myKaarma, a leading communications and payments software provider for automotive dealer service departments, recently announced the launch of Service Cart. The mobile repair recommendation tool is designed to improve customer transparency and convenience by enabling instant approval and feedback from the customer. This results in higher retention, shorter authorization times, a significant lift in repair recommendation acceptance rates and higher customer pay dollars.
Service customers receive easy-to-understand inspections in the form of a “Service Cart,” and with just one-click can approve technician recommended work. All recommendations are shown with prices, videos, and pictures of the customer’s vehicle shot by the technician, highlighting why the work is needed. Dealers using myKaarma’s Service Cart are realizing more than 40% acceptance of additional service recommendations.
Service Cart includes documented photos and videos, the ability to translate inspections into over 100 languages, declined services follow up through myKaarma messaging, and complete integration with the full myKaarma product suite and notification system.
According to myKaarma CEO Ujj Nath, Service Cart makes dealership customers the focus, resulting in significant financial and customer retention lifts.
“There is a reason Amazon represents almost half of all eCommerce trade. It is because they make it so easy for you to interact — two clicks and you can order anything,” Nath said. “When we built the Service Cart interface, we made the customer approval process a mirror image of Amazon and just as transparent for the customer. They can view photos and videos of the work needed on their vehicle, and with one simple click the estimate is accepted and the work can start. Service Cart also introduces a brand-new concept where the customer can request an estimate for some piece of work they feel needs to be done on their vehicle. This is proving to be a revolutionary feature. With myKaarma’s enhanced video attributes and seamless communication choices, dealers are converting a significant amount of additional service recommendations.”
Jeff Diers, parts and service director at Planet Hyundai and Genesis, in Golden, CO, runs a busy service department at his Hyundai store, writing around 1,200 Repair Orders a month. He is piloting the system and has seen a 99.74 percent lift in Cash Pay ROs by using Service Cart to text recommendations to customers so they can view the accompanying photos and videos and subsequently approve the recommended work.
“Our Hyundai store has seen a decrease in declined recommendations and a 99.74% lift in Cash Pay Repair Orders for inspections when conducted with viewed media through Service Cart, compared to without. That is a significant increase in profitability. Our CSI has also increased, and we now have one of the highest ratings in our district,” said Diers.
One of the aspects Diers likes most about the system is the advanced communication features, “The platform enables us to assign one number to an advisor which the customer can use to text or call. The fact that the customer does not have to go through a switchboard or remember an extension is huge! I also love the cutting-edge electronic MPI that enables us to communicate back and forth with the customer. They can view photos and videos on their mobile device and then with a simple click approve the recommendations. This has resulted in a huge boost in approvals. If you are not going forward, you are going backward and myKaarma is constantly developing their technology to give us the next bump in our CSI and revenue,” Diers stated.
Service Cart is fully integrated with myKaarma’s full software suite which runs on mobile phones, desktop, and tablet computers, offering two main features: end-to-end customer communication and payments. The communications tools are designed to blend seamlessly into a service advisor’s daily workflow. They can be used across various mediums of communication, including voice, text, and email. The full platform, service@home, includes pickup and delivery, video walkarounds, and driver tracking, along with the communications and payment features. It is all seamlessly integrated and synced with the DMS.
The software enables service advisors to send photos and videos to customers which more clearly explain their repair recommendations. They can then receive real-time authorization for additional work. Once the service process is complete, customers have multiple options for paying their bills, including online, eliminating any wait at the dealership when they pick up their vehicle.
Service departments that implement myKaarma’s cloud-based software tools enjoy an average lift in dollars per repair order of 37%, a 50% reduction in voicemails left with advisors, a near 100% reduction in authorization disputes, a 33% decrease in loaner car days, and a boost in CSI scores. They also gain access to a comprehensive real-time record of communication with their customers and a bird’s eye view of the service department that allows them to manage their operations more efficiently.
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