How effective is your online service appointment forms? Are people still picking up the phone and calling in to set an appointment the old fashioned way? Or are dealerships trying to push more walk in service to compete with the independent shops? Just curious!
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Service Appointment Setting
- Thread starter Kari Lewis
- Start date
We're definitely pushing more walk-in service right now. We also do have a web-based form that gets emailed to the appointment coordinator. Walk-in and appointment customers are handled completely separately where the former is for "express" services only like oil changes. Anything larger requires an appointment. We don't have any software yet that lets the customer set their own appointment, and haven't found any requests for that type of software in my stores.
More Honda customers setting appointments online than our domestic brands. Almost always maintenance related, or recall related. On average 15-20% of routine customer appointments are set online. Our music on-hold also suggests our service customers use our online scheduling tool, that has helped.
15-20% online appointments is pretty strong. What software are you using on your websites?
Live chat is great for service. Gives your customers a way to do it from work while multitasking. Not plugging my company just chat in general. 
Every service page on our websites has an appointment form. Also for the last two years we have been very responsive to the customers who have submitted on the form, so customers have become more comfortable using the form and knowing their appointment has been set, and when they arrive the appointment will be ready.
Do you call them to respond to the appointment once it has been set or do you respond via email?
Depends on how they request contact. Usually phone, sometimes email.
check out Automotive Service Operations Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solutions :: Xtime, Inc.. this may be a good solution for you. Better than the normal form. Plus cuts down on calls.
check that http://www.xtime.com/products/service-crm/online-scheduling.jsp
check that http://www.xtime.com/products/service-crm/online-scheduling.jsp
- Apr 22, 2009
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✨ AI Highlights
Dealership service managers discuss adoption rates and methods for online appointment scheduling, with dealers reporting that 15-25% of service appointments are now set online—primarily for routine maintenance and recalls—rather than through phone calls or walk-ins. Key success factors identified include responsive follow-up to online submissions, dedicated appointment forms on websites, and live chat options, though implementation varies widely from basic email forms to dedicated CRM software solutions like Xtime and AutoRevenue. The thread reveals that while online scheduling adoption is growing, especially among luxury brands like Honda, many dealers still lack fully automated customer-facing booking systems and rely on staff to confirm appointments via phone or email after submission.
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