Car service booking by phone: the questions to ask every caller
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
A car service booking call has to settle three things: which car (make, model, year, mileage), what needs doing (scheduled maintenance, diagnostics or a specific repair, plus the symptoms the customer noticed) and when (offer two exact times). Don’t diagnose over the phone or promise a repair price: quote jobs from your price list and leave the rest until a mechanic has looked. Finish by repeating the name, number and time. An AI operator can take the morning and Saturday rush too, in Uzbek and Russian.
What to ask in the call
After a good booking, the mechanic meets the car already knowing what to do. The order:
- Identify the car: make, model, year. For example: “Cobalt, 2021”. For maintenance, ask the mileage too.
- Ask what’s needed: scheduled maintenance (oil, filters), diagnostics or a specific job such as brakes, suspension or air conditioning.
- If something is wrong, write the symptoms in the customer’s own words, such as “squeaks when braking” or “hard to start in the cold”, and since when.
- Offer two exact times: “Tomorrow at nine or Thursday at two?” Say how long the job takes, so the customer knows whether to wait or leave the car.
- Take the name and number, then repeat it all: day, time, car, job. Give the address and a landmark if needed.
Extra questions by type of job
| Job | Extra question | Time to reserve (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Oil and filter change | Mileage, engine size, bringing their own oil? | 30–45 minutes |
| Computer diagnostics | Which warning light, since when | 1 hour |
| Brake pads | Front or rear, any noise | 1–2 hours |
| Suspension | Where it knocks, on what kind of road | Known after inspection |
| Air conditioning | Not cooling at all, or weakly | 1 hour |
The times are only an example: use your own mechanics’ real times, so you never book more work into a day than fits.
When the customer asks the price
Almost every caller asks. The answer depends on the job:
- Jobs with a fixed price, such as an oil change, diagnostics or wheel balancing, are quoted from the price list.
- A repair price isn’t known without seeing the car. Say: “The mechanic will give you the exact price after the inspection and agree it with you before starting.”
- Don’t diagnose by phone: “it’s definitely the alternator” will disappoint the customer later.
- If parts are needed, say up front whose they’ll be: the shop’s, or the customer brings their own.
Sample service booking call
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Usta Servis, this is Malika.
Caller: Hi. My Gentra’s brakes are squeaking. When can I bring it in?
Sado: I see. What year is the car? Is the squeak at the front or the back?
Caller: 2019. The front, I think. How much will it cost?
Sado: The mechanic will give you the exact price after the inspection and agree it with you before starting. Tomorrow at nine or Thursday at two are free. Which suits you?
Caller: Tomorrow at nine. My name is Jasur.
Sado: Done, Jasur, you’re booked for nine tomorrow: Gentra, front brakes. It may take an hour or two. See you then!
Notice that the operator didn’t make up a price, yet didn’t lose the customer either: it gave an exact time and said how long the job would take.
When the phone is busy: an AI operator
Service calls come in waves: at opening time, on Saturdays, on the first sharp cold day. If the mechanic or receptionist is at a car, the phone goes unanswered and the customer calls the next shop. What that costs: missed calls.
Sado answers incoming calls at once, 24/7, more than ten at a time. The operator, Malika or Shohruh, asks the questions above, quotes prices from your list, writes down the symptoms and books the customer. When it doesn’t know an answer, it says “the mechanic will call you back” and creates a task.
Every booking is in the portal’s Requests list with the recording, transcript and collected answers, and the call card goes into Bitrix24 if you use it. For dealers with a service centre: AI operator for car dealers. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Can the AI operator tell what’s wrong with the car?
No, and that’s right. It records the symptoms the customer describes, quotes listed prices and books the visit. The mechanic diagnoses after seeing the car.
What if the customer speaks Russian?
The operator answers in the caller’s language, Uzbek or Russian. The recording and answers look the same in the portal either way.
What if a booked customer doesn’t turn up?
Call the day before with a reminder; if they can’t come, move the time in the same call. In Sado you upload tomorrow’s bookings to the Auto-calls section and the operator calls each customer.