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Posted

Hi Joe,

I've been using Otis from Openbay from the very beginning when it was first launched. Long story short I can't see going to market without it. Excellent product, excellent service and support and maybe most importantly they are continuously evolving their product.   

Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss further.

Bob Lane 617-293-5221

VP Operations/GM

Direct Tire & Auto Service

 

  • Like 1
Posted
2 hours ago, Bob Lane said:

Hi Joe,

I've been using Otis from Openbay from the very beginning when it was first launched. Long story short I can't see going to market without it. Excellent product, excellent service and support and maybe most importantly they are continuously evolving their product.   

Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss further.

Bob Lane 617-293-5221

VP Operations/GM

Direct Tire & Auto Service

 

Thanks Bob! I really appreciate the feedback.  And, I may be calling you too.  

Posted

we use it at our 3 shops.  it helps facilitate simple appointment requests, captures emails for future marketing and contact purposes, and gives basic menu price quotes that would otherwise tie up my guys on the phone.  it also works 24/7.  great reporting and metrics, so you can always ensure you are getting value out of the program.  we also link our tires through otis, so customers can shop from home.  i think it brings a certain legitimacy to our business and takes care of some basic customer inquiries for us.  it's certainly worth a demo to see if it's right for your team.  chat bots are never perfect translators, but it's a trade off we were willing to make after seeing the benefits.  

  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, joenic said:

we use it at our 3 shops.  it helps facilitate simple appointment requests, captures emails for future marketing and contact purposes, and gives basic menu price quotes that would otherwise tie up my guys on the phone.  it also works 24/7.  great reporting and metrics, so you can always ensure you are getting value out of the program.  we also link our tires through otis, so customers can shop from home.  i think it brings a certain legitimacy to our business and takes care of some basic customer inquiries for us.  it's certainly worth a demo to see if it's right for your team.  chat bots are never perfect translators, but it's a trade off we were willing to make after seeing the benefits.  

Thanks for the great feedback. Great points!

 

Posted

we tried for a while but found it lacked the ability to truly decipher the mortoris question when very specific - you could set up you price matrix and then a price can be given without ever discussing value - we had many price inquiries and had a hard time converting them 

if you searched for a specific service, OTIS could not answer correctly (walnut blast for example) - Open bay business model is still price driven, OTIS can give the customer a price on a job and just keep on hopping from site to site until they find the bottom. 

I found it difficult to manage customer communication, as well 

  • Like 2
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 3/29/2021 at 10:44 AM, benzfxr said:

we tried for a while but found it lacked the ability to truly decipher the mortoris question when very specific - you could set up you price matrix and then a price can be given without ever discussing value - we had many price inquiries and had a hard time converting them 

if you searched for a specific service, OTIS could not answer correctly (walnut blast for example) - Open bay business model is still price driven, OTIS can give the customer a price on a job and just keep on hopping from site to site until they find the bottom. 

I found it difficult to manage customer communication, as well 

Thanks Frank, sorry I took so long to reply. I really appreciate it. Hope all is well in the land of sun and heat!

Posted

I really don't see the need for a AI to handle my conversations.   Customers service is about building a relationship with the client.  I'm telling you no customer wants to talk to a machine.   They want human interaction.  Persoanally want to feel the customers voice and understand their needs.  But you be you.....BTW DVI are also a waste.....customers want a verbal explanation.  Yes we do share pictures.  We have been texting with Riptide for 6 years.  But texting has its own limitations.  Customers still your to explain verbally the cost and reason for the repair....all these other systems are for to masking weak selling technique.  In fairness they may work for a tire store or something like that.... but not a full service auto repair facility.

 

  • Like 3
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 4/11/2021 at 9:52 PM, PJBanta said:

I really don't see the need for a AI to handle my conversations.   Customers service is about building a relationship with the client.  I'm telling you no customer wants to talk to a machine.   They want human interaction.  Persoanally want to feel the customers voice and understand their needs.  But you be you.....BTW DVI are also a waste.....customers want a verbal explanation.  Yes we do share pictures.  We have been texting with Riptide for 6 years.  But texting has its own limitations.  Customers still your to explain verbally the cost and reason for the repair....all these other systems are for to masking weak selling technique.  In fairness they may work for a tire store or something like that.... but not a full service auto repair facility.

 

PJ,

Interesting analysis. I'm out of the business now, but I was just talking with the new owner of my old business. We were taking about some of these things, from Social Media to Digital Inspections, to texting. My experience, if you have a shop with a personal connection to the customer, it is almost always what comes out of your mouth, or your trusted employees mouth that matters the most. When we tried the DI's, sales did not change at all. Just took up more of my tech's and service managers time. I loved having the reports, but in the end it is about return on investment. For us it was a time investment as we had free access to several systems. Most of our customers liked seeing the employees pictures on the reports, more than the pictures of their car's broken parts. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big tech person. I created the first cloud based shop management program, and did a lot of ECM flashing. So I know the value of technology. 

I think AI is a bit of a joke, and hate when companies use it to try to communicate with me, so I would have never used it to care for my customers.

The reason the dealers are all going to the video inspections, and all these other selling tools, is because they still don't get why customers don't trust them, and they think these tools will help them overcome that.

  • Like 1
Posted

I am a big supporter of technology, but technology will never take the place of good old fashion customer service, that one-on-one relationship what we build with our customers. 

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         0 comments
      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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