Like a Dentist?

We revived our tradition of the Service Advisor Huddle Webinar and started yesterday with the topic “How to schedule appointments at pick-up?” Dave Dickson, a renowned coach and former owner of 21 auto repair shops, joined us and shared with us how to schedule most effectively and instill the motorists’ commitment to the appointment. Using the AutoVitals pick-up feature helps implement this practice flawlessly, and has 4 built-in measures to avoid appointments that turn into “no shows”.

As an AutoVitals client, you have access to this recording in our library of recorded webinars. I hope this session will help you implement the most effective way of filling your calendar, so that relying purely on day-of phone calls can be minimized.

Here is what Lynne Cardwell with Car Care Center in Sacramento said about yesterday’s huddle:

“Great topic, one I’ve been convinced for 15 years is absolutely essential to car count, perhaps even survival.  I’m glad the session was recorded so Bill and Duke can hear it later.

I have a big old-fashioned scheduler calendar book, just gathering dust by my desk from 15 years ago when I had the same epiphany about my dentist – and the pre-scheduling that I have come to expect at the dentist’s office. I’m not offended in the least when the receptionist asks me which date and time works for me…it has simply become the norm, and she is not shy about asking me to commit to something even 6 months down the road. This translates so seamlessly to auto service that it’s a no-brainer, particularly now that we have a precise mileage calculation/selling tool for the customer right there in your software.

On a sub-topic that came up in the Huddle, the precise intervals that AutoVitals provides are the service advisor’s best friend when it comes to scheduling, and in differentiating our shops from the common practice of every 3k or 5k or whatever. When I talk with first-time callers about maintenance scheduling, I’m able to honestly say that “our AutoVitals predictive software makes highly personalized service recommendations based on your very own driving habits. It is individualized and personal to you, and the way you use your vehicle. Instead of slapping a 3000, 4000 or 5000 mile interval, a one-size-fits all…which does not work well…we can see after just a few visits pretty accurately when your vehicle needs service.” And of course, I believe that myself so it probably comes across in my voice.