If anyone thought Tesla’s mobile vehicle service fleet was a great idea, don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, some of the team who helped develop it decided it was good enough to tweak it and pitch it to auto dealers. And many also agreed and now San Francisco-based Curbee is in business.
Curbee developed the SaaS software platform dealers use with their own service departments and provides training and support for the service technicians.
Curbee doesn’t provide the mobile service, it’s developed the SaaS software platform dealers use with their own service departments and provides training and support for the service technicians who will now have direct contact with consumers.
The upstart company works with dealers, which it currently counts 11 groups with 40 stores among its clients, to not only set up a mobile service, but train the mechanics on best practices with working with customers as working outside. It also works with the employees handing the daily scheduling, generating leads, marketing and more.
“When we work with the dealer, we’re teaching them how to use the software,” CEO Denise Leleux to Headlight.News in an interview. “And that’s, again, the scheduling. We’ve got some marketing playbooks and demand generation playbooks.”
What do they do?
A mechanic should be able to handle between five and a dozen service stop daily, depending upon the service needed. During Curbee’s nearly three years of trials and development, officials found that 38% of the calls were oil changes.
While under development at Tesla, Leleux said that 80% of the repairs done at Tesla service centers didn’t require the vehicle to be on a hoist. Plus, when service centers didn’t have available service bays, the repairs were often completed in the parking lot.
The upstart company works with dealers, which it currently counts 11 groups with 40 stores among its clients.
The company set up a service center as part of its development process. While the Tesla model proved successful, the number and types of repairs needed for electric vehicles are different than gas- and diesel-powered models.
In addition to dealers, they also worked with fleet operators because that represents a different set of issues, i.e. finding vehicles within a campus, dealing with employees or security personnel, etc. They also worked with Carvana for a year doing their pre-delivery inspections to ensure they could handle a large volume of calls.
How does it work?
Mechanics can provide a variety of services while “on the road.” Aside from the aforementioned oil changes, they can handle tire repair and replacement, recall repairs, and basically anything that doesn’t require the vehicle to put on a lift.
Once a vehicle owner schedules a service, they are given a four-hour time block as to when the mechanic will arrive. The day of the service, customers receive a one-hour time block, and Leleux says they have a 95% on-time arrival rate.
A mechanic should be able to handle between five and a dozen service stop daily, depending upon the service needed.
When the mechanic arrives and makes contact with the vehicle owner, they do a walk-around video to note any exterior issues or problems with the vehicle before they work on it. Then they conduct a “vehicle health check,” which is simply part of the diagnostic process. If the issue something simpler, such as the replacement of a belt or common wear item, then the mechanic can move forward on-site.
However, if it something more involved and perhaps its best to move the vehicle to a dealer service bay, the mechanic can then make the arrangements to have the vehicle moved to the dealer where the repair can be completed.
The dealership uses the software system to monitor its mechanics and can adjust their schedules to make certain all the customers awaiting service that day get the help they need and in the time scheduled.
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Why does it work?
One of the primary reasons the service is success is that it integrates into the dealer’s existing management software. Curbee created the system specifically with dealers and their DMS in mind. Early results are positive.
“I’ve been looking for a mobile software solution to properly support our local customers for 15 years, and have review many options,” said Brendan Harrington, president of Autobahn Fort Worth, a group of luxury brands, including BMW, Land Rover, Jaguar, Porsche and more in Fort Worth, Texas.
During Curbee’s nearly three years of trials and development, officials found that 38% of the calls were oil changes.
“Curbee is the first solution that checks every proverbial box. We are really excited about what Curbee is doing.”
Many dealers face problems with available space and others a lack of repair personnel. Curbee’s push helps resolve some of those issues by developing a customized system that helps smooth out the service department wrinkles.
So if someone schedules something doesn’t require a bay, the dealer can recommend the mobile service. It keeps the service bays open for bigger repairs, reducing backlogs. Also, one dealer suggested that he could use a retired mechanic who still wanted to work a bit to go out and conduct the simple repairs and diagnoses on vehicles and potentially save time and money while making an employee happy.
Next steps
Curbee is now in growth model, looking to scale up its business. Leleux said the company was currently configured to add 15 new dealers a month and that was the goal. If it goes better, they can expand as necessary.
As part of that growth, they’re looking beyond dealers, meeting with automakers and other businesses that could use the service.
“We have dealers from New York, North Carolina. Georgia, Texas, Ohio, California,” she said. “So we we really do cover the whole country already.
“Our goals are aligned with those of our customer dealers: empowering them to offer excellent customer satisfaction, maximize revenue and sustain profitability by offering a service today’s vehicle owners demand. Curbee is focused on empowering dealerships to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving automotive landscape.”
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