OOROO Auto, a Tucson-based automotive care company that offers subscription and mobile services, will expand into Phoenix this year.
CEO Jeff Artzi opened OOROO’s first shop in Oro Valley, a suburb of Tucson, eight years ago with a goal to change the automotive care industry. He sought to fix what he saw as the flaws: a lack of transparency, basic hospitality and incentive to meet customer needs over company quotas.
“This is an industry in need of an extreme makeover in a big way,” Artzi said, “in terms of how team members are treated, employees are treated and how customers are treated.”
Artzi introduced a mobile service, where mechanics come to a customer’s home, and a monthly subscription service, which includes perks like oil changes and repair discounts.
The next step is expanding into Phoenix with physical locations and the mobile service, as well as growing its subscription service, Artzi said. OOROO is currently looking into the East Valley, in places including Ahwatukee, Gilbert or Scottsdale.
But before all that, Artzi found that creating a company that cares starts with the people it hires. Lots of mechanics can fix cars, but are they a good person?
"We want to hire people that have good hearts and good souls and care about other human beings,” Artzi said. With good people, better hospitality comes naturally. This is the base for a company that seeks to become an industry standard by rethinking the entire experience of auto care with innovative technology.
Shareholders back OOROO's business model
OOROO, which currently has three physical stores in Tucson and employs around 27 people, started out self-funded with a Small Business Administration-backed loan to open its first location. While most funding is from internal cash flow, the company also raised $550,000 in 2018 and continues to raise capital from shareholders.
“(Shareholders) have really been friends and family and people who trusted me and my experience…. The people who invested believed in not only my experience and my ability to execute, but they loved our business model, and then that we’re doing something really different than the rest of the industry is doing,” Artzi said.
OOROO started its mobile service a few years ago. Customers request a mechanic through OOROO’s mobile app to complete the job in their driveway or on their campus. Mobile mechanics can replace batteries, wiper blades, filters, starters, water pumps and do oil changes — anything that doesn’t require heavier equipment at the shop.
Ariz said the mobile service was born from riffing on the mission statement: “Like, what else can we be doing to deliver on expertise, safety, care, convenience? Well, the ultimate inconvenience is going to the consumer and not having them come to us.”
In November 2021, OOROO also started what it claims is a “first-of-its-kind car care subscription service." Customers pay a monthly fee to receive services including oil changes, inspections, towing, maintenance services and a 10% discount on repairs.
Companies can also subsidize the subscription service as a perk for employees with OOROO’s Client Partner program. You use your car every day, Artzi said, so if something isn’t right, a subscription can solve it sooner with more frequency and lower stress levels.
"Which is exactly our aim, is you don’t even think about it, because we’re taking care of it,” Artzi said. “You want to go on a road trip? We’ll inspect your vehicle, no charge. It’s like you’re part of a club; we want to take care of you.”
And what about the name? OOROO is made up, Artzi explained, but it's become a philosophy — and an adjective and verb — for the company's standard of care. It's also an homage to the company's roots in Oro Valley.
"We say, 'Do you OOROO?' and the backs of our shirts say, 'I do,'" Artzi said.
Technology is often a bell and whistle in this industry, like a larger screen TV in a shop, Artzi said, but it’s at the core of what OOROO does. OOROO Auto isn’t here to be your grandfather’s shop down the street, Artzi said. Anyone can do that.
"We needed to do something unique and different and completely change the experience. And for that, we had to do a reset eight years ago, and we’re constantly improving every single day.”
