Enhance Your Auto Repair Shop Customer Experience with the Right Tools for the Job

With the right shop management system, auto repair shops can create a modern customer experience to help customers feel that your shop is a trusted advisor in maintaining their vehicle.

Enhance Your Auto Repair Shop Customer Experience with the Right Tools for the Job
Updated on:
Originally published on:
May 16, 2024
Selling even critical repair work can be difficult when customers don't feel they can trust auto repair shops. Whether they’ve heard horror stories from friends and family, had a bad experience in the past, or are just misled by the general perception of shops trying to sell repairs drivers don’t need, it can be a hurdle to overcome when repairs are especially necessary.

Cars are expensive, complicated machinery that most of us happen to rely on every day. And while we've probably spent a larger portion of our lives driving than we want to realize, the inner workings of their vehicle remain unintuitive to most of us.

That's exactly why your shop exists! To help your customers take care of the costly, sometimes difficult repairs so they can get back to their lives, whether that’s bringing the kids to soccer practice or getting to work on time!

Independent auto repair shops can overcome that skepticism from customers. After all, anything is possible with the right tools for the job. When that comes to customer service, independent auto repair shops can start using those tools with a modern shop-management system.

One that makes the often painful, expensive process, of getting their car fixed as simple, easy, and painless as possible.

More specifically, with Tekmetric, shops can show customers what's wrong with Digital Vehicle Inspections, and even help them cover the unexpected cost of a necessary repair with checkout options like Buy Now, Pay Later.

Digital Vehicle Inspections and Buy Now, Pay Later are just two options in the modern shop’s toolbox.

Learn how a shop management system can revolutionize your operations

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DVIs Show Customers Exactly What's Wrong

Digital vehicle inspections are vehicle inspections adapted for the modern age.

Customers can see photos and videos of exactly what’s wrong with their vehicles, see the urgency of each proposed repair, and approve or decline jobs directly from their smartphones. 

DVIs simplify the entire process from both ends, enabling your team to offer amazing customer service most of us don't expect from an independent auto repair shop.

Technicians can build inspections on their smartphones or tablets, and take pictures or record videos to clearly illustrate what parts need to be repaired or replaced. This lets the customer see and hear the problem with their own eyes and ears.

Why DVIs are the Right Tool for the Job

Telling a customer their wheel bearing is going bad on a paper printout will have a different effect than showing them a video of your technician rotating that wheel bearing, recreating that awful howling noise the customer hears every time they drive.

Customers expect digital experiences. We have our receipts emailed to us instead of printed, we can order groceries online, and we get pictures when our deliveries are dropped off. Almost everything we purchase has a digital component, and your shop should be no different.

Auto repair shops can easily provide a modern customer experience with digital vehicle inspections by emailing or texting the results directly to the customer, including those pictures or videos technicians include in their inspection findings.

And you can stop wasting time on phone calls and tracking down your guests for the green light on repairs. Tekmetric lets customers review repair orders directly in those digital inspection findings your shop sent them. 

Within a matter of seconds, at their convenience, customers can approve the work so your shop can get started, and get their vehicle back on the road as quickly as possible.

Buy Now, Pay Later Options Bring Your Shop into 2023

When you can order a pizza online, and pay for it in multiple installments, why shouldn't your shop's customers have that option for their vehicles' repairs?

Here’s where the tricky part comes in: the customer hesitates to approve the repair order.

The sticker shock of a big repair they weren’t expecting can generally lead to customers picking and choosing what they want to repair so it fits their budget. In some cases, this means sometimes putting off important repairs that could end up dangerous if ignored.

That's exactly where buy now, pay later comes in.

Why Buy Now, Pay Later Options are the Right Tool for the Job

With our industry-first offering of buy now, pay later via Affirm or Klarna, we make it easy for shops to get those expensive repairs approved by providing customers with the option to pay for the repair over time, while you get paid the same day.

And you’ll still see a host of new benefits, like:

  • Get paid on time by allowing your customers to pay over time
  • Make more money by increasing your Average Repair Order value
  • Keep everything simple with one single trusted payment partner

Tekmerchant is all about consolidating your payment processing into one platform, simplifying the hassle of seeing all of your payments right in your shop management system. 

And with buy now, pay later shops can see a huge boost to their average repair order by meeting customers where they are and giving them the option to pay at a schedule that fits their needs exactly.

Visualize Repairs with MotoVisuals

Building a trusted relationship with your customers starts with transparency. 

Tekmetric now seamlessly integrates with MotoVisuals to elevate the customer experience, streamline shop processes, and empower automotive businesses like never before.

MotoVisuals offers a wide array of simple-to-follow animation videos for service advisors to leverage with their guests, simplifying vehicle education and repair explanations.

Why MotoVisuals is the Right Tool for the Job

While DVIs can help your shop show customers what needs to be repaired or replaced, they still might have questions about your shop’s labor rate. It’s one thing to see a broken part and another thing to know what it takes to replace it.

That’s where your service advisors come in – they help translate the technobabble of auto repairs to the customer. So why not equip them with the best tools for the job?

In fact, Advance Professionals reported a 90% increase in close rates from hesitant customers when shops incorporated MotoVisuals into their digital vehicle inspections.

The Right Tools for the Job Meet Modern Customer Expectations

Because they don't feel pressured to cover the cost upfront, customers are more likely to make those larger repairs with less hesitance. 

Your shop will become a trusted advisor for your customers: one they can rely on for support, helping them make the right decisions for their vehicle and their wallet.

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