What changes when the vehicle stays a week

A general mechanical shop handles short visits. A collision shop immobilises the vehicle: appraisal, parts ordering, bodywork, prep, paint, cure, reassembly. Ten days can pass between drop-off and pickup.

That duration creates three problems tools built for quick mechanical work do not address:

  • The customer calls. With no information they call back every other day, and your counter absorbs it.
  • The space is tied up. A vehicle waiting on a part occupies a spot without progressing, and your week's capacity reads wrong.
  • The right moment moves. A review request fired off the appointment clock lands while the car is still with you: it will produce nothing.

Live repair status, so the customer stops calling

The answer is not calling every customer back, it is giving them the information before they ask. Kairos sends work progress and an estimated completion time, and provides a live status page: the customer checks the state of their repair whenever they want, without going through you.

Two situations are handled separately:

  • Waiting on a part with no date: the customer is told the vehicle is on hold, and the spot is freed for other appointments without closing the job.
  • Discovered work with an estimate: the customer gets the nature of the extra work and the new estimated date.

If the customer replies to the message, their text lands directly on the vehicle's job and is flagged at the counter. Nobody picked up a phone.

Google reviews: waiting for the real end

This is the most concrete difference from a mechanical shop. In Kairos, the satisfaction message for collision, window tint and wrap work never fires off the appointment clock: it waits until you mark the vehicle ready, then until the customer has actually collected it.

Concretely: the review request goes out about 3 hours after the vehicle-ready alert if that alert was sent before 5 p.m., and late the next day otherwise, because customers generally do not come by in the evening, especially in winter. If you mark the vehicle as picked up, the request goes immediately.

A good collision job is a high point of satisfaction. Asking then, rather than three days early, changes the response rate. More on this in the guide to Google reviews for auto shops.

Capacity that follows the real state of the shop

If your booking tool thinks in time boxes, it will send you customers while your spaces are taken by vehicles dropped off last week. Availability has to follow the real state: a spot only frees up when the vehicle is marked ready, and a vehicle set aside waiting on a part frees its own without closing the job.

Kairos covers collision, paint, dent repair, window tint, PPF, wrap and rust proofing, with durations and message scenarios specific to each service. See the auto repair shop software comparison to place this layer against shop management systems.

Frequently asked questions

Does Kairos replace my collision estimating software?

No. Estimating and claim-file tools stay in place. Kairos takes on communication with the customer: repair status, parts-delay notice, vehicle-ready alert, Google reviews and follow-ups.

How does the customer follow their repair?

They receive progress messages with an estimated completion time, and get a live status page for their own vehicle. They can ask a free-form question there, which lands on the job and is flagged at your counter.

When does the Google review request go out on a long job?

Never off the appointment clock. It waits until the vehicle is marked ready, then about 3 hours if that is before 5 p.m., or late the next day otherwise. If you mark the vehicle as picked up, it goes immediately.

Does a vehicle waiting on a part block my capacity?

Not if you set it aside in Kairos: its spot is freed for other appointments while the job stays open. No vehicle-ready message and no review request go out until the work has resumed and finished.