Your service department might offer incredible in-store amenities and customer service, but if your prospective customers abandon the online scheduler and don’t make it in your appointment log, you’re missing the opportunity to earn those customers and expand the customer lifetime value.

In our recent National Consumer Survey, we uncovered a few of the negative aspects of service scheduling software that customers disliked. Explore our insights to help your service team adjust and improve your online scheduler for a better experience and increased traffic.

Service Scheduling Software Pitfalls to Avoid

Ensuring customers continue coming to your store for vehicle maintenance (and not your competitor) means that your service scheduling software needs to offer customers a quick and simple way to schedule service. In general, customers are favorable toward booking vehicle service online: 50 percent of surveyed consumers experienced no negative aspects of scheduling car care via their dealership’s online scheduling software. However, there are three negative aspects of the online appointment process that could prevent your potential customers from booking with your service team.

1. Limited Available Time Slots

Your service department’s time slot availability is important to your customers, and a limited appointment log could lead to abandonment. The right online scheduler can help you provide the appointment options customers want, boosting customer satisfaction and booking a full—but not overbooked—service lane.

Gaining full control of your shop’s available appointment log opportunities requires capacity management across teams, advisors, transportation types, skill groups, and opcodes. This helps you maximize your service lane productivity by defining the intervals needed for each type of service while setting capacity controls for each user to avoid overbooking. By optimizing shop capacity, you’ll exceed customer expectations and win their business (and potential referrals as well).

2. No Service Prices Listed

Becoming more than just a place to provide vehicle maintenance and sales to your customers means building deeper customer relationships, and it begins with trust and transparency. It’s no surprise that customers want to know the costs when they schedule service—by presenting your service menu pricing upfront, you’ll help draw more customers in rather than driving them away.

When your customers schedule service, be sure that your online scheduling software includes the information customers need. In addition to service pricing, this might include their model’s service history, vehicle maintenance schedules, and recalls. And if any additional vehicle issues arise during the vehicle service appointment, your techs can supercharge transparency by sending customers images and other repair details via SMS messaging for quick customer approvals.

3. Customers Unsure of Service Needs

Often, customers aren’t clear on their vehicle maintenance concerns, so it’s important for your service scheduling software to include a variety of options to help guide customers through the process.

Position your dealership as a trusted expert for your customers (and provide an easy-to-use online service scheduler) by offering specific service recommendations so customers can select what’s next for their vehicle—these options might include OEM maintenance recommendations, mileage-based services, or general routine care.

For customers who have additional unexpected vehicle needs, include a field for customers to explain what they might need or an issue they’re experiencing. For example, if a customer hears a clicking in their wheel while driving, a comment box offers them the opportunity to describe it ahead of time—this also gives your team a clearer idea of why the customer is visiting so they can prepare for the appointment ahead of time and better maximize your shop capacity.

Is Your Service Scheduling Software Helping or Hurting Your Business?

The right tools make all the difference, and that includes your online scheduling software. To ensure your website technology isn’t preventing your service department from filling your appointment log, test it out for yourself, then try a live demo of Affinitiv Book.

Our comprehensive online scheduling solution will help your shop increase capacity utilization, boost online conversion rates, and optimize your staff’s time—all while giving customers a streamlined service scheduling experience, along with their own vehicle maintenance portal.

Contact our experts today to learn more.

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