The problem
The phone rings while everyone is under a car, and plenty of drivers want to book in the evening when you're shut. A caller who can't get through rings the next garage. If 2 bookings a week go elsewhere that way, at an average of $200£150€179A$288C$282 for an MOT and the work it finds, that's about $1,716£1,290€1,535A$2,477C$2,425 a month of work lost.
What the AI does
Workshop Software's public booking diary, on the Gold and Platinum plans, gives your garage a booking page. You copy the unique booking URL from the settings and link it from your website's Book button, Google listing and social media. Drivers book online and the booking links into your Workshop Software diary, where it's assigned to a technician or bay like any other.
A worked example
A two-ramp garage and MOT station in Lincoln misses calls most mornings. They switch on the public booking diary in Workshop Software Gold and put the booking link on their website, Google Business Profile and Facebook page.
Before
About 2 MOT or service bookings a week lost to missed calls and closed hours
After
Those 2 a week booked online, many of them in the evening
What it's worth
About $686£516€614A$991C$970 a month in profit, at an assumed 40% margin on $1,716£1,290€1,535A$2,477C$2,425 of work (2 bookings a week at $200£150€179A$288C$282 times 4.3). That is against $145£109€130A$209C$205 to $172£129€154A$248C$243 a month for the Gold plan, which also includes photo inspections.
How to set it up
- Choose Workshop Software Gold ($172£129€154A$248C$243 a month on monthly billing, or $145£109€130A$209C$205 a month billed annually); the public booking diary isn't on Silver.
- Set up your diary with the real capacity of each ramp and the MOT bay, so online bookings can't overfill a day.
- Copy the booking URL from the public booking settings and link it from your website, Google Business Profile and social media.
- Make your own test bookings for an MOT and a service and check how they appear in the diary.
- Confirm each online booking by text the same day, so the driver knows it's real.
What goes wrong
- The vendor's help page doesn't say whether online bookings arrive confirmed or waiting for approval. Check during the trial.
- If diary capacity isn't right, online bookings will land on days you're already full.
- Drivers sometimes book the wrong service. Ask them to describe the problem when booking repairs, and ring if it's unclear.
- The vendor's website builder, WorkshopWeb, is now offered only on Platinum for new customers, so plan to link from your own site.