For collision shops and technicians, time is money.
The more of it that can be sent fixing the vehicle, the shorter the cycle time and the faster the shop and the staff get paid for the work. Traditionally one of the biggest delays within the repair process is the diagnostic process, as well as researching and receiving information.
It’s something asTech has been working hard to address with its new Live Chat feature.
“It is available to our [technician] customers via their mobile devices from the web and allows them to engage with our remote technician here at asTech,” says Nikki VanderSchaff, Director of Product Management at asTech.
She notes that the Live Chat feature enables the techs in the shop to get the assistance they need quickly and efficiently while diagnosing and working on the vehicle in real-time and once the interaction is completed, that chat is then archived and easily accessible by the customer anytime they need to review it.
In a busy collision shop, loud noises can often make it challenging for technicians to hear everything, so the asTech Live Chat feature allows them to reference instructions as and when they need them. Additionally, the mobile app-enabled feature also has built-in translation, allowing techs to read messages in more than 20 different languages.
“The impact on that is going to be very positive,” says VanderSchaff, “because we are driving efficiency and we are creating an understanding and optimizing the communication. We are very excited about this and the feature is going to allow us to ensure that each customer communication is completed with that high level of quality, accuracy and customer focus.”
The Live Chat mobile app feature is now live (as of May 8) and available to technicians who log in to asTech online. asTech provides information explaining how the feature works and notifies them when the latest app is available for download.
Don Mikrut, CDO of Repairify (asTech’s parent company), says the new Live Chat is just one of “several features and functions that we are going to offer to the marketplace to drive efficiencies for our customers.” He says ultimately, it’s about turning customer feedback into functionality, creating a win-win for technicians and the collision repairer community.
More details on the Live Chat feature can be found here
