A while back, our CEO received a message from a new Openbay user, who said the experience was “hassle free to say the least.” We thought Meghashyam’s email message, the rest of which is shown below, was too good to be true, so we arranged a time to talk about how his story of booking car repair the Silicon Valley way: online.
How did you find Openbay?
At first, I never knew something like this existed for auto repair. I was looking for shops, and just needed an oil change, and then found out about Openbay through Allstate’s web site.
Usually I stumble upon businesses like these – such as Thumbtack, airbnb and Uber – that tend to make consumers run around less, and that make their lives easier. That’s what caught my attention about Openbay, and it looked cool.
Allstate is a big insurance company, so when I saw that Allstate had “teamed up” with a company that could get me customized quotes, I wanted to give Openbay a try.
What really appeals to me was the ease with which I could find the multiple providers.
Also, I’d written a note saying I didn’t know which kind of oil I needed. I liked the ease with which I was able to book the reservation and get quotes through Openbay. It wasn’t just the user interface or the front end – everything was very helpful throughout the process all the way through to the appointment.
In the beginning, I didn’t know there was an app, and had just found it by browsing on Allstate, so it was all booked through computer. But then realized Openbay had an app, and downloaded it, and then used it for messages I’d had with Ali at the shop. All our messages back and forth were sent through the app; it was very helpful.
Here’s Meghashyam’s note to our CEO, which prompted our request for interview.
Do you use any other apps for your cars?
Yes. I use one for my car insurance with Allstate. I also use Waze and Google Maps.
Do you know a lot or a little about cars?
I don’t know very much. I had been living in Colorado and hadn’t needed a car, and have only owned a car for about two years now, since I moved to San Jose. So I haven’t been a car owner for very long; I haven’t had to open the hood since owning it.
How was your experience with the shop?
Felix’s Auto Service was renovating, and Peter was very accommodating. The whole process only took me away from work for about 45 minutes. They were very efficient.
I’d go there again because it was close to my work and the guy was good.
And would you use Openbay again?
I’d go through Openbay because the process was so easy, without even having had to talk to a single person. In cases where I have to call, sometimes they put me on hold, sometimes the line is busy. Having everything digitized, it felt like clockwork, where everything goes to plan.
