Newsletter

Volume 30: New Xtime Features and Transparency Builds Trust

New Xtime Features!

We are continuously releasing and improving features to give you the best possible experience. Recently, some of our highlights include:

Tracking the last five appointments and customers viewed
Automatic opt-ins for two-way texting
Showing the pricing you want

You can stay informed of what’s new with Xtime University’s Help Library! Simply log into your Xtime account to check it out. From there, you can also see Xtime’s Newest Features, where we share “what’s hot” and key improvements that were made.

Xtime University regularly adds resources to support your success. Be sure to check out instructions, as well as informative guides and videos.

Transparency Builds Trust

According to a 2015 Cox Automotive service survey, 50 percent of customers said that knowing the total cost of repairs and maintenance upfront was a critical component of their service experience. Additionally, the 2016 Cox Automotive Maintenance & Repair Study found that 34 percent of customers felt that the dealer will overcharge them—a perception that can be corrected.

Spend for services, such as an oil change, show that dealership pricing is actually competitive with third-party vendors. Coupled with the superior level of service, having comparable pricing the same on all channels enables dealers to win on trust.

Dealerships build customer confidence when the information is consistent across all channels. And when there is more trust, vehicle owners choose your dealership over an independent repair shop. Even better, these loyal customers will be your advocate and will endorse your services to others.

By pricing all your maintenance services with Xtime, you’ll ensure everything displayed is both accurate and consistent at every customer touchpoint. Whether from service lane, email marketing or scheduling, both dealers and consumers see the same information.

Contact us today to learn more! If you’re a new customer, email our sales team at sales@xtime.com. If you’re a current customer, email DPSAdmin@xtime.com, and someone will reach out.

Don’t let your checkout process ruin a great service experience

Many dealerships focus on performing thorough walkarounds and creating targeted marketing campaigns to ensure repeat business, but they may be overlooking a vital part of the service experience—the payment process. Eighty-eight percent of United States adults have stated that they want checkout experiences to be faster, and 50 percent saying that checkout speeds are in their top grievances with retail.¹

The checkout experience is the last customer touchpoint in the service visit, and thus one of the most critical elements to leave a lasting positive impression. You can’t afford to undermine an otherwise great service experience by making the vehicle owner endure a lengthy wait at checkout. With Xtime Payment, both service management and advisors can easily manage the customer engagement from write-up to payment—collecting credit card payment in the service lane or sending an online payment request.

By using this new Payment feature, dealers see a boost in CSI and can easily close work-in-progress at month-end.

Dealers with Xtime Engage already are eligible to use this new Payment feature! If interested in activating or to see how you can get started, contact us via this form and someone will reach out.

¹Harris poll commissioned by Digimarc corporation, 2015

Service Star: Kelowna Nissan Infiniti

John Hughes

John Hughes
Service Manager

When Kelowna Nissan Infiniti in Kelowna, British Columbia, implemented Xtime’s solutions, they were looking to increase efficiency and create a stronger relationship with customers. Service Manager John Hughes was familiar with Xtime’s solutions previously and was eager to support Kelowna Nissan Infiniti’s success with Xtime’s auto repair software.

Realizing Results

20%

increase in hours per RO with Inspect

$424

per
repair order

99.5%

utilization
rate

Based on results September 2017.

In your previous and current experience, what value does Xtime bring to dealerships?

For me, and it’s probably the same dealer-wide, by booking with [the DMS], you can’t do what Xtime allows you to do, such as shop loading. Shop loading is a great feature of Xtime and you can plan your day a lot better and it helps you stretch out your appointments. Booking with Xtime is more user-friendly.

How do you stay up to date with Xtime?

Online training, webinars and the phone-in classrooms are good. They certainly help me get more established with the software and understand how the program works and what other programs are coming down the pipe. I really like the seminars on the new features as they come out. Those are very helpful and they allow us to be more proactive, and more aware of what’s changing.

How does Xtime’s software make your staff’s lives easier?

Less paperwork, less legwork, fewer interruptions. [Xtime offers] better tools that allow staff members to more effectively communicate with each other and with the clients. Everything has a footprint so you can go back and refer to [different details]. You can look at old inspections and you can look at old walkaround photos. For example, [with Engage], we take photos of the cars. We do a five-sided photo with the walkaround, so it holds us accountable for any damage that may have occurred in the shop or anything we can spot later on in a photo that may help us find additional repairs—body shop, wheel reconditioning and so on.

You recently implemented Xtime Inspect. Tell us about your experience with this product.

Inspect has been great. It has helped us to be very consistent in our message to our clients as far as an inspection that will allow us to make recommendations in the same software. The quotes are more accurate, the quotes are quicker, the inspection is much quicker—from the shop to the front end. It has helped our sales and our bottom line. The advisors and the technicians like it because it’s the one tool that they’re both in at the same time, along with our parts department. There are communications aspects of it as well. You can text message your tech, you can text message your parts advisor. It’s a seamless communication process as opposed to running around the dealership, so you’re able to stay at your desk, stay with your client, stay at the car if you’re a technician, and stay at the back parts counter if you’re a parts person.

Read more about John and Kelowna Nissan Infiniti’s success and increase in the bottom line here.

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