Auto Dealer Software Data Integration Experts Blog

Auto Dealer Service Write-up Woes

The Service Department at your auto dealership just opened and you have a line of people waiting impatiently to drop off their car.  The service advisers work hard to rapidly work the line of people as best they can. The service advisor hears the customer pitching things like "the breaks squeal", the motor goes “ka chug, ka chug" or "there is some light on the dashboard and I have no idea what it means".  Your auto dealer software service bay module is not integrated with the auto manufacturer for Service VIN inquiry.

Once the car is in the service bay the auto technician can thoroughly diagnose what is making that infamous “ka-chug” sound. They go to the automakers dealer portal to get technical assistance and learn that there is an open campaign on the vehicle. The technician notifies the service advisor. The service adviser then attempts to contact the customer to inform them of the campaign. The customer is unavailable, so a voice message is left instructing the customer to contact the Service Department.

After a long game of “phone tag”, the service advisor finally talks with the customer about the open campaign. The customer gladly agrees that the work needs to be done and the service advisor informs the technician to proceed. Unfortunately, the technician is unable to complete the campaign due to a missing part which the Parts Department could not get until the next day. The service advisor is informed and starts a new game of “phone tag”. I think you can see where this scenario is going and it doesn't work out well for the customer. It also unnecessarily wastes a lot of time for the technician and the advisor.

This scenario is one in which the campaign was caught by the technician. What if the technician never went on the auto manufacturer's dealer portal?

• The vehicle leaves the dealership with an open campaign.
• The potential for vehicle failure just escalated.
• The possibility of physical injury costing the dealership revenue and possible litigation just escalated to unacceptable levels.

Service department auto dealer management software integration comes to the rescue by streamlining the service write-up process, providing a better customer experience and reducing risk for the dealership.

Rich has over 19 years automotive solutions experience with auto dealer management software. Over his 15 years with Reynolds & Reynolds (then UCS), his responsibilities included dealer management software support, auto dealer software installation, auto manufacturer account management and dealership consulting.

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