Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3 - 17

appointable calls such as oil changes and tire rotations
and lacking the time or process to concentrate on revenue-producing
outbound calls. When there was time
for outbound calls, agents worked off of Excel spreadsheets
that made it difficult to track activity, customer
response, and results.
" Initially, we would pre-book service appointments by
estimating when customers would likely need to return
for their next maintenance, " continued Musick. " We
would then begin to call them to book their next appointment.
This was done with a spreadsheet, and we
would go down the list. The issue here was that there
wasn't a great way to keep track of who we called,
when we last called, or when they returned a call, what
we were calling about. We didn't have a CRM focused
on service or a tool to help with call reporting. "
BLOCK AND TACKLE WITH AI
Musick first focused on how to free up time so BDC
agents could be more proactive. He identified AI-enabled
software to do the blocking and tackling he
needed to free-up his agents to make revenue-producing
outbound phone calls.
Familiar with Proactive Dealer Solutions of Huntersville,
NC, he tested and then implemented Brooke, the company's
customer-facing digital voice assistant (DVA),
to handle and appoint calls for express services.
Integration between Brooke and the store's DMS provider,
Reynolds & Reynolds, was easy and the software
quickly met the store's needs. Explains Musick, " She
allows customers to schedule services anytime via
phone since she's always working, and she's freed-up
our agents to schedule more profitable services. Our
agents now have the time to proactively reach out to
customers and schedule previously declined services
and recalls which has helped with growth in our shop. "
With Brooke on-board, customer pay and warranty
work increased by 21 percent as compared to the previous
year. Dollars per RO also increased by approximately
21 percent. Brooke takes the place of 1.5 BDC
agents in terms of overall booked appointments, but
Musick says that perspective doesn't do justice to the
true value. " She does the work around the clock which,
if a human was doing it, would be exponentially more
expensive, " he says.
As far as how customers react to Brooke, Musick says
it's been great despite having an older customer base.
The shop did put in extra layers of protection by allowing
customers to reach a live person if that was
MAY JUNE 2023 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE
17
Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3
