Front desk checklist when a car arrives

This page is the resource. Nothing to download. Walk through what the front desk confirms when a car arrives, whether it was booked or not. The aim is an open order the rest of the shop can use, and a customer who leaves knowing what happens next.

Before they leave the counter

Confirm whose name the job is under.
Take the plate and check it matches the vehicle in front of you.
Ask for the reason in a concrete sentence, not only «service».
If there is a noise or a warning light, note when it appears.
Ask whether the car stays or comes back later.
Check whether a booking already exists for that hour and that name.

On the sheet

Open or reuse the customer. Do not create a duplicate for a second phone number.
Link the vehicle to that customer.
Open the order with the reason you were just given.
If they had a booking, tie it so the gap is no longer free.
Leave the status as waiting until the bay takes it.
Write a phone number someone can call today.

What the customer should hear

Repeat the work you will look at, not everything that could be done.
Say if an estimate is required before you continue.
Do not give a pickup time before anyone has seen the car.
Explain how they will know the status: a call, or the portal if they have it.
Confirm whether they can authorize work by phone.
Say what happens if a part has to be ordered.

Before you step away

The order is open and a colleague understands it without asking you.
Keys, or where the car sits, are clear for the bay.
Nothing important exists only on a loose scrap of paper.
If they walked in, you have not promised a bay you cannot keep.
The status does not say in progress if nobody has started.
You know which order the bay should look at next.

If you want to see this on the board, request a demo. GarageBolt