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Think about the last time you waited on an oil change. Nothing to do, a little hungry, phone running low. Now picture that room full of people every weekday, and a business owner who'd like them to be happier while they wait. That's a location.
The play: a service lounge
People in a dealership or repair shop lounge can't leave. Their car is on a lift. Some wait a few minutes, some wait a few hours, and plenty of them have kids along. The lounge stays busy in every season: inspections, oil changes, tires before a road trip, brakes before the first cold snap.
The dealership wants those customers comfortable, because comfortable customers come back for service. A clean, full machine makes the service manager look good. An empty one makes them look bad.
How to spot a good one
A line at the service door in the morning. Drive by around opening time. Cars stacked up at the service drive mean a full lounge an hour later.
Chairs facing a TV. A real lounge, not a bench by the cashier.
Free coffee and nothing else. The coffee tells you they care about the wait. The empty counter next to it is your spot.
Independent shops count too. A busy tire or quick-lube shop with a waiting room works the same way on a smaller scale.
What to say
Ask for the service manager, not the sales desk. Go at a slow hour, mid-morning or mid-afternoon, never at opening.
"I place machines for local businesses. Your customers wait here a while. Would it help if they could grab a drink or a snack without leaving? I'd provide the machine and keep it stocked."
If they say the owner or general manager decides, ask for that person's name and the best day to come back. That is a yes in progress.
Want the longer version, including what dealerships ask about space and insurance? Here's the dealership guide, and here's the one for repair shops.
Do this today
List every dealership and repair shop within 15 minutes of home.
Drive past three at opening time and note which ones have a line.
Call the busiest one and ask for the service manager's name, so you walk in asking for a person.
It's time to set up your holiday streaming campaign
Are you ready to reach holiday shoppers on CTV? For many streamers, the season is already underway.
Last year, holiday content searches on Roku saw an 86% increase during October. And in November, those searches rise an average of 39% weekly. This surging holiday spirit is mirrored by consumer activity, as about half of Roku streamers shopped Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in 2025.
Meeting those shoppers is easier than you might think. Begin with the seasonal outcome you hope to drive: awareness, online sales, leads, store visits, or another measurable goal. From there, define your audience, upload your creative, set the budget and campaign dates, and establish measurement before launching. You can even create a shoppable ad unit that lets streamers buy with a click of their remote.
Our holiday playbook offers a month-by-month guide to reaching shoppers during this all-important time of year.
First-time spenders get a $5,000 match on the first $5,000 spent with code BEEHIIV5K. Terms apply.
If the words are the hard part
Most people don't stall on finding buildings. They stall on what to say once they're standing at the counter. The AI Location Pitch Pack ($27, one-time) gives you prompts that write a pitch for one specific building, like a service lounge, in a few minutes.
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