APPOINTMENT REMINDERS FOR GARAGES
An empty bay is money you already earned — gone
Tuesday, 9am MOT booked. Tuesday, 9:20, still no car — and the walk-in you turned away yesterday is at another garage. Appointment Reminders texts every customer at 24 hours and 2 hours before their slot, and garages that use them see no-shows drop by up to 40%.
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Nobody no-shows out of spite — they just forget
A service booked three weeks ago is easy to lose track of. The customer isn't dodging you; the date simply slid off their radar between the school run and the day job. But the cost lands entirely on your side: a ramp reserved and unused, a technician standing idle, and work you turned away to protect a slot that nobody showed up for.
Two well-timed nudges fix most of it. The 24-hour text catches the genuine forgetters while there's still time to rearrange their day — or tell you they can't make it, so you can offer the slot to someone on the waiting list. The 2-hour text catches the morning chaos, when the booking was remembered last night and forgotten again by breakfast.
Replies do the rest. Customers confirm, rearrange, or cancel straight from the text, and for early bookings the reminder can prompt a key drop the night before — so the first car of the day is already sitting on the forecourt when you unlock, not stuck in traffic somewhere.
How it works
1
A booking hits the diary
Whether the customer booked online, over the phone, or across the counter, the reminder schedule attaches to the appointment automatically.
2
Two texts, perfectly timed
A reminder goes out 24 hours before with the date, time, and your garage's details, then a short nudge 2 hours before the slot. Both sound like you, not a call centre.
3
You get an answer either way
The customer confirms with a tap, reschedules, or cancels — and a cancellation at 24 hours' notice is a slot you can refill, not a bay you find empty at 9am.
Why garages use appointment reminders
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No-shows down by up to 40%
Two reminders catch the forgetful majority before they cost you bay time. Fewer empty ramps, more invoices raised per week.
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Notice you can act on
A cancellation reply at the 24-hour mark gives you a full day to fill the slot — instead of finding out when the car doesn't arrive.
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Key-drop prompts built in
For first-thing bookings, the reminder asks the customer to drop keys through the letterbox the night before, so the 8am slot starts at 8am sharp.
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Protects your walk-in trade
When bookings actually turn up, you stop second-guessing the diary — no more turning away walk-ins to guard a slot that then sits empty.
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Customers appreciate it
A timely reminder reads as good service, not nagging. It saves your customers an MOT lapse and a wasted morning as much as it saves your bay.
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Runs itself from day one
We set the timings, write the reminder and key-drop messages, and test them against your diary. After that, every booking is covered without anyone thinking about it.
Appointment Reminders FAQs
When do the reminder texts go out?
The standard schedule is 24 hours and 2 hours before the appointment — the combination that catches both the long-range forgetters and the morning-of slips. The timings are adjustable if your garage prefers a different rhythm.
How much do no-shows actually cost a garage?
More than most owners tally up. An empty MOT slot is the test fee gone, plus the follow-on work a test typically uncovers, plus whatever job you declined to keep that bay free. Even two no-shows a week adds up to thousands over a year — which is why cutting them by up to 40% shows up in takings almost immediately.
Can customers reschedule from the reminder?
Yes — a quick reply lets them confirm, move, or cancel the booking without ringing the workshop. You keep control of the diary, and an early heads-up means the slot goes to the next customer instead of going to waste.
What's the key-drop prompt?
For early-morning bookings, the evening reminder asks the customer to drop their keys off the night before. It's a small touch that means the first cars of the day are already with you at opening time, instead of your busiest hour starting twenty minutes late.
Which plans include Appointment Reminders?
The Growth and Scale plans — alongside Rebooking Automation and the rest of the automation stack, on top of the website, hosting, and email that come with every plan. See pricing for the full comparison.
Do I have to set the reminders up myself?
No — setup is done for you. We configure the timings, draft the messages in your garage's voice, and run test bookings before anything reaches a real customer. Most garages are live within 48 hours of the free audit.