To help dealers build stronger customer relationships and drive lasting customer retention in the service department, Xtime recently announced a new integration of its Inspect product with Auto/Mate, a national dealer management system (DMS) provider.
Dealers using Auto/Mate’s DMS will now be able to take advantage of Xtime’s Inspect module, part of the automotive industry’s leading cloud-based service management platform. Xtime Inspect helps dealers drive greater shop efficiency and can also help boost both revenue and customer satisfaction with digital, multi-point inspections, professionally presented recommended services and online customer approvals.
“With industry headwinds continuing to disrupt the service department and threaten dealership profitability as a whole, Xtime knew it was mission critical to invest in new relationships to ensure the benefits of Inspect were available to as many dealers as possible,” said Tracy Fred, vice president and general manager for Xtime. “Through the Inspect integration with Auto/Mate, more dealers will have the resources they need to provide a consistent customer experience that offers transparency, confidence and trust every step of the way to create lifelong customers.”
According to findings from Phase 2 of the Cox Automotive 2018 Service Industry Study, an estimated 70% of consumers who purchased or leased from a dealer did not return for service in the past year, indicating that dealers continue to struggle when it comes to customer retention. However, more than half of consumers reported they would be willing to travel farther and pay more for an enhanced service experience, creating an opportunity for dealers to continue to grow their share of total service visits.
Xtime Inspect helps dealers address this opportunity by enabling them to better streamline the vehicle inspection process internally and externally through instant communication with dealership chat, parts pricing and availability information, and centralized access to service history and previous recommendations. It also provides an integrated quote generation process from technician to parts to advisor.
“A comprehensive vehicle inspection is a valuable way to build trust, transparency and loyalty with our customers,” said Warren Lewis, dealer at Klick-Lewis Chevrolet in Palmyra, PA. “Having our Auto/Mate DMS deeply integrated with the Xtime Inspect module makes that critical relationship-building step so much easier and more efficient. Our service staff gets to spend their time meeting customers’ needs, instead of moving data around from one system to another.”
Leveraging its existing integration with Xtime Schedule, Auto/Mate dealers will now be able to import repair orders (ROs) into Inspect, and have access to real-time parts availability, parts on-hand, including bin and source location, descriptions and more.
“Xtime’s integration with our Parts Module will allow parts department users to save time and create more accurate parts quotes, as well as communicate pricing and availability throughout the entire dealership,” said Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate. “We have designed our Open/Mate program to expedite the integration process from third-party vendors for a low cost, which increases satisfaction for both parties’ dealership customers.”
