Drivers are using Bodyshop Image Capture in record numbers with an industry-wide completion rate of 75%, supporting social distancing and safe working practices.
From May to September 30th, 2020, Audatex is offering Bodyshop Image Capture completely free of charge to all new and existing repairer customers. In a world where visiting the customer may be unsafe or impractical, Image Capture allows bodyshops to practice social distancing while gaining valuable visual information relating to the damage, direct from the driver.
Image Capture enables repairers to send their customers an SMS request for images of their vehicle’s condition and damage to be uploaded via a smart, mobile platform, allowing bodyshop users to interact with customers, in a digital-first, contact-less way.
Commenting on the benefit Bodyshop Image Capture has had on his business, Jay Ali, Group Operations Manager, Alton Cars said: “Using Bodyshop Image Capture has been a game-changer for us, especially during the Covid-19 lock-down period. Since lock-down began, we have continued to repair vehicles but needed to minimise our physical interactions with customers. Image Capture provided us with the perfect digital solution to get early visibility of the damage to the customer’s vehicle, and we’re actually finding that customers get photos to us quicker and more efficiently than ever before – often within two hours of the SMS being sent to them.
“Before using Image Capture, our process would typically either involve asking the customer to e-mail images, asking the customer coming to see us, or we’d send out one of our vehicle damage assessors, and then photos would be taken. The entire process has now been completely revised, speeding up the repair procedure and providing a really impressive digital customer interaction with minimal effort.”
Users of Bodyshop Image Capture benefit from the full service completely free-of-charge until the end of September. Repairers using the system are seeing efficiency gains through images being automatically attached back into their Audatex assessments, and are on average receiving 9.4 high-quality photos back per completed request. They are also seeing a reduction in the need to send out a mobile estimator, which brings clear time, efficiency and cost savings.
As the driver is guided around the vehicle to capture the required images, Image Capture ensures the bodyshop receives a complete view of the overall state of the vehicle and close-ups of the specific damaged areas. From the high-resolution images received, users can quickly carry out a remote appraisal of the vehicle to see if it is drivable, repairable, what parts are needed, assess the likely repair time, and can pre-estimate the costs associated with the repair.
Finally, the experience the customer has taking images of the vehicle damage gives them a sense of ownership and involvement in the repair process, all while giving the repairer a clear picture of the damage ahead of the vehicle arriving on site.
Jay Ali says: “The working hours this saves across the business is phenomenal, given the volume of repairs we get through a month. In the majority of cases, we’re able to gain authorisation from insurers in half the time it previously took. Every minute counts and thanks to Audatex Bodyshop Image Capture, this is now more structured and has made such a timesaving impact that we are considering creating all jobs as Audatex shells to allow us to automatically import all customer images.”
Audatex Bodyshop Image capture is available to all new and existing customers, completely free of charge until September 30th 2020. To find out more and sign up today visit: www.audatex.co.uk/solutions/bodyshop-image-capture
