Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashleigh Barchuh
Hi Ashleigh, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband and I started providing mobile mechanic services back in 2009, just him, I, and our new baby. Since then, we have grown to become the Austin area’s largest and most recommended service provider of mobile mechanics and even have a full service shop in Round Rock. A few years ago, after we worked tirelessly to build an excellent service my husband was in a car accident and realized his passion for the business had fizzled, but mine had really just ignited, so he handed me the business and stepped out. Since then, we have continued to provide the best service to both our mobile customers and our in-shop customers, and have even started offering community events to help educate women and the LGBTQIA+ community about basic automotive maintenance, and also offer new driver programs to help them learn the same skills. We try to be a pillar of not only the automotive repair community, but our community at large in all the areas we reach. My goal at Mobile Auto Clinic is to change the way people experience automotive care and maintenance, whether at their home, office, or wherever they may be, even in our shop. While building our business and brand, we also raised our three amazing kids who all now also help us in our business!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Along the path to changing an industry there have been many challenges, from bootstrapping our business, which is slow and can teach you many lessons as an entrepreneur, to juggling mindsets and attitudes that are archaic in our modern day-to-day world. From painful slow seasons with no financial safety net, to staff who just could not take having a women leading an automotive repair business, the car accident, and even losing work due to being booked up, despite knowing we provide a better service, we have really seen it all. Now, we are focused on growing as quickly as we can to serve as many people as we can, but still face challenges ahead. Technicians can be hard to find, at least good ones, and as an independent shop, we do not have the “burn cash”, so we have to always be at a top tier level of performance and transparency to help show our customers that getting automotive service should not be scary or something you assume you are getting ripped off on, despite the paradigm our competition has created. We instead are here to answer questions, advocate for our customers, and offer fair, honest, and sometimes even a fun experience in something almost everyone has to do – maintain and repair their vehicles. On top of all that, we have raised three children, all while building a business and managed to maintain a happy marriage of almost 20 years. If nothing else, those have been great challenges, and some of my greatest joys.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We specialize in mobile mechanics in the greater Austin metro, and also have a full-service shop facility in Round Rock. Our customers know us best for communication, service transparency and excellence, honesty, and an all around humanizing experience in automotive care, even to our lobby that is built with customer comfort in mind. Our reviews are the best way to really showcase how our community feels about us and what we are trying to offer, from our mobile services, shop experience, to our community classes and involvement. When it comes to pride, I am so joyful to be able to say that we are woman-owned and locally operated and that our passion for changing the automotive experience goes beyond our four walls and out into the community where we not only serve our customers, but also educate and engage to ensure everyone has access to basic automotive care and information. We utilize cutting edge technology to ensure we stay ahead of the curve in our industry and provide the best possible service available.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
During Covid-19 we learned that despite being a necessary business, and despite already having a no-contact model for those who want that experience, humans still want to be engaged and understand what is happening. It helped to shape our desire to engage more with our community and remember to personalize every interaction. Just because most people will need automotive care at some point, does not mean they have to choose the closest, cheapest, or even most immediate service. Sometimes having a personal touch and remembering that we are working for people, not their machine can be what sets us apart form others in the industry.
Pricing:
- Mobile Diagnostic $142.45
- In- Shop Diagnostic $97.45
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.austinautomedic.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MobileAutoClinic
