Illustrative example. Today: [n] missed calls from [Customer] on the workshop phone. A text: “Is my car ready? I need it for [time].”. After the fix: “[Reg] is booked in. We’ll text you once we’ve looked at it.” “The part arrives [day]. Your car will be ready after [time].” “Your [car] is ready. Collect any time before [time].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
02 · Keeping customers updated
Customers keep chasing you for updates.
‘People ring to ask if their car’s ready while we’re under it.’
What It Costs You
Customer service caused 32% of service and repair disputes taken to The Motor Ombudsman in Q3 2024, up from 17% a year earlier.
Source: The Motor Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: [n] missed calls on the workshop phone between [time] and [time]. After the fix: “Missed call from [number] at [time]. Text sent: ‘Sorry we missed you. What does your car need?’ Reply: ‘[Make] making a noise from the [area].’ Booked in for [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
03 · Answering every enquiry
You miss calls and enquiries, and the work goes elsewhere.
‘When we’re all in the workshop nobody picks up, and they ring the next garage.’
What It Costs You
What Missed Calls Cost You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: Booked in for [service]. The mechanic finds [fault], fixes it and adds £[x] to the bill. The customer hears about it at collection. After the fix: “We’ve found [fault] on [Reg]. Estimate £[x] including VAT. [Approve] [Call me]” “Approved by [Customer] at [time].” “Invoice £[x]: booked work plus approved extras.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
04 · Agreeing the work and the price
Customers dispute what was agreed and what it cost.
‘We find something else wrong, fix it, and the customer says they never agreed to it.’
What It Costs You
The Motor Ombudsman names work done without the customer’s authorisation among the causes of its record 1,586 new service and repair cases in Q3 2024.
Source: The Motor Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: A one-star review: “[Complaint]. Nobody called me back.” Posted [date]. No reply. After the fix: “Open complaints: [n]. [Customer], [Reg]: logged from a review on [date], acknowledged [date], response due [date]. Draft ready. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
05 · Settling complaints early
Small complaints turn into big ones.
‘One unhappy customer turns into a one-star review and an ombudsman case.’
What It Costs You
The Motor Ombudsman received 1,586 new service and repair cases in Q3 2024, 18% more than a year earlier and its highest quarter on record.
Source: The Motor Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: [Customer] is back with [Reg]. The job card from [date] is in a box somewhere. After the fix: “[Reg] is back with [fault], [n] days after job [n] on [date]. Same fault: yes. Booked [date], priority.” “Check-in sent [n] weeks after the repair.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
06 · Callbacks and aftercare
Jobs keep coming back.
‘The car comes back with the same fault, and the customer’s angrier than the first time.’
What It Costs You
The Motor Ombudsman names repeat attempts that did not fix the fault among the causes of its 4,847 service and repair cases in the first nine months of 2024.
Source: The Motor Ombudsman
Illustrative example. Today: [n] calls a day to look up and order parts, job by job. After the fix: “Parts for tomorrow’s [n] jobs: prices from [supplier] and [supplier]. Best in time: [supplier], £[x]. [Order]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘Half the morning goes on the phone ordering parts.’
What It Costs You
What the Task Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in garages and car servicing. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- What a missed call costs a small businessNobody publishes a reliable UK figure for missed calls. Here is how to count yours in a week, and work out what they cost you in a year.
- When a complaint reaches the ombudsmanWhat the property, motor and dental complaint schemes decided last year, what they cost a business and the deadlines for answering a complaint.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.