“They’ll come to us and not ruin our wheels? Awesome,” is the essence of the customer reaction to Blu Mobile Tire. Despite launching their business in March of 2020 as COVID hit, Frank and Jen’s mobile tire repair service quickly took off thanks to this balance of convenience and trustworthy, ethical customer service. The service they’ve created saves busy people hours spent waiting in the mechanic’s shop to get their tires changed. More importantly, the pair, who met while working at Tesla, know how to do the job with precision, sparing any damage to high-end vehicles.
In serving the community, the community returned the favor. Word quickly spread like wildfire amongst owners of high-end cars in the Denver area, particularly those who owned Porsches, BMWs, off-road vehicles, and, of course, Teslas. Without any advertisement, customers started seeking out Jen and Frank’s services after hearing about the quality of their work.
Paramount, even to doing things the right way, is doing the right thing. The automotive industry has cultivated a reputation for padding their hours and declaring the need for unnecessary parts to increase their fees and, therefore their paychecks. Frank, who once worked as a technician at a BMW dealership, explains that mechanics only make commissions on what they sell and the hours they work, hence the pressure to overcharge. It’s no wonder that trust in the automotive industry is at a meager 32%.
The customer is further at the mercy of the mechanic because the average person doesn’t know the first thing about their cars. Dax suggests that this is another adult skill that successive generations aren’t being taught. It’s further complicated by the fact that cars are becoming increasingly electronic vs. mechanical. This means technicians with specialized skills are required to repair them. This training costs money, which is another factor in the politics behind price-gouging, particularly at big-box automotive service centers.
A friend of Dax’s, he recalls, visited a big box repair center after popping a single tire, and was told that he’d have to replace all four. The friend called Frank and Jen, who informed him that actually, none of that was necessary, and thus saved him a small fortune. This neighborly approach to business continues to the end of the podcast, where Frank describes nitrogen inflation (a service Blu Mobile provides) and why it’s important, while Jen advises on whether people need seasonal tires.
Watch The Full Episode
Episode Quotes
- “It was the power of word of mouth. It only took a few people to find out we did a really good job and didn’t scratch their wheels. Once that gets out, it’s like wildfire to the car enthusiast community.” (4:58-5:07 | Frank)
- “Convenience wasn’t necessarily the main name of the game for us. It was about convenience, but doing things the right way.” (5:27-5:33 | Jen)
- “We want to be perceived as the friendly neighborhood people you can trust with your tires. I never want to look at an appointment and think, ‘What can we get out of them?’ That just seems gross to us. It’s all about doing the right thing, and then they’ll call us back. That’s all we want. We just want them to be happy with the service that they get.” (6:18-6:43 | Jen)
- “Unfortunately, the average person doesn’t know everything about their vehicle, whether it’s tires, or engine, or suspension. So, they’re at the mercy of trusting what professionals have to say.” (8:17-8:27 | Jen)
- “It’s kind of a mess of an industry, in a way.” (10:16-10:18 | Frank)
