Car dealer calls in the evening and at weekends: who answers, and what to do on Monday
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
Someone choosing a car usually calls after work, in the evening and at weekends, when the showroom is closed or managers are busy on the floor. Plan these hours: who answers (a duty manager, call forwarding or an AI operator), what they say (price, address, test drive booking) and who calls back on Monday morning. Above all, every call should be recorded and answered within the first hour of the working day. An unanswered call often goes to another dealer.
Why these hours bring the most calls
Most customers are at work during the day. They browse car ads in the evening, talk it over with the family at the weekend and call straight away. On Saturday the showroom is full: managers are with customers on the floor and the phone rings unanswered. If you’re closed on Sunday or a holiday, nobody answers at all.
A caller who can’t get through dials the next dealer. By the time you call back on Monday, they may already be booked for a test drive elsewhere.
What to do at each time
| Time | Typical calls | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays, 18:00–22:00 | Price, trims, “can I come tomorrow?” | Answer, book a test drive for tomorrow |
| Saturday daytime | “Are you open now?”, address, landmark | Quick: address, hours; manager busy? Agree a callback time |
| Sundays and holidays | Saw the ad, trade-in and loan questions | Collect details, book Monday or Tuesday |
| Night | Website and Instagram requests | Call at once, or first thing in the morning |
Three options: duty manager, forwarding or AI operator
- A duty manager knows the cars well, but weekend work needs extra pay, and on Saturday they’re busy with customers too.
- Forwarding to a manager’s mobile is cheap, but if the manager is driving or with family, the call is lost, and nothing records who called or what they asked.
- An AI operator answers every call at once, handles more than ten conversations at the same time and records everything. It doesn’t sell the car: it answers questions, books test drives and hands ready buyers to a manager.
- You can also combine them: the AI takes every call, and during working hours a ready buyer is put through to the duty manager.
What 24/7 with human operators costs: see the comparison with a call centre.
Sample call: Sunday evening
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Sharq Motors, this is Shohruh.
Caller: Hi, someone answers even on a Sunday! Do you have the new crossover?
Sado: Yes, in two trims. The showroom opens tomorrow at nine. Shall I book you a test drive?
Caller: Yes. But I also want to trade in my old car.
Sado: That’s fine, they’ll value it tomorrow as well. Twelve o’clock or six in the evening?
Caller: Six. My name is Rustam.
Sado: Rustam, you’re booked for six tomorrow: test drive and appraisal. A manager will call during the day to confirm. Have a good evening!
The Monday morning routine
- Open the Requests list in the portal: each weekend call is there with its “What they need” line, recording and transcript.
- Call the hot ones first: those who asked for a price offer, a loan or a trade-in.
- Confirm today’s and tomorrow’s test drives.
- Try once more during the day with those who didn’t answer.
- Add the questions the operator couldn’t answer to the dealer’s facts.
Handing weekends to an AI operator
Sado answers incoming calls 24/7: nights, weekends and holidays, with no queue. The operator speaks in the dealer’s name in Uzbek or Russian, quotes prices and trims only from the dealer’s facts and books test drives. A ready buyer is transferred to a manager by your rule, or a task is created for a callback.
If Telegram is connected, a card for every call arrives in your group with the recording, so you can see what’s happening even on a Sunday. In Bitrix24 the lead is created automatically. More: AI operator for car dealers. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
When should we call back people who rang at night?
In the first hour of the working day. The longer you wait, the more dealers the caller has time to ring.
Can a duty manager and an AI operator work together?
Yes. The AI answers every call and, by your rule, puts ready buyers through to the duty manager, who then spends time only on serious conversations.
What do weekend calls cost?
Only talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute, no monthly fee. For example, 80 two-minute calls over a weekend: 160 × 800 = 128,000 so‘m.