24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Answering service for car dealers and repair shops

You handle the sales & repairs and let Smith.ai's car dealership answering service handle the rest. 24/7 call answering with appointment booking.

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Incoming calls are unpredictable.

Calls come in, but you're not always available to answer them. We capture leads, book appointments, transfer calls to your customer support and sales team, and log details instantly in your systems.

Fix or sell cars while we handle the calls.

There's too much to do, and you can't delegate a master mechanic's or salesperson's work. Hand off "the rest" to our receptionists. We capture leads, set appointments, and follow-up to win business. Whether you're installing a new radiator, training a sales rep, or taking a potential customer on a test drive, you can be confident that important phone calls are being taken care of.

We provide 360-degree coverage to manage both your inbound and outbound customer engagement.

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Make better business decisions with real-time call data, visualized in every Smith.ai client dashboard. Every call summary is enriched with metadata including actions completed, caller disposition, priority, relevance, call recording and transcription, and more. See the big picture with historical tables and charts to predict business growth, costs, and ROI with superior accuracy.

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Smith.ai receptionists make calls on your behalf, improving your speed-to-lead and unburdening staff who need to reach out to clients. We'll call-back online leads who complete web forms, contact donors for donation renewals, chase down payments on unpaid invoices, and more. We'll even send follow-up emails and texts after every call to ensure a connection is made. Learn more.

82%

of consumers expect an immediate response to a sales inquiry

50%

of lead generation budgets are wasted on leads who are never contacted

79%

of marketing leads never convert into sales

67%

of customers who receive excellent service spend up to 14% more

Capture and book appointments with 24/7 Car Dealer Live Chat

Buying or selling a car, or getting a car repaired, can be tough. When a prospective customer goes into the repair shop or dealership website, they expect to find answers to their questions. With Smith.ai 24/7 Car Dealer Live Chat, we respond in seconds to turn website visitors into clients. Our managed chat service works around the clock so you don't miss any potential leads. We answer SMS texts, too.

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Outreach Campaigns

Where we reach, engage & qualify leads to build your book of business.

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Web Chat

The best channel for sales, service & support by utilizing bots, humans, or both.

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Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

5.0 stars

4.9 stars

5.0 stars

4.7 stars

“We are very happy with it. Your receptionists are the best we’ve used so far. They go above and beyond any other service we’ve used up to this point!”

Brandon Lochridge

Armor Electric

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TALK TO OUR TEAM of experts

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Improve customer experiences with 24/7 engagement. We offer features and pricing for organizations of all sizes.

North America-based agents
Best-in-class AI technology
Live-staffed website chat
Bilingual services
Sales development & outreach
Rich call intelligence

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END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

Calls, chats & appointments are automatically logged in your systems. Real-time syncing with over 7,000 integrations.

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end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

All activities — from calls and chats to appointments and payments — logged in your firm's preferred software.

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Frequently asked questions

The best car dealership and repair shop answering services do much more than pick up phone calls and take messages for owners. At Smith.ai, we provide virtual receptionists capable of a wide range of services from calling handling, to scheduling, to lead intake, to website chat, and more. Whether you need a virtual receptionist for full-time call handling, overflow support only, after-hours, or triage, here are the answers to the most common questions we receive from car dealership owners and car repair shop managers.

Car dealership owners and repair shop managers are frequently busy overseeing repairs and vehicle sales and aren't available to answer every call that comes in, but providing high-quality customer support through a reliable car dealership and repair shop answering service has been shown to improve media businesses in a variety of ways. Here are a number of the benefits car dealerships and repair shops experience with Smith.ai:

Expand availability

With an answering service that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, your clients will always have a real person to talk to, whether your shop is busy, closed, or on holiday. Your clients’ questions always receive a thoughtful response.

Increase leads captured

Missed calls means missed opportunities. Don’t miss out on leads just because you’re not always able to pick up the phone. Answering services provide evening, weekend, and after-hours availability so your dealership will never miss another call.

Boost work productivity

Through outsourcing call handling to an answering service, your team will be able to spend time where you need it most and focus on more important work to build your business.

Enhance client satisfaction and business reputation

At Smith.ai, we know how to deliver great customer service to a range of business types and industries. Our virtual receptionists are specialized in customer service and hospitality, so let us put our tried-and-test practices to work for you and deliver an exceptional and professional response that represents your business well every time.

Save money and time

No need to allocate limited resources towards hiring an in-house receptionist when you can get all of the services you need and then some with an answering service for well over half the price. On average, companies who use Smith.ai save up to $30,000/year.

Stay up-to-date with leads and clients

Phone answering services can send your car dealership and repair shop with detailed call summaries after each call and even provide your clients with chat and text messaging so you can keep in contact with your most valued customers.

A car dealership and repair shop answering service can provide your business with much needed relief, whether your shop is on a budget, overwhelmed by overflow calls, or simply hoping to enrich your team’s customer service. With Smith.ai’s answering service, your car dealership or repair shop can receive even more benefits to push your company to accomplish its goals, whatever they may be.

Smith.ai’s answering service can provide car dealerships and repair shops with…

24/7 availability

After-hours & overflow answering

Bilingual answering

Outbound call-backs

Spam blocking

Appointment scheduling

Sales development

Payment collection

CRM Integration

Lead development

And much more…‍

With almost a limitless amount of features, Smith.ai’s answering service is guaranteed to boost your company’s productivity, revenue, and outreach. Smith.ai has offered reliable service to car dealerships and repair shops for years and our clients trust Smith.ai to provide their business with trustworthy, premium support. Read our 5-star reviews to learn why car dealerships and repair shops prefer Smith.ai.

The price of a receptionist is one of the most important factors to consider when deciding on whether to hire an answering service or a traditional, in-house receptionist. Let’s look at the average cost for an in-house receptionist.

The average salary nation-wide for an in-house receptionist is about $37,000, but there are usually additional fees many businesses fail to consider, such as:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, costing about $11,000/year
Life and disability insurance, costing about $2,000/year
401K’s, retirement and pension plans, costing about $2,000/year
Paid sick leave, holidays, and vacations, costing about $5,500/year
Commuting reimbursement, costing about $5,000/year
Child care subsidy and parental leave, costing about $3,000/year
Health and wellness programs, costing about $1,000/year
Bonus pay, costing about $2,000/year
Company retreats, team bonding events, and employee outings, costing about $4,000/year
Free lunch, snacks, and drinks, costing about $3,500/year

Total Cost, Including Salary: $77,000/year

If your shop is located in a highly populated area, that price may be even higher. In-house receptionists can add to that cost when they inevitably come in late, call in sick, request time off, take personal leaves of absence, go on vacation, and so on. Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists, however, can complete the same tasks as an in-house receptionist and then some, barring coffee runs and supply restocks, of course, and are surprisingly inexpensive because your company doesn’t have to pay for any time off, benefits, or salaries.

Smith.ai’s answering service costs as little as $292.50/month, with no hidden fees. Ever. By hiring an answering service instead of an in-house receptionist, your business could save over $33,000/year on salary alone, and possibly up to $40,000/year in benefits beyond salary payments. Not only will your business save money, but your business will also be able to optimize productivity and revenue like never before. As opposed to in-house receptionists, virtual receptionists can answer calls outside of normal operating hours, which is much more important than you might recognize, as 27% of leads call after hours. Smith.ai’s agents can answer live chats and texts. SMS answering can be overlooked, but over 46% of customers prefer communicating with businesses through text.

Virtual receptionists can even offer sales assistance by performing outbound calls to convert more leads, which has been proven to be helpful. It’s critical for businesses to respond promptly, as over 67% of clients base their decision to hire a business on the initial responsiveness to their call or email. Long waiting periods encourage leads to take their business elsewhere and you may not have the chance to explain why you’re the right car dealership or repair shop to hire. With Smith.ai’s car dealership and repair shop answering service, you can enjoy all the benefits of an in-house worker without the unnecessary high costs. Read our article to learn more about the differences between an in-house vs. a virtual receptionist.

Operating a car dealership or a repair shop can be chaotic, from managing projects and tasks to overseeing company development and growth. Businesses like these constantly face issues that stifle their ability to succeed. The most common scenarios that car dealerships and repair shops use virtual receptionist services for are:

I can’t afford to hire staff, but still need “front desk” support

“Front desk” support is an indispensable way to offer car dealerships and repair shops consistent and reliable administrative assistance that can help operations run a lot more smoothly. When car dealerships have a scarce budget, however, they may not be able to afford expensive in-house receptionists, especially when they already have to pay for repair tools, office supplies, marketing, and advertising.

I can't focus on work with constant interruptions from calls

Calls come in whether your car dealership or repair shop is free to answer them or not. When mechanics or sales representatives have to answer phone calls in addition to their regular duties, they may fall behind on more important tasks and lose focus. On average, it takes about 23 minutes to get back to a task after being interrupted by a phone call.

My business is growing and my team can’t handle it all

Businesses grow and it can be difficult to keep up. With calls that need to be answered, appointments that need to be scheduled, and invoices that need to be sent, it’s easy for teams to feel overwhelmed.

I can’t offer the availability to answer calls my clients need

When the work day ends, employees want to go home and enjoy their free time away from clients, but calls don’t stop coming in and leads can often be missed, as over 27% of leads call outside of normal business hours. Repair shops may not have after-hours availability, but may still want to offer accessible customer service.

If your car dealership or repair shop is experiencing one or any of these scenarios, an answering service can help by allowing you to outsource these tasks directly to a live agent. An answering service will take on some of the more arduous responsibilities, confronting and resolving the tedious issues your business faces. Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can accomplish the same, whether your repair shop needs extra help handling phone calls, blocking spam, or qualifying leads. By eradicating the need to allocate time to screening calls and answering clients’ questions, your shop can get back to focusing on repairs and maintenance jobs without neglecting your client relationships.

Car dealerships and repair shops, like any business, frequently find themselves in compromising situations that demand outsourced support to resolve. Some of the most common issues are:

I can’t keep up with incoming calls and messages from clients

With a limited in-house staff and a long list of assignments, car dealerships and repair shops often struggle to answer phones and respond to messages from clients on top of completing their regular duties. Operating a car dealership or repair shop and providing quality customer service simultaneously can be difficult and lead to poor performance in both.

I’m wasting my whole day on administrative tasks and can’t get productive, real work done

Front desk support is so expensive that car dealerships and repair shops are often forced to delegate daily tasks themselves. Despite spending a large portion of their day performing administrative duties, mechanics and repair staff have trouble balancing their important work projects with their regular office tasks.

I’m missing calls from potential business leads and it's costing me money

Answering each call can too much for car dealerships and repairs shops when they have higher priority assignments to get done. Car shops can easily fall behind on replying to messages so potential leads are frequently missed. Leads don't wait for call-backs. They call the next car dealership or repair shop in the search results. If shops fail to pick up, they not only lose a lead, they lose ROI, money on marketing campaigns and ad spend, as well as conversion rates from ads.

I can’t respond fast enough to leads to beat my competition to new clients

With the crowded marketplace for car dealerships and repair shops being what it is, it can be a major challenge for car repair shops and dealerships to distinguish themselves and stand out amongst other similar businesses. Providing quality customer service through quick and thoughtful responses can put businesses well above their competitors, but many car dealerships and shops lack the time to do so.

I can't seem to find and keep new clients

One of the most crucial, yet challenging, aspects of growing a successful business is obtaining and keeping new clients. With so much time and effort being spent towards existing clients, car dealerships and repair shops may not have the opportunity to seek out and nurture new clients. Businesses who spread their workload too thin may not be able to deliver quality customer service. Slow response times may frustrate customers and hurt client loyalty and retention, as well.

I'm struggling to keep track of my clients’ data

Keeping track of detailed phone records and call summaries can be overwhelming for dealerships and repair shops who disperse client data across a multitude of software platforms. Knowing how, when, and why clients call is significant for any business hoping to successfully navigate client relationships, but unfortunately, is not always easy to accomplish.

If your car dealership or repair shop is facing any of these obstacles, a virtual receptionist service may be helpful. One of the many wonderful things about Smith.ai is that our services fit your business needs, not the other way around. Our virtual receptionists can allocate time where you need it most and focus on the specific issues your shop face, whether your team needs additional help qualifying and intaking new clients or sending invoices and collecting payments. Sign up risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee and see how Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can fix the problems your car dealership and repair shop faces.

Determining which services are important to your car dealership or repair shop is a good place to start. To figure out which services would be best for your business, ask yourself what problems or opportunities you face that a virtual receptionist service can address:

Does your car dealership or repair shop need a sales representative to help bring in new clients?
Does your car dealership or repair shop fall behind in answering website and text messages?
Does your car dealership or repair shop have trouble blocking telemarketing calls?

Whatever it may be, Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can adjust their service to better suit your business needs.

After that, consider what services would best fit your company’s activity level:

Does your business receive hundreds of calls a day or just a few?
Do you receive more online messages than calls?
Would your business benefit from 24/7 phone answering or would you prefer a particular time frame, such as 9-to-5, for answering calls?

Whether you get twenty calls a month or 2,000, Smith.ai can customize your virtual receptionist service to fit your business activity so you only pay for what you need.

All you have to do next is sign up. Getting started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service is simple and fast. No annual contracts, no setup fees, and no need to supply scripts.

Follow three simple steps:

Customize your instructions – Just answer a few, quick questions about your firm and the preferences you have and we’ll get you started. We’ll use your answers to customize the way our virtual receptionists answer your calls and your clients’ questions.
Send your calls to us – We work with every phone system and can set up customized rules for when we answer your calls. Or we can answer every call, 24/7!
Try risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee – Fully experience our call answering, scheduling, payments, and other phone services completely risk free for 14 days. If we're not the right fit for you, get your money back up to $1000 within the first 14 days.

Whether your business is looking for a full-time virtual receptionist or an overflow or occasional phone answering service, Smith.ai can offer customized assistance to your team with quality customer service, lead screening, and sales development. When you sign up with Smith.ai, you won’t just be gaining a virtual receptionist service, you’ll be gaining a professional, reliable, and friendly team who are guaranteed to transform your business by capturing leads and delighting current clients.

‍Learn how to get started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service.

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Take the faster path to growth.
Get Smith.ai today.

Affordable plans for every budget.

Get started

Learn more

24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Answering service for car dealers and repair shops

Incoming calls are unpredictable.

Fix or sell cars while we handle the calls.

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Capture and book appointments with 24/7 Car Dealer Live Chat

Get the most out of Smith.ai

Outreach Campaigns

Web Chat

Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

Brandon Lochridge

TALK TO OUR TEAM of experts

Book a consultation

END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

Frequently asked questions

What are the benefits of a car dealership and repair shop answering service?

How much money will I save by hiring an answering service for my car dealership or repair shop compared to an in-house receptionist?

What common scenarios do car dealerships or repair shops use virtual receptionist services for?

What are the common problems that indicate my car dealership or repair shop needs a virtual receptionist service?

What do I need to prepare to get started with a car dealership and repair shop virtual receptionist service?

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