The issue is known by car industry associations in Denmark and Sweden, which recommend using an independent service book.
The Swedish Vehicle Workshops Association (SFVF) Digital Servicebook, who offers a perfect opportunity for workshops to save time and money with 100% warranty approved service documentation. Their platform ensures that car owners have 100% transparency and that workshops can conduct campaign and recall checks on the vehicles.
Ulf Stefansson, lawyer at SFVF, says that “over the years many of their member workshops have found it extremely cumbersome and time-consuming when registering services at main dealers’ sites.”
He explains that many workshops do not register performed services at all due to problematic workflow in the main dealers’ digital systems.
Workshops are handing over data to their competitors
When using the manufacturers’ digital service books, the workshops also send important and crucial information about the car and the customer to the main dealers. This means that they willingly give up their data to their competitor.
Kim Koch, owner and chairman of the board at Digital Servicebook, says:
“Why do many workshops willingly send over information to their competitors? I am certain that it is because the workshops do not know that here is an alternative. But there is with Digital Servicebook”.
The main dealers’ digital systems might be good for some workshops, but not for an independent workshop outside of a . Even though the workshops stamp in the main dealers’ digital service books – it is worth nothing when a warranty case happens.
Ulf Stefansson says:
“The car owner still needs to save the associated service protocols in paper format, as most car manufacturers’ digital service books are incomplete. They are incomplete because it is not possible to document the service plan and other important information from the invoice, which is required for the car owner’s guarantees to continue to apply.”
Car owners should own their data and service history
Another huge weakness in the main dealers’ service books is that data is often hidden from the car owner and the outside world.
The car owners usually have no idea about this. It is of the utmost importance that the workshops educate the car owners about documentation.
The workshops will help the car owners in the best possible way by using this solution.
One of the reasons why SFVF recommends using Digital Servicebook is to make sure that services are registered correctly and visible for the car owners.
The challenge with manufacturers’ service books
AutoBranchen Denmark agrees that the independent workshops can experience challenges with the car manufacturers’ service books.
Lawyer at AutoBranchen Denmark, Nynne Daarbak Jensen, expressed that she often experiences cases where main dealers have an improper overview of the service history, but resells it with a “complete service book”, which is not the case.
A digital solution that provides a much easier overview of the service history, and easier to work with, will help battle the incomplete service books from the main dealers.
Nynne Daarbak Jensen suggests that the main dealers’ service books are so varied that it often leads to a discussion on whether the service has been performed correctly.
It is important that the independent workshops see the shortcomings the main dealers’ system provides and that it will affect the car owners – their customers.
Digital Servicebook are making sure that the car owner owns their own data and have 100% transparency.
Furthermore, workshops will no longer worry about data being hidden, using enormous time on troublesome registrations or information being passed on to their competitor.
Instead, they will save time, earn more money, put their customer in centre, and focus on what they do the best – service and repair cars.
You can meet the Digital Servicebook team at Automechanika Birmingham from June 6-8 where they invite workshops and car owners alike to stop by stand G120 for a free walkthrough of their platform.