Spokane company opens third Lube Tube service shop

R&R Inc., of Spokane, which operates Lube Tube auto shops on the South Hill and in Spokane Valley, has opened a third store here in north Spokane.

The company is leasing a 2,500-square-foot former Jiffy Lube building, at 1621 N. Hamilton, to house the new shop, says co-owner Rich Vela.

The shop has four service bays and employs three workers, and its services include oil changes, transmission and radiator flushes, and belt replacements, Vela says. As with the company's other shops, it also offers wireless high-speed Internet access for customers to use in the waiting area.

"The Internet has been the best thing -we've done," Vela says. "We have people who come in and change their oil just because they want to use the Internet."

He says the company plans to install video cameras in the service bays at its new location so that customers can watch on a monitor in the waiting room while their cars are being worked on. The other two stores also have that equipment, and he says it's been popular with customers.

"People who have had bad experiences with auto-repair shops in the past don't trust them," so the cameras help put them at ease, Vela says.

The first Lube Tube opened at 2815 E. 30th in June 2004 and has four employees, he says. The Spokane Valley store, which employs a couple of people, opened last November and is a fullservice repair shop that offers tune-ups, alignments, and brake replacements. Vela says he and co-owner Randy Kelt would like to open more stores in north Spokane and Spokane Valley, but don't currently have specific plans for such an expansion.