturer warranty?”

Two simple paths. Two different answers. Two different sets of recommendations:

Max Life schedule — the customer wants the vehicle to last as long as possible. Todd’s team presents both the OE manufacturer recommendations AND the Valvoline Professional Series (VPS) accelerated schedule side-by-side, so the customer can see exactly where the two diverge and understand the benefits of the more frequent VPS intervals. The Max Life path includes everything on the OE schedule, plus the additional VPS services that real-world driving conditions require — and qualifies the customer for Valvoline VPS Service Plus lifetime warranty coverage (more on this below).
Warranty maintenance schedule — the customer is focused on staying within the manufacturer’s required maintenance to preserve their factory warranty. Recommendations align exactly with the OEM schedule. Nothing more, nothing less. This is the path for the customer planning to trade in or sell while still under warranty.

That single question changes everything about the conversation. Instead of an advisor guessing what the customer wants, the customer tells the shop how they want their vehicle taken care of. Recommendations are then framed as advice based on the customer’s stated goals, not as upsells. The trust dynamic is completely different.

How Max Life Becomes a Lifetime Warranty: The Valvoline VPS Service Plus Program

On the Max Life path, Todd’s team always shows the customer two columns side-by-side: the OE manufacturer’s recommended schedule and the Valvoline Professional Series (VPS) accelerated schedule. The customer sees where they overlap, where VPS recommends more frequent intervals, and exactly what the additional services are. This transparency is the point — the customer is making an informed decision about their own vehicle, not being sold something.

When a customer chooses the Max Life + VPS path, Garner Group enrolls them in the Valvoline Professional Series (VPS) Service Plus program. This is the credibility multiplier that turns a maintenance conversation into a value proposition the customer can’t get anywhere else: a real, third-party-backed lifetime warranty on covered vehicle systems — provided the recommended VPS services are performed by a professional shop on schedule.

Here’s how the Valvoline VPS Service Plus program works:

Lifetime warranty when services are performed every 15,000 to 30,000 miles, depending on the system, by professional technicians.
Initial service must occur before 50,000 miles for maximum coverage. There’s a 500-mile grace period.
Coverage tiers based on when initial service starts: the earlier the customer enrolls, the higher the coverage.

VPS coverage levels:

Level 1 — $4,000 coverage: Initial service within the first 50,000 miles
Level 2 — $2,000 coverage: Initial service between 50,001 and 100,000 miles
Level 3 — $1,000 coverage: Initial service between 100,001 and 125,000 miles
Level 4 — $500 coverage: Initial service between 125,001 and 150,000 miles

Key VPS service intervals Garner Group recommends:

15,000 miles: Automatic Transmission Additive
30,000 miles: Cooling System Service, Engine Cleaning, Fuel System Services (including Diesel)
15,000-30,000 miles: General VPS maintenance services to remain eligible for the lifetime warranty

Now look at the consultation from the customer’s perspective. The advisor isn’t saying “you should buy these services.” The advisor is saying: “You told me you want maximum life out of this vehicle. Here’s the Max Life schedule, and here’s the Valvoline VPS warranty program that comes with it — up to $4,000 in lifetime coverage if we start the program before 50,000 miles. The investment in maintenance is also an investment in protection.”

That’s an entirely different conversation than “your transmission fluid is due.” And it’s a big part of why Garner Group’s ARO went from $288 to $566 in 12 months — the Max Life path bundled with VPS coverage delivers real, demonstrable value to the customer.

Why It Works: Visibility, Timing, Consistency, Choice

Todd’s process works because four things happen on every vehicle, every time:

Visibility: Maintenance Hunter scans the VIN in 4 seconds. The advisor sees what’s due before opening the estimate — pulled from the manufacturer’s actual maintenance schedule and the vehicle’s real service history. No memory required. No items missed.
Timing: The conversation happens at write-up, before the estimate is built. The customer is making one decision, not two. There’s no checkout-time upsell that feels like a surprise.
Consistency: Same data, same conversation, every customer. The advisor running yesterday’s estimates and the advisor running today’s have access to the same information and follow the same process. No variance based on who’s working.
Choice: The customer chooses Max Life or Warranty. They’re in control. The shop’s job is to advise based on that choice — not to push services they didn’t ask about.

Within 30 days, this entire process was the new normal. Within 12 months, the data shows what disciplined consultation produces.

The First 30 Days: From Struggling to $141K Month

April 2025 — the first month running SideKick360 — Meineke Garner Group did $141,500 in sales. The prior year’s run rate had been roughly $63,000 per month. More than doubling monthly sales in the first 30 days is what caught our attention. But what happened over the next 11 months is what made this a real case study, not a one-month anomaly.

The Next 11 Months: The Transformation Held

Sustaining performance is the hard part. Most shops that post a big month revert within 90 days. The team gets comfortable. The manager stops pressing. The consistency slips.

Todd didn’t let that happen. Twelve months later, the data shows a sustained transformation, not a spike:

Labor hours billed jumped 91% — meaning the shop was busier, not just charging more per ticket. Techs were working more billed hours, not coasting.
Effective labor rate grew 17% — from $119.60 to $140.20. Less discounting, more confidence in pricing the work properly.
Tire units grew 62% — proactive tire recommendations at service visits, not just dedicated tire appointments.
New customer acquisition grew 53% — 915 new customers vs. 599 the year before. Existing customers referring more because their cars were actually being taken care of properly.
Gross profit margin held at 65.5% — they doubled revenue without buying it with discounts.

That’s a transformation, not a seasonal bump. The team built a new normal around the Maintenance Hunter process, and the numbers compounded.

Every Meineke Franchisee and Independent Shop Owner Should Be Asking How Todd Did This

Meineke Garner Group isn’t a unicorn. It’s not a special market, a special location, or a special customer base. It’s a Meineke franchise doing what every Meineke franchise does: oil changes, brakes, tires, maintenance, general repair. The same Meineke services. The same type of Meineke customer. The same Meineke advisor pay structure. The same Meineke franchise model.

What made the difference at Garner Group wasn’t the franchise. It was the process. Owners Darin and Cole Garner gave General Manager Todd Murphy the tool and the mandate to consistently advise every customer. Todd built the disciplined consultation process around it. The result is the data above: $900,000 in incremental sales, $586,784 in incremental gross profit, in 12 months, on the same shop floor.

If you’re running a Meineke franchise — or any auto repair franchise or independent shop — and your ARO is in the $250-$350 range, the question isn’t whether you could do what Todd did. It’s whether you’re willing to commit to the same process. The Maintenance Hunter tool is available. The Max Life vs. Warranty consultation playbook is proven. The numbers are real.

Specifically for Meineke Franchisees

If you’re a Meineke franchise owner reading this, here’s the direct application:

Your customer base is right for this. Meineke customers come in for oil changes, brake jobs, and tire service. Most of them have vehicles that are due for additional maintenance the manufacturer recommends — coolant flushes, transmission services, differential services, fuel system services. Maintenance Hunter surfaces all of it.
Your team can adopt this process in 30 days. Garner Group’s GM Todd Murphy got the entire team running the new consultation process within a month of going live. Same kind of advisors. Same kind of training environment. The tool is fast enough that adoption is automatic.
The Max Life vs. Warranty conversation works for your customer demographic. Meineke customers tend to keep their vehicles longer than the warranty period. The Max Life path is genuinely the right answer for many of them — and the consultation gives them the choice.
The math works. If your shop is doing $760K with $288 ARO — the same place Garner Group started — doubling either revenue or ARO over 12 months is a realistic target. SideKick360 is $200/month. The ROI math doesn’t require a calculator.

The Bigger Point: This Is What SideKick360 Delivers

Maintenance Hunter inside SideKick360 is built on a simple idea: the maintenance revenue is already there. The manufacturer already recommended the services. The vehicles are already in your shop. What’s missing is the visibility that makes recommending them automatic instead of optional. Put that visibility in front of every advisor on every vehicle, and the ARO moves. It moves consistently. It compounds.

At $200/month, the ROI for Meineke Garner Group on SideKick360 over this 12-month period was approximately 24,000%. Every dollar spent on SideKick360 returned roughly $245 in incremental gross profit. That’s not a marketing number — that’s what the data shows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Meineke Garner Group?

Darin and Cole Garner own Meineke Garner Group, a Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc. franchise location. On April 1, 2025, the Garners brought in Todd Murphy as their new General Manager. Todd had previously used SideKick360’s Maintenance Hunter at another shop and brought the tool and the consultation playbook with him to Garner Group. Under Todd’s leadership, the shop has grown 118% in revenue over 12 months.

What did Meineke Garner Group do to double revenue?

Owners Darin and Cole Garner hired Todd Murphy as new General Manager on April 1, 2025. Todd brought SideKick360 with him and implemented one disciplined process change from day one: run Maintenance Hunter on every vehicle at the time of write-up, then have a structured consultation with the customer about whether they wanted the Max Life schedule (maximum vehicle longevity, paired with Valvoline VPS Service Plus warranty) or the Manufacturer Warranty schedule (preserve OEM warranty). That single process change — visibility before the estimate, customer-led path selection, consistent execution on every vehicle — doubled annual sales from $760K to $1.66M and added $586,784 in gross profit over 12 months.

Can other Meineke franchises replicate this?

Yes. Meineke Garner Group isn’t a special location or market — it’s a standard Meineke franchise running the same services, with the same kind of customer base, as every other Meineke. The transformation came from the consultation process, not from anything unique about the shop. Any Meineke franchisee — or independent auto repair shop — can implement the same Maintenance Hunter consultation and see comparable results, depending on commitment to consistent execution.

What is the Max Life vs. Warranty consultation?

It’s the conversation Todd Murphy’s team has with every customer at write-up after Maintenance Hunter scans the vehicle. The advisor asks: “Are you trying to get the maximum life out of this vehicle, or are you primarily focused on maintaining the manufacturer warranty?” On the Max Life path, the advisor presents both the OE manufacturer recommendations and the Valvoline VPS accelerated schedule side-by-side, so the customer can see where the two diverge and understand the benefits of the more frequent VPS intervals. On the Warranty path, recommendations align exactly with the OEM schedule. Customers are in control. The shop’s job is to advise based on the customer’s stated goals — with full transparency on both options.

What is the Valvoline VPS Service Plus program?

Valvoline Professional Series (VPS) Service Plus is a third-party-backed lifetime warranty program that pairs with Garner Group’s Max Life maintenance path. Garner Group always presents the VPS schedule alongside the OE manufacturer schedule so the customer sees both side-by-side and can make an informed decision about the benefits of VPS’s more frequent intervals. When customers have key services performed every 15,000 to 30,000 miles by professional technicians, they earn lifetime warranty coverage on covered systems — up to $4,000 in coverage if initial service occurs within the first 50,000 vehicle miles. Coverage levels step down as initial-service mileage increases ($2,000 at 50,001-100,000 miles; $1,000 at 100,001-125,000 miles; $500 at 125,001-150,000 miles). VPS-recommended services include automatic transmission additive (15,000 miles) and cooling system service, engine cleaning, and fuel system services (30,000 miles). Full program details: VPS Service Plus Program Sheet (PDF).

How long did it take to see results?

30 days. Meineke Garner Group went live with SideKick360 on April 1, 2025. April 2025 monthly sales hit $141,500 — more than doubling the previous monthly run rate of approximately $63,000. Within the first month, the team had adopted the new consultation process as their default. The transformation continued and compounded over the following 11 months, producing the full-year doubling reported above.

What does SideKick360 cost?

$200/month. For Meineke Garner Group, the 12-month ROI on SideKick360 was approximately $245 in incremental gross profit for every $1 spent on the platform. SideKick360 also offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.

Ready to See What Your Shop Could Look Like?

Book a free 30-minute demo and we’ll pull a sample of your shop’s data to show you exactly what Maintenance Hunter would find on your vehicles. What’s due. What’s overdue. What’s walking out the door every day. No commitment — just a clear look at what’s possible.

Todd Murphy didn’t have secret sauce. He had a clear philosophy — that it’s the shop’s responsibility to advise every customer on how to properly maintain their vehicle — and one tool that ensured he had the same disciplined consultation with every customer. The same tools, the same process, and the same results are available to every Meineke franchisee, every auto repair franchise, and every independent shop willing to commit to running Maintenance Hunter on every vehicle, every day, with a real consultation at write-up.

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