I was talking to a friend of mine, (I'll say up front, he's not stupid when it comes to cars) who said that he always hates changing the oil in his Tacoma because the filter is oriented in such a way that it's next to impossible to take it off without getting oil all over EVERYTHING. In his searches he found that what the dealerships are doing is after draining the oil, before taking the filter off, they actually start up the engine and run it for a second or two, then immediately shut it off. They say that it it sucks all the oil out of the filter and it comes off clean.
This sounds intriguing to me, because while I don't have a huge issue with a mess when taking off the filter in my mustang, it is a bit of a nusiance. And it is quite a bit messier in my Ford Escort. Is this practice safe for the car? They're only running it for a second or two, and if the dealerships are doing it, it must be ok right?
