Frustration inspires mobile repair business for power equipment

Sometimes the idea for a small business comes from a bad experience, such as paying too much for something and thinking there must be a better way to get the product or service.

That was the case for Russ Benser, founder of The Mobile Repair Guys, a Milwaukee-area business that does tuneups and repairs of lawn mowers, snow throwers and other outdoor power equipment at your home.

His sales pitch: He comes to you, there are no hidden charges in the price of a tuneup, and if you really like the service, you can buy a franchise.

Benser hopes to sell 10 franchises this year at $50,000 each, including a workshop trailer, tools and training, so that others can establish a territory and become small-engine mechanics.

He's sold two franchises in Wisconsin. This winter, there's been a lot of interest from the East Coast following the blizzards that have pushed snow throwers to their limits.

On a recent Sunday during one of those storms, Benser said, he received 79 phone calls from East Coast residents wanting their snow thrower fixed. They called The Mobile Repair Guys' toll-free number, not realizing it was a Wisconsin business.

'Of those calls, I think I managed to get about 15 snowblowers up and running by talking the owners through it over the phone,” Benser said.

Frustration over repair shops swamped with work or hidden charges in the bill - these are things Benser can relate to, because he experienced both before he started his business.

'I thought long and hard about why I was dissatisfied with the whole lawn mower tuneup situation. It wasn't so much the $97.96 I had to pay, but rather the feeling I was being taken advantage of,” he said about what he thought was a $69 tuneup.

Benser was working for a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contractor when, as that business slowed during the recession, he left to start The Mobile Repair Guys.

'I am an average mechanic who just had an idea. That's all it was,” Benser said.

Mostly, he works from a 14-foot trailer stocked with parts and supplies that he tows behind his pickup. On a recent weekday he did eight jobs, starting at 7 a.m. with a snow thrower tuneup at a customer's home.

He also does service work for landscapers, churches and hardware stores that sell outdoor power equipment.

But Benser isn't a power equipment dealer, so he doesn't sell new machines. 'I have so much work, I don't need to sell anything,” he said.