Autobody Shop Software: Appointment Scheduling

Did you know? Customers want convenience which is why 76% of individuals use their mobile devices to book appointments and 12% of clicks result in confirmed bookings online.

What’s more? Online bookings within the travel industry has been an asset for as long as we remember; Over 148 million travel bookings are completed online annually. Travellers can access their full itinerary anytime from anywhere and view connecting flights and their durations say from YVR- DALLAS- MIAMI and plan accordingly.

You can offer the same for your autobody shop business and take advantage of a free appointment software to increase bookings and decrease no-shows, regardless of the industry you operate in. For the purpose of this article, let’s focus on the auto mechanic industry.

Visualize a business offering a plethora of services including collision repair, exterior paint renewal, metal work and customized services. Before we manifest how adapting to an appointment booking schedule can increase sales and overall customer satisfaction, let’s envision this (unfortunate) scenario:

You’ve gotten into a fender bender and left with scratches and dents on your vehicle. You frantically search online to find the nearest body shop, calling them one by one to see who can take you in. Minutes later and on your third call, you finally locate a shop that can book you in but needs to see photo of the damage to forecast repair time. You jot down their cell number and text photos and wait for their response. On the business end, sure they now have the photos of your damaged vehicle for assessment but can you imagine the many messages including photos of vehicle damage? What if the phone was misplaced or lost? Well, that’s a problem all on its own.

This approach is disorganized, outdated and chaotic.

Mechanics are persistently on the go and majority of the time it’s difficult to get their full attention on the phone. So, let’s imagine the same scenario but with the business using an all in one solution software.

Booking Widget

The booking widget is an innovative tool that can be synced to your website or embedded on your website. To see how well it handles appointment booking, click the link for our demo video.

If the same business had adapted to an online booking strategy and the (new) client was unaware of this option, the customer could have still called in. However, the business rep on the receiving end would simply ask them book the appointment on their website where they can upload photos directly from their mobile device! The form feature and form management capability makes this possible, which we will review in a minute.

The shop, then, would automatically receive all the details and the clients information would be uploaded and neatly stored in the client digital file. Eager to see for yourself what’s so revolutionary about the widget? Test the booking widget first hand!

1. Multi Service Appointments

Let’s use a mechanic shop as our next real life example. A customer needs a tire rotation and oil change and prefers subsequent appointments. Using the booking tool, customers are able to book for as many services as they require and preview all the details in one window, fuss free.

The appointment can be displayed and prioritized by provider, service, location or time. You have the option to skip provider option all together, which means the provider tab will be hidden at time of booking.

Customers are as well able to filter out the waiting time by selecting no wait (or wait, whatever they like) as the capture displays:

Booking widget

Motivate customers to book additional services, which is achievable if your website digresses to a new webpage based on the service type selected. An example would be a webpage dedicated to oil change services or a web page dedicated to your tire inventory page. You then have the option to sync or embed a Widget on each feature page, all with their own unique URL for speedy bookings.

Want to cater to a whole new pool of customers? offer booking widget in French or a language of your choice!

2. Multi Location Bookings

If your shop entails more than one location, the multi location feature will be highly valuable. The multi location feature allows:

*Selecting single or multiple locations depending on proximity or service preference

*Selecting locations most suitable by either earliest availability, preferred staff member, type of service, etc. 

*Receive booking confirmation for the appointment with location details for each service booked

*View map of the business locations in order to pick the best alternative route and location.

3. Forms and Questionnaires

With the form feature functionality, your business can screen customers in advance and achieve safety measures for your staff in regards to Covid-19.

More than that, set up services to request clients’ information essential to their visit. The customer would be required to fill out a form and sign electronically. Your shop would then receive the details in real time while the system automatically saves and stores the information to the clients digital file.

Below is an example of a form. Once the customer choses a service, they will be prompted to fulfill their vehicle information before the system confirms the appointment:

intake form

In our previous example, the customer has the flexibility to upload photos directly from a mobile device to display the collision damage. The repair professional can then interpret on the form and make colour coded notes and shapes with the annotation feature. Keep in mind that any form format can be created to include photos, signature, or be a questionnaire type configuration. Whatever your business needs.

4. Confirmation and Icons

The customer has now booked their best appointment and fulfilled the required details. The confirmation page as presented below includes a few useful icons:

Booking confirmation

Using the icon feature, appointments can be added directly to their calendar or confirmation page can be printed, inter alia. By clicking on the arrow icon, a map displays direction and details between the customer and business location:

google map

5. Let Customers Book Appointments from Google Search Results

With over 70% share of the search market, Google is the biggest search engine in the world and you too, can profit from this opportunity.

Yocale is an official Google Reserve partner, therefor the schedule you create on your Yocale calendar will automatically be extracted to Google and available to people that search you. Getting noticed and booked just became a whole lot easier. Here is a quick demo video on how the Google reserve program looks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvHGNClqLfI

Wrapping it Up

As technology evolves and the pandemic limits our daily interactions, transforming your business to an all in one solution software is statutory. By offering a revolutionary booking tool that is fully customizable, exceeding client expectations and nourishing your business with healthier profits can be the end result.

Spend less time on the phone, more time in the shop. Upgrade your business today.

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