Why service departments text
A service customer is usually at work or on the road while their coach is in the shop. A text is easy to answer from anywhere: "Your coach is ready for pickup." "We found a soft spot on the roof. Can we call you about it?" "Can you bring it in Tuesday morning instead?" The customer answers when they can, and nobody plays phone tag.
Text from the store, not a personal phone
When advisors text customers from their own cell phones, the conversation leaves with the phone. Nobody else can see what was promised, a customer's reply sits unread on a day off, and when an advisor leaves the dealership, the history goes with them.
- One number customers know. Texts come from your store's business line, the same number every time.
- One inbox for the department. Everyone in service sees the department's conversations, and anyone can pick up a reply.
- Someone owns each conversation. An advisor claims it or it's assigned, so nothing waits for "someone".
One conversation with sales
The customer who calls service about an awning is the same customer sales delivered a coach to last month. When service and sales read the same conversation, the advisor knows what the customer bought and what they were told, and the salesperson knows their customer is being looked after.
Register, and respect the rules
Carriers approve every business's texting before it can send, and registration takes about 13–20 business days. Texts from an unregistered number can be filtered without anyone knowing. How business texting registration works.
- Honor STOP every time. A customer who texts STOP should get no more texts until they text START, whoever is sending.
- Keep marketing separate. A text about the customer's own repair is different from a sale announcement, and marketing texts need the customer's permission first.
- Mind the hour. Automatic texts shouldn't go out in the middle of the night.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the rules that apply to your dealership.
How DealerPulse Engage handles it
Each store's service and parts teams get their own department inbox for texts, email and website chat, on the web and in the DealerPulse Engage iPhone app. Texts go out from your store's registered business line. Advisors claim or assign each conversation, keep internal notes the customer never sees, and managers see response times by department.
A customer who texts STOP gets no more texts until they text START, and staff can't undo it. DealerPulse checks for opt-outs when a message is written and again when it sends, puts the opt-in notice on the first text to a new number, and keeps automatic texts out of your store's quiet hours. Every message lands on the customer's one conversation, the same one DealerPulse CRM shows the sales team.
Service department texting, answered.
Should service advisors text customers from their own phones?
It's better to text from the store's business line through a shared department inbox. The whole department can see the conversation, replies don't wait on one person's phone, and the history stays with the dealership.
Does a service department need to register its texting?
Carriers approve every business's texting before it can send, and registration takes about 13–20 business days. DealerPulse starts it the day a dealership signs up.
What happens when a customer texts STOP?
In DealerPulse, the customer gets no more texts from the dealership's DealerPulse line until they text START. Staff can't undo a STOP, and DealerPulse checks for it again at the moment each text is sent.
See how it works for your own service, parts and reception teams.
See DealerPulse Engage in action