Data In the Bays: How Metrics Can Elevate a Technician’s Performance

Whereas traditional methods of payment require dipping a card in the same terminal as other customers or the hand to hand exchange of cash or check, the ability to pay by text message through SMS mobile payments takes the complexity and headaches out of the payment process for owners, service writers, and guests alike.

For auto repair shops in particular, giving guests the ability to pay by text not only streamlines the guest experience but also frees up service advisors from having to do a bunch of data entry, giving them more time to help other guests.

Here’s how text-to-pay works on our Integrated Payments, Tekmerchant. As you’ll see, we’ve built in opportunities to enhance efficiency while strengthening the relationship you have with your guests at each step of the process.

Step 1: Complete the Repair Order & Send the Invoice

By connecting Tekmerchant to Tekmetric, service advisors can quickly review the invoices of completed work and simply click a button to text the invoice to the guest.

Since the invoice is automatically generated from the repair order and is easy to edit within Tekmetric, the service advisor can reduce the time they would usually spend writing invoices.

Step 2: Collect Payment

Once the invoice is sent, the guest will receive a link that takes them directly to their invoice and pay screen. From there, they can review the work that was completed and make their payment, prompting them to input their billing information.

The customer inputs their card information, including their billing address, making it a verified payment.

At this point, all the service writer has to do is make sure that the payment has been approved and that everything checks out.

Pro Tip: Enhance Guest Service with a Call or Personal Text

Because service advisors and guests both have access to a digital invoice, it gives service advisors the opportunity to add a human touch to the payment process without the guest coming into the shop.

Consider having service advisors give guests a call or send a personal text message at this part of the process.

While this may seem like an extra step, it gives service advisors a chance to check-in with the guest to ensure all approved work was completed, which is a big step towards avoiding chargebacks.

Calling the guest is also a good chance to remind them of any maintenance that may need to be taken care of in the future and any upcoming deals or events. If the guest is too busy to take a call, Integrated Payments has a Text-to-Pay feature giving them the freedom to pay when they have time.

If everything looks good on the invoice, the guest can easily pay and move on with their day. You get paid fast and the guest is able to pay at their convenience.

Step 3: Return Vehicle to Customer

Once the payment has been processed, all that’s left to do is to return the vehicle.

Pro Tip: Add a Key Drop-Box for Convenience

Some auto repair shops use a key drop-box or locker to make vehicle returns more convenient for their guests and service advisors.

Most contactless drop boxes use programmable codes, so you can put the guest’s keys in a locker, send them the code, and let them pick up their car when they’re ready.

With a key drop-box, everyone wins: service advisors don’t have to worry about staying late; shop owners don’t have to worry about paying a service writer overtime, and your guests don’t have to feel rushed to make it back to the repair shop before closing time.

Turbo-charge Your Payments Processing

The Integrated Payment text-to-pay feature makes life easy for your guests and service advisors, and can potentially save you time, money, and headaches.

Drivers typically come in with an expectation of what's wrong with their car, which can make it tricky to sell maintenance work. They might think you're trying to squeeze more money out of them, or may simply have a set budget in their mind and don’t plan on spending extra.  

In reality, you're simply trying to go above and beyond and provide them with the best service possible. So how do you show that, and which tools will help you transform the way you sell maintenance?

Here’s how to build customer trust while staying true to your auto repair shop’s mission of providing optimal maintenance recommendations.

In the auto repair industry, where customer trust and satisfaction are paramount, leveraging customer feedback is an invaluable strategy for improving shop performance. As technology improves, customer expectations for service quality and transparency continue to rise. Fortunately, shops can actively seek, analyze and act upon customer feedback to better position themselves to meet these expectations, enhance their service offerings and build long-term loyalty.

Customer feedback is a powerful tool that, when leveraged effectively, can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction, repeat business and a stronger reputation in the marketplace. As the industry continues to evolve to meet the needs of its customers, auto repair shops that prioritize and act on customer feedback will be better equipped to rise to these standards, thrive and succeed.

Know your audience in the modern industry

Today’s customers are increasingly more digital. In the past, auto repair shops relied on phone calls as their primary form of communication. In the modern market, however, digital communication like email or text messaging has become the preferred type of communication for most people. In fact, 91% of texts are opened within the first three minutes after receipt, with 81% of Americans texting regularly. Ultimately, the best way to get ahold of your customers is to cater to their preference – so ensure you know your audience’s preference and offer solutions that help meet their desired communication style.

Furthermore, the modern landscape of the customer experience emphasizes convenience. At the click of a button, you can have groceries delivered or receive an item within two days of ordering it. Long wait times and visiting brick-and-mortar stores to purchase items is no longer the only way customers can buy things. The same applies in auto repair shops. With this knowledge, you can implement digital solutions to make the customer experience more convenient, thereby increasing loyalty and ensuring your customers return time and time again.

Collect feedback on your shop’s customer experience  

Once you understand your audience in general, you should also strive to understand their experience with your business specifically. It’s important to foster a two-way relationship with the customer and give them the opportunity to share direct feedback. This can help you gain insight into the customer experience, including your shop’s strengths and pain points for customers, so you can adjust and improve.

Tracking feedback is just as important as tracking your shop’s internal operations or financial performance. You can gather feedback through multiple avenues: Google reviews, post-service surveys or even in-person conversations. Each option offers customers an opportunity to share their thoughts on areas where you perform well or bottlenecks that need to be addressed. 

Digital tools can help monitor all forms of customer feedback. Through Tekmetric, you can integrate with a variety of solutions to monitor and respond to feedback via Google reviews. Or, to help drive your customer experience and gather feedback, you can utilize Tekmetric’s Smart Jobs feature to create estimates within one click, allowing your service advisors to spend less time on manual labor and more time cultivating strong customer relationships. 

Leverage feedback to improve shop performance

Customer feedback is critical because it addresses your shop’s bottlenecks from the perspective of the vehicle owner. For example, some shops may include parts ordering and inventory tracking among service advisors’ responsibilities, in addition to taking care of the customer. At Tekmetric, we’ve found this creates many opportunities for miscommunication between the technician who needs the parts and the service advisor, leading to a delay that affects the customer. To solve this problem, we created our Inventory Orders feature so technicians can easily order the parts needed. This ensured better accuracy within the shop and a greater customer experience.

Customer feedback also highlights the importance of convenience when it comes to driving loyalty. For vehicle owners, convenience is not always about choosing the closest shop. It is about choosing the shop that will make their life easier. For example, digital payments solutions can create a more convenient solution for customers. With Tekmetric’s two-way texting and text-to-pay features, customers can pay from their desk or their home office, pay for their college kid who lives in a different state and even pick up their vehicles after regular business hours.

Implementing customer feedback cultivates a stronger connection between your shop and your customers. Through open dialogue, feedback creates a two-way relationship that allows you to address customer needs effectively and improve shop performance. Customer feedback can also help address bottlenecks and streamline processes in your shop, leading to enhanced customer experiences, increased loyalty and, ultimately, a healthier bottom line.