Most shops wait for the phone to ring instead of asking the customer back. Every oil change, every brake job, every transmission service is a return visit you can schedule instead of hope for. We build the system that makes the ask on time, every time.
The CRM under this system is Relay, our own product, set up for auto repair shops. You can sign up and switch it on yourself today, no call needed. Relay has a free plan with no card at signup; texting starts on a paid plan.
These aren't hypothetical. They're the exact gaps we see over and over when operators show us their day-to-day.
You did an oil change 5 months ago at 25,000 miles. Customer's now at 28,000 miles. They should be back in a few weeks, but nobody knows their car is due. They go to the dealership or the chain shop because those places actually reminded them.
Digital Vehicle Inspection is the strongest trust-builder in modern auto repair. A multi-point inspection with photos showing the leaking valve cover or the worn brake pad turns skeptical customers into believers. But if you're not delivering DVI systematically, you're not closing the upsell.
Customer picks up the car. It runs great. They drive home happy. Nobody asked them for a review because the advisor was on the next customer. Your Google rank stagnates while chain competitors ask every single time.
In states with annual or biennial inspection, expiration is a guaranteed revenue event if you remind the customer. 'Your inspection is due next month, book now.' Most independent shops don't track expiration dates at all.
Every system below is custom-configured to your shop, not a generic template. If you already have parts of this, we integrate with what's working. The review automation runs on ReputeLift, our own software, so it is built and supported by us rather than resold, and it never filters who gets asked: that is Google's rule and the FTC's, not a preference.
The vehicle and the work you did go on the customer's record, and the next-service reminder is scheduled off the completion date at the interval you set for that job. Be clear on the mechanism: it is a time-based recall, not a mileage projection. Nothing reads an odometer, so the message says 'you are about due for this' rather than quoting a mileage the system cannot know.
The recommended work goes out as an estimate the customer opens and approves from a text, so the answer comes back while the car is still on the lift instead of after three voicemails. Inspection photos attach to the job record. We do not read your shop-management system: what the tech finds is entered once, on our side.
Customer picks up the car, and a follow-up SMS goes out with the direct Google review link already loaded. Every customer gets the same ask. No gating, no sentiment filter: selecting who gets asked is against Google's terms and puts the whole review profile at risk. Steady velocity is the lever.
Brake checks, timing belt and transmission service, the big comprehensive inspection: each is a campaign that goes to the customers whose history says they are near it. The audience is built from the work you already have on record and the time elapsed since it, and you approve the list before it sends. There is no odometer feed, so nothing here fires off a mileage number.
Inspection completion logs expiration in your system. 30 days before next expiration: reminder + booking link. Capture the revenue that used to walk across town because the chain store reminded first.
Parts with warranty get logged. If a part fails within warranty period, the customer gets a proactive outreach: 'we covered this. Come in for a free replacement.' Builds lifetime loyalty. Bonus: catches manufacturer recall campaigns and notifies affected customers.
Automation for an auto repair business is scoped on a call with Martello Systems. That covers the CRM, missed-call text-back, service interval reminders, DVI delivery, review automation, and the team that builds and runs it. A few service-interval reminders that actually bring cars back cover the month.
Book a 15-minute demoCustomers come back because you are the shop that reminded them. Recommended work gets approved faster because the answer comes back from a text instead of a third voicemail. Your Google rank climbs because review volume matches service volume. State inspection revenue stops walking across town.
Shops focused purely on collision or specialty work (e.g., exotic-only shops) where the service-interval model doesn't apply. The systems also help there, but the ROI is biggest for general repair shops with a high repeat-service mix.
Relay has a free plan with no card at signup; texting starts on a paid plan. Prefer it built and run for you? A free 15-minute call covers what is leaking and what a system would cover.