"Helping Improve a Persons Quality of Life”

Mobility City specializes in repairs, rentals, and sales of wheelchairs, power chairs, hospital beds, lift-out chairs, rollator walkers, and mobility scooters. Headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, their franchises cover 34 of the top 100 MSAs in 2022. The company is committed to helping veterans, senior and the disabled achieve independence and enjoy a better quality of life through mobility products.

“We are building a national network of retail showrooms, each with vans that make house calls. We train franchisees in the details of the business and drive home the importance of top-notch customer service.” Said COO, Vinny Baratta.

It comes as no surprise that Baratta was destined to be in the medical field as Vinny's father and four uncles were doctors at Long Island's Baratta Medical Center. As a child, he worked at his grandfather's Long Island Apothecary. Later, he attended La Salle Military Academy and the University of Tampa. He identified with the medical business and saw the need for products and services for disabled persons.

Vinny is a seasoned leader, serial entrepreneur, and retail-minded COO who is enthusiastic about assisting physically impaired Americans achieve independence. He oversees the business from prospecting to opening a Mobility City franchise. His no-nonsense management style and deep knowledge come from 38 years in the home medical equipment business. At times he may appear impatient, counseling subordinates to "just do it" and admonishing franchise owners to "follow the recipe."

With over 146 years of management experience within his dream team of 6 executives, Baratta guides franchise owners with his “turnkey” development program. Onboarding begins with a weeklong new owner training which includes details of hiring personnel, inventory management, merchandising, advertising, and local marketing. Thereafter, a bimonthly video call generates sharing of best practices and case studies. Finally, the operations management team continuously supports and trains franchisees on-site and through videos.

“While our locations repair, rent and sell mobility equipment, customer safety is top of mind. Hence, it makes sense for our mobile technicians to perform a battery replacement, repair brakes, change chargers and sanitize mobility equipment right at a disabled persons home,” Baratta said. Each store is equipped with a signature Mobility City Racetrack so you can "try-before-you-buy." Mobility City services senior and assisted living facilities onsite too.

Mobility City's unique franchise network has been called "the AAA of wheelchair repair". To make it run efficiently, Vinny implemented an interactive CRM that gathers repair order information from company websites and call-in requests. Mobile technicians are dispatched jobs electronically, receive repair order details, and handle service fast. “Our relationship with the top 100 manufacturers generates white-glove delivery and warranty repairs for our fleet of vans”, he said.

"It’s important to take the time to empathetically understand our customer’s needs,” explains Vinny. “People come into our stores everyday lamenting, “I can't go to the bathroom alone”, "My mailbox is downstairs. How do I get to it?" and "I want to see my grandchildren play baseball."

While Mobility City’s fast-growing network serves 90 million Americans, Baratta drive his executives to monitor statistics and focus owners on timely execution. Thus, Mobility City has earned a working relationship with over 90 manufacturers and merchants like Walgreens, HSN, and Walmart who utilize their repair and delivery services.

Baratta's advises, "You must link mindset and employee performance as a business owner." He goes on, "Successful franchisees are retail minded entrepreneurs. This helps them identify answers faster, assess problems better, get more done in less time, improve customer service, and develop committed fans (aka customers). Next-generation entrepreneurs should be patient, well-funded, and distraction-free. Study competitors, and then develop your own niche," he advises.

“Our strategy couples the internet of Google and Facebook reviews to traditional retail marketing”, said Baratta. “My grandfather encouraged me to help others. In America 10,000 persons turn 65 every day. There are 48.5 million obese and disabled Americans. In 2023 we will see 33% of Americans become seniors. These people need our help,” he said.

Diane Baratta, Mobility City Holdings' CEO, inspires Vinny as she is a great wife and a great partner. They recall meeting one another, when her late husband's mobility scooter failed in a rainstorm and no other retailer would offer help. Vinny promised a Mobility City technician house call the same day. Later, after her husband died, Diane started dating. One person she met was Vinny. As they got to know one another, Diane learned Vinny owned a mobility equipment repair company. She asked, “Are you the company who came to fix my husband's scooter?” Vinny replied, “Are you the girl who was on the phone crying?” Diane was unaware that she had arranged a date with Mobility City Founder, Vinny Baratta. Soon, they developed a relationship, Diane started working at Mobility City and was the impetus to start franchising.

Diane inspired Mobility City to award their first franchise in 2018, and their 51st four years later. “Mobility City's network covers 100 million Americans, with 240 million more to go”. Said Vinny.

Here is an interesting insight from Diane’s point of view: People of all ages rely on mobility equipment to navigate the everyday challenges of life. According to Science Daily, in the older adult population, more than 36% rely on a cane, walker, wheelchair, or scooter, and more than 9% rely on multiple mobility devices. Diane Baratta and her late husband were reminded every day of how important these devices are for getting around.

“Our company pledges that The Mobility City franchise system has a uniform set of brand standards that result in predictable and consistent service throughout our network. Every unit must meet the standards set out in this pledge." Said Vinny.

With 38 years of homecare equipment experience, Diane and Vinny aim to be the largest and best mobility equipment organization in America, covering repairs, rentals, sales, and sanitizations from consumers homes to assisted living centers. Vinny plans to expand Mobility City and expects to network over 200 franchises to provide the same quality of service that made Mobility City the premier HME firm it is today. “We ensure great customer service for all in our territories. When it comes to your independence and quality of life, you are not alone!” Said Vinny.