Someone picks up the shop phone while you are under a car
Your techs are in the bays and the front desk is on another line. Reception answers the shop number, tells the caller it is an automated assistant, and books oil changes and inspections into free times. Calls it cannot handle go through to your phone or become a message.
From $149 a month. One number, answered at any hour. Stop any month.
The calls you get
"Can I bring it in Tuesday?"
It picks the job from your service list by name and offers three free times that fit its length. The caller picks one, hears it read back, and gets a text with the time.
"Is my truck ready yet?"
It has no view of your job board. Write a route on words like 'ready' and 'pick up' that puts these callers through to the front desk. If nobody answers, it takes a message.
"Do you work on diesels?"
If you wrote the answer once, it reads it out: what you work on, loaners, the key drop box. If you did not, it says it is not sure and takes a message, and keeps the question so you can answer it for next time.
"I think you overcharged me"
Refunds, money back and overcharge complaints are stopped before any reply is written. It says that needs a person and takes a message, so nothing about the bill gets agreed on your behalf.
Tow drivers and parts runners
A route on 'tow' or 'parts' rings the shop floor phone, open or closed, so a driver with a car on the hook is not stuck in a message.
The caller who hangs up
If someone hangs up before anything was handled, a text goes out within seconds with a link to pick a callback time. At that time the line rings them and puts them through to the shop.
What you would write down
A shop setup is a short list of routes for the people who need the floor, a few written answers, and honest lengths for the jobs you book by the clock.
Routes: the words that reach a phone or an answer
| Route | When the caller says | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Front desk |
| Puts the caller through to the front desk phone. |
| Tow and parts |
| Rings the shop floor phone at any hour. |
| Fleet accounts |
| Puts fleet managers through to the owner's cell. |
Answers in your own words
- Do you work on diesel trucks?
- We work on gas engines and light diesel pickups. We do not take heavy diesel or commercial rigs.
- Do you have loaner cars?
- We do not have loaners. There is a rental counter two blocks away on Grand Avenue.
- Can I drop my car off after hours?
- Yes. Park in the side lot and put your keys and a note in the drop box by the office door.
- Do you do state inspections?
- Yes, Monday to Friday. Book a time so the inspector is free when you get here.
Services it can book
- Oil change30 min
- State inspection45 min
- Check engine light diagnostic60 min
- Pre-purchase inspection90 min
Nights and weekends
When the shop is closed the line still answers. It says the office is closed right now, then carries on: it can book a drop-off into a free time, read out your drop box instructions, or take a message for the morning.
Breakdowns and tow calls come in late. A route with words like 'tow' or 'broke down' rings whatever phone you pick, whether the shop is open or not. If that phone is not picked up, the line says so and takes a message.
What to book by phone, and what not
Book the work you can time: oil changes, inspections, a first diagnostic hour, a tire rotation. You set the minutes for each, and the line only offers slots that finish before you close.
Leave repairs off the list until a tech has looked at the car. The line does not quote, does not order parts and does not take a card. A caller who wants a price hears your written answer if you wrote one, or leaves a message for the service writer.
The "is it ready" call
This is the call that interrupts the front desk all afternoon, and the line cannot answer it by itself. It does not read repair orders or your shop software.
You have two choices. Route 'ready', 'done' and 'pick up' to whoever has the job board, or let those calls become messages and ring back when the car is finished. A regular you have named in the console is greeted by name, but still gets one of those two.
One diary, not one per bay
Bookings go into a single diary in the Reception console. Anything already in it blocks that time, so the line will not put two oil changes at 9 am on two lifts.
Use it for drop-off times and plan the bays yourself once the cars are in the lot.
An example call
An example call. Kessler Brothers Garage and the caller are made up. The shop has a 'Front desk' route on the word 'ready', and nobody picked up.
- AssistantThank you for calling Kessler Brothers Garage. You are speaking with an automated assistant. How can I help you today?
- CallerHi, this is Owen Tate. I dropped off my Silverado this morning. Is it ready yet?
- AssistantOne moment, I am putting you through.
- CallerSure, I'll hold.
- AssistantI could not reach anyone there. I can take a message. Please say your name, your number, and what it is about.
- CallerOwen Tate, 555-0148. Just checking if the Silverado is done and when I can grab it.
- AssistantThank you. Somebody will come back to you. Goodbye.
Where it stops
- It cannot see job status, repair orders or parts orders. Status calls go to a person or a message.
- It does not give estimates and does not take payment over the phone.
- It does not ask for year, make and model. Callers say what they need in their message, in their own words.
- It books one job per time slot, whatever the number of bays you have.
Questions owners ask
- Can an AI receptionist book appointments for an auto repair shop?
- Yes, for jobs with a set length. You list services like oil changes and inspections with their minutes, and it offers three free times inside your hours, reads the chosen one back and texts a confirmation.
- Can it tell customers if their car is ready?
- No. It cannot see your job board. A route can put those calls through to the front desk, and if nobody answers it takes a message.
- Does it give repair quotes over the phone?
- No. It does not quote, and it will not agree anything about money. A caller asking for a refund or disputing a bill gets a message for you.
- Can I keep my shop's phone number?
- Yes. You add the number your customers already dial and we tell you how to forward it. Until you do, no call is taken.
- Does it connect to my shop management software?
- No. Bookings go into the diary in the Reception console, and every call is written up there a few minutes after it ends.
Tonight's calls, answered.
From $149 a month.
Set up your line