Calgary-based MicroMech is redefining the auto repair business with an innovative concept of bringing expert mechanics to customers.
Its mission is to provide customers the most convenient, professional and transparent auto service experience imaginable, while at the same time creating greater opportunities for the mechanics servicing vehicles, says Richard Roseboom, CEO and co-founder of the company.
He says MicroMech was founded in 2016 to solve many of the common problems in the auto service industry for both consumers and mechanics.
“We’re looking to expand into the States later this year,” says Roseboom.
“We’re a mobile mechanic service. We can go to your house and fix your car and that saves you a bunch of time. It usually saves you a good amount of money as well.”
Roseboom says it just seemed like a good time in the market to establish his unique enterprise as the auto industry is changing quite rapidly.
“But there hasn’t been a lot of focus on the supporting industries around it like maintenance. That’s moving at a bit of a slower pace and that’s created a bit of a vacuum and especially with mechanic services because there hasn’t been a lot of meaningful innovation in that space since the Model T was invented pretty much,” he says.
“It’s left a really good opening for a young company like ours to come in and do something different, think about it a little differently that really saves customers a lot of headache, time and money and also can become a really profitable, solid business.”
Which MicroMech has become since its inception.
Roseboom says the establishment of MicroMech came as a result of a recognition that auto service can be better.
He says the company can do about 80 per cent of what a customer’s car needs on location and the rest can be done at a shop.
“Really everything mechanic related,” says Roseboom. “We don’t do autobody but the rest of it yes.”
The company is able to perform all common maintenance and repair services on most makes and models at the convenience of the customer’s location.
Fully-licenced and insured professional mechanics are available Monday to Friday during regular business hours. Appointments can be scheduled online.
Roseboom says people’s time is valuable these days and they don’t necessarily want to spend it at a repair shop.
“A lot of our customers are moms because they don’t have a ton of time and being able to get their car serviced while they’re making dinner at home is a lot more handy than going to a shop and dealing with how you’re going to get around, how you’re going to get your kids around, that sort of thing,” he says.
“Also, people are more often mislead, improperly upsold and lied to. With our service, we’re very clear. We’re up front about the price and we’re very clear about what has been done with the car. Very transparent . . . It brings a lot of trust back into the industry, clients appreciate because they are statistically more mislead at a shop.”
For small services such as inspections or oil changes, prices are competitive with any other service provider, says Roseboom. For larger services such as diagnostics, brake service, or scheduled maintenance, there are savings for MicroMech customers because it has less overhead than traditional shops, and can then pass savings directly onto customers.
MicroMech has also launched out in the fleet industry where companies are taking advantage of its mobile services.
“Because of the nature of us coming to them, we can save them a lot of employee time. Often companies have to send two employees to drop a car off and come back to their office. They have down time in their fleet that is disruptive to their work flow. Our solution is we can come by when their vehicle is not being used, do it right on location. It takes a lot of headache out, saves them a lot of money, and saves them a lot of either employee time costs or opportunity costs and their time,” adds Roseboom.
“For fleets we’re also starting to do fuelling. We will also make sure that their vehicles are always topped off with gas so their employees don’t have to go to gas stations either. Between the mechanic services and fuelling, we can tend to save people at least $3,500 a year on their vehicles and make it way more convenient.”
Roseboom says the company will launch this year in the United States with Nashville likely being the first site.
“And then we’ll be starting out from there across Canada and the States over the coming years. Hopefully getting pretty widespread in most major markets in the next few years in Canada and the U.S.,” he says.