The Ultimate Auto-Repair Data Security Checklist

Navigating the estimate and repair process starts with an automotive repair order form. And a manual process may create more work for your team. Your service advisors are trying to move everything along quickly and accurately, but they're human and mistakes do happen.

With a manual automotive repair order form process, it can be easy for service advisors to get lost in the hustle due to typos, illegible handwriting, or estimates saved in the wrong place.

You might also find that it’s difficult to guide your business with a manual estimate and repair order process because data collection can become an enormous challenge.

Using traditional automotive repair order forms is kind of like trying to navigate a road trip with a paper map: it can be easy to get lost in the process, and once you’re lost, it can be difficult to get back on track. Nowadays, paper maps are just one of our endless choices for navigation tools, and how many drivers still use them?

When it comes to auto repair, a great customer experience can make the difference between a customer returning for future repairs or not. At Tekmetric, we recognize the importance of creating an excellent experience for your shop’s customers that meets their expectations and keeps them returning again and again. To accomplish this, we strive to offer a solution that helps you meet four key pillars of the customer experience: convenience, comfort, trust and loyalty.

Convenience 

For vehicle owners, choosing the most convenient shop is not necessarily about going to the closest shop. Rather, convenience is a matter of choosing the shop that makes their life easier. 

With approximately 50% of all business shopping completed outside of regular business hours, convenience goes a long way – especially when it comes to auto repair. Customers may need to drop their vehicle off and pick it up later, rather than waiting in the lobby. They may even request to complete pick up after business hours. In all cases, convenient solutions can keep the pick-up process smooth and painless for both you and the customer. 

Tekmetric’s two-way texting opens the door of convenience for vehicle owners. Two-way texting meets the customer where they are – anytime, anywhere. The vehicle owner can access updates to their repair process through a simple text, even from their office desk. Additionally, two-way texting can integrate with Tekmetric’s text-to-pay feature, so customers can pay from work or home, then come pick up the vehicle at their own convenience. 

Comfort

Traditionally, we think of comfort in a physical sense. For example, we might say, “that chair is comfortable.” Customers choose who they do business with based on how comfortable of an experience they receive. Having the tools and resources that ease the tension inherent with getting a vehicle repaired is critical to making a customer feel comfortable. One example that is often overlooked is the payments experience.

With Tekmetric’s “Buy Now, Pay Later,” option, shop owners can offer vehicle owners the opportunity to complete necessary repairs and pay in installments over time. An experience like this can make vehicle repair affordable and comfortable, no matter what the customer’s budget is. 

Trust

Trust between an auto repair shop and vehicle owners is paramount. Not only can it make the repair process smoother for all parties during the repair, but it also contributes to building a lasting relationship for future repairs. A customer is more likely to trust you when you have demonstrated that you can create an experience that is convenient, comfortable and transparent. 

Digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) are a great opportunity to educate vehicle owners on the health of their car by providing them with recommended repairs accompanied by photos and videos. Through DVIs, technicians can offer a holistic, transparent evaluation of the customer’s vehicle by highlighting both areas in need of repair and parts that are working well. The result? Customers can gain a better understanding of the technician’s findings, making them more likely to approve work – and return for future repairs. 

Loyalty

Prioritizing customer convenience, comfort and trust contributes to an enduring sense of customer loyalty. Building loyalty drives your shop’s bottom line in the long term. A good experience for one vehicle owner can lead to a domino effect within their personal network, as they return for future repairs and make referrals to others. Therein lies the hidden gem of long-standing, thriving businesses: strong customer loyalty. 

One of the ways to strengthen customer loyalty is through education and clear communication. Our integration with MotoVisuals demonstrates Tekmetric’s commitment to education and clear communication by showing customers what is wrong with their vehicle instead of simply telling them. Informing vehicle owners about the health of their car accompanied with pictures and educational videos creates a dynamic that is forthcoming, honest and geared towards educating the customer while also ensuring the car gets repaired. 

A customer-centric approach can drive your shop’s performance and establish an excellent customer experience. Use these four pillars – convenience, comfort, trust and loyalty – to drive your shop, and you will create a seamless experience for your customers from start to finish. Whether it’s meeting them where they are financially or educating them about a repair, you can establish a consistent, excellent experience that attracts and retains loyal customers now and far into the future.

Tekmetric is pleased to announce that our co-founder Sunil Patel has been selected by Houston Business Journal as one of Houston’s Fifty Most Admired CEOs of 2020.

“I want to thank Houston Business Journal’s Publisher Bob Charlet, Editor-in-Chief Giselle Greenwood, and the entire HBJ staff for including me on this year’s list,” says Sunil.

Most of all, I want to thank my awesome team at Tekmetric. A CEO can’t be successful without the feedback and support of their team. Our team works hard every day to meet the needs of thousands of shop owners across North America. Our mission is to empower shop owners to make their business successful for them, their teams, and their guests. Shop owners deserve to be admired CEOs, too.

Visit Houston Business Journal to see a full list of 2020’s Most Admired CEO Finalists