Why missing information costs trust
Is my car ready? What are they doing right now? Why does it cost more now? Without status information customers call — not out of impatience, but because they do not know what is going on. Each of these calls interrupts the work, and every “I don’t know right now, let me check” chips away at trust. Even with loyal regulars.
Live status: from arrival to pick-up
In OpenHood every job passes through four stages: Received → Diagnosis → Repair → Ready. The customer can see at any time — by link or in the customer app — where the car stands. No call, no text ping-pong. When it says “Ready”, they know they can come.
A chat that belongs to the job
Many workshops already write to customers through private messengers. That is convenient, but it has drawbacks: the messages sit on individual phones, are tied to no job, and data protection is often a grey area.
The chat in OpenHood belongs to the job. Text and photos of the damage (voice messages coming soon) — quick for the mechanic, familiar for older customers and on the record for both sides. The servers are in Germany. Approvals for extra work run in the same thread, see digital repair approval.
Invoice, payment and service book
When the car is ready, the customer gets the invoice digitally. soon Paying right in the app — via Stripe, in euros or Swiss francs — will then save the card terminal and its monthly fees. The work goes automatically into the digital service book: the complete vehicle history in one place; PDF export coming soon. For your customer that is real added value, for example when selling the car.
Keep your regulars
Good communication does not end at pick-up. Soon OpenHood will remind your customers automatically of HU/AU, Pickerl, MFK and the seasonal tyre change, two months ahead. The next appointment is then only a tap away — more under online booking for workshops.