Workshop
Online booking from the job page and a public page per branch
Customers you know ask for their next visit from their job page or My vehicles. New customers use your branch's public booking page. They sign in or sign up, pick a day and time when you are open, and tick services. An advisor confirms each request.
PlansFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- Customers want to book after hours, and the phone is not answered.
- Requests come by WhatsApp with no plate, no time and no service, and need three messages back.
- Online slots are offered on days the shop is closed or already full.
- A new customer's booking creates a second record of a customer you already have.
How it works
- 01
Switch on Online Booking Requests for the branch (it is on to start with). Customers you know see Book a visit on their job page and under My vehicles.
- 02
For new customers, switch on Public Booking Page and tick the services customers may choose. Put its link on your website, Google profile or a QR code at the counter.
- 03
The customer signs in or creates an account and picks a vehicle or types its plate. They pick a day from the next 14 and a time, tick services and add a note.
- 04
Closed days, full days, times outside opening hours and times less than an hour away cannot be picked. The request arrives as Requested, source Online.
- 05
The advisors are told. An advisor checks the request, chooses the bay and clicks Book; the customer gets the booking message and sees it as booked.
Everything it does
From the job page and My vehicles
- Book a visit for the job card's vehicle, from the job page link without signing in, or for any of their vehicles when signed in
- The same day and time picker and services as the public page
- Refused when the branch is closed, the time has passed, or the day is full
The public booking page
- A page per branch with the services it offers, its opening hours and its phone
- Sign in to book; Create an account when free sign-up is on, else "No account yet? Call ..."
- Your logo, name and tagline on the sign-in and sign-up page when the customer comes from your booking link
- Not shown to search engines
The day and time picker
- The next 14 days as a strip; closed and full days greyed out (requests waiting count towards full)
- Times every 30 minutes from opening, leaving room for an appointment of the default length before closing, lunch breaks respected
- Nothing less than an hour from now; the time is checked again when sent
- A branch without opening hours offers times from 9:00 for its hours per day
The request
- An appointment with status Requested and source Online, for an advisor to book
- The customer's vehicle, or a new vehicle by its plate and model
- Internal notes point out a plate already on another customer's vehicle. They also point out a contact with the same mobile or email ("merge them if it is the same person")
- The thank-you names the time and says it is not booked yet; the customer's Appointments page shows "Waiting for the shop"
- Guards: an account is needed; at most 3 requests waiting per customer; at most 30 public requests an hour per branch
Who uses it
Where you use it
- Customer page: Book a visit on the job page, My vehicles and the sidebar; Appointments
- Public page: one link per branch, for your website, WhatsApp or a QR code
- Web: Garage > Appointments > Appointments with the filter To Confirm (Online)
- The SmartMy Garage app: requests appear in Appointments for advisors to book (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not instant booking: every request is confirmed by an advisor
What you control
Settings
- Online Booking Requests: on to start with
- Public Booking Page: off to start with; its link and tagline (Garage > Configuration > General > Settings > Appointments)
- On the Booking Page per service, or "Choose the services customers can tick"
- Free sign-up in the general settings, for new customers to create their account
- Opening hours, appointments per day and the default length come from the appointment settings
Approvals
- No approval chain: an advisor books or cancels each request
Messages and alerts
- Online Booking Request: to the advisor of the customer's last job card, else the branch's service advisors. It goes at once by phone notification, in the app and by email
- Appointment Booked: to the customer once an advisor books it, by WhatsApp, else SMS, else email
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Does an online booking take a slot at once?
No. It is a request. It counts towards a full day so the day is not overbooked, and an advisor confirms it.
Do customers need an account?
Customers who have your job page link can ask for their next visit from it without signing in. New customers sign in or create an account on the public page.
Can we put the link on Google or our website?
Yes. Copy the public booking link from the settings and use it anywhere: website, Google profile, WhatsApp or a QR code.
Can people spam the page?
Each customer can have at most 3 requests waiting, and a branch takes at most 30 public requests an hour. An account is needed to send one.
Which plan has it?
Growth, Scale and Enterprise.
Related
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Each delivered job card plans the next service of the car. It falls due by date or on the day the car is expected to reach the next km, whichever comes first. That day is worked out from the car's own readings. The customer is reminded before it is due with a link to book, and the reminder closes when they come back.
Campaigns to a segment of your customersFrom Growth
Send one message to a chosen group of customers, such as diesel cars over 80,000 km or customers not seen in a year. Send now or schedule it, and every message carries an unsubscribe link. The campaign counts how many were sent, clicked the link and booked a visit.
Want to see it on your own job cards? Book a demo and we walk you through it with your workshop's work.