Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Rava.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Like most startups, our business was created to scratch our own itch. When driving to get groceries, I heard my brake screeching and grinding. I went to Google to price out my repair from several auto repair shops and dealerships. They were absolutely overpriced, which got me thinking – why is brake repair so expensive and why can’t I get it done at home? Most people have already learned the luxury of on-demand services like Uber for transportation or Door Dash for food delivery, but no one really knew of an at-home brake repair service.
We all have the SafeLite jingle in our heads for glass replacement. Why not brake repair? The economics of the auto repair world is astounding. Shops can pay up to $200,000 a year in rent + $100,000 in equipment. These high overhead costs gets passed along to you – the customer. We decided to ditch the shop, hire certified technicians, equip our vans with the latest technology and premium tools, and bring the shop right to your driveway – at home or work. We didn’t know how our service would be received so we decided to do a pilot program in Gulfport, MS. We realized in a few short weeks we had something special. On May 14th of 2020, we launched our service in Dallas and surrounding areas. We’ve grown to 3+ technicians serving the entire DFW metroplex and are expanding to several other states in 2021.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The old adage of “Rome wasn’t built in a day” definitely applied to us (and still is)! We have had a ton of ups and downs during our first year. But without the struggle, we wouldn’t have the team we have today nor the efficiency of our service. The day before we opened up in Dallas, the technician we hired completely ghosted us. He quit before day one! We had five clients scheduled for the next day and no one to service their vehicles. Luckily for us, we had established a short pipe-line of quality technicians and were able to hire one that day. After one month in, we knew we needed more help. We were scheduling out for a week and our technician was covering the whole metroplex. We hired our second technician, Abraham, who grew into the role of our lead technician and has been a pivotal factor in our success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Brakes To You is the brake repair shop that comes to you. We ditched the over-priced brick and mortar business model to created an at-home solution for auto repair that is, on average, 40% more affordable than your local shop. In under a year, we’ve serviced 2000+ clients and have 250+ 5-Star reviews. When you go to a shop you always have your guard up. You think, “Are they going to rip me off? What else are they going to find? How can I trust them?” We built a brand standing on transparency, customer service, and above all, trust. Before your appointment, we diagnose your brake symptoms over the phone and provide a quote based on what you’re experiencing. We then send a technician out to you to confirm what’s going on, show you any issues with your worn-down parts, and repair your vehicle after you’ve given us the go-ahead. We believe in our service so much that we offer a 2 yr / 24k mile warranty on all of our parts and labor. Try finding a brick and mortar shop that will match that.
What does success mean to you?
We measure our success in two ways: number of customers served and number of 5-Star reviews submitted. This provides us with the feedback we need to improve and keeps us focused on hitting our goals every month.
Contact Info:
- Email: matt@brakestoyou.com
- Website: https://www.brakestoyou.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brakestoyou
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brakestoyoudfw
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrakesToYou
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGiGjX61y-y9Tu7cJdTTzg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brakes-to-you-dallas
