The phone always rings when every bay is full. VVOXA answers your shop's number with your shop's name, books the oil changes and routine service, takes down the year, make and model for anything a tech has to look at, and puts stranded customers through to you.
$1,000 setup, then $500 a month. First month free. No per-minute charges. See pricing
By VVOXA in Cape Coral, Florida. Updated . Questions? Email Matt, our founder, at info@vvoxa.com.
A Wednesday morning with every bay full
Two techs are under cars and the service writer is with a customer at the counter. VVOXA answers the shop's number.
A sample call, written out
Northside Auto (sample)
Marcus H. · (239) ••• ••26
Wed 10:26 AM
Booked
Why they called
Check engine light on a 2017 Honda Accord
What VVOXA did
Gave the diagnostic fee from your price list, didn't guess whether the car was safe to drive, and booked Saturday 8:00 AM
Ringing
RileyThanks for calling Northside Auto, this is Riley. What can I do for you?
CallerHi, my check engine light came on this morning. Can I bring it in Saturday?
RileySure. What's the year, make and model?
CallerA 2017 Honda Accord.
RileyGot it. Saturday I have 8 or 9:30 for a diagnostic, and the diagnostic is $120.
CallerEight works. Is it okay to drive it till then?
RileyThat one's for the tech, and I don't want to guess. I can put you through to the shop now if you'd like.
CallerNah, it's running fine. Saturday's good.
RileyOkay. Can I get your name?
CallerMarcus Hale.
RileyThanks, Marcus. You're booked Saturday at 8 for a diagnostic on the 2017 Accord. Anything else?
CallerNope, that's it.
A sample call, written out to show how VVOXA handles it. The business and the caller are made up for this page.
Notice what Riley didn't do. It gave a price from the shop's list, the diagnostic fee, and said nothing about what a repair might cost. And when Marcus asked whether the car was safe to drive, it didn't reassure him or scare him. VVOXA is instructed never to judge whether something is safe to use. It says the tech will answer, and offers to get the caller to a person.
There's a second sample on our home page: a caller wants a rough price for front brakes on a Corvette, and Riley takes a callback instead of guessing.
Calls it handles while you're in the bays
The calls a service writer answers all week. VVOXA answers them from your facts and books what you let it book.
Oil changes and routine service.
Rotations, inspections, a diagnostic. Each is booked into an open time for the length you set, so a 30-minute oil change doesn't block the morning.
"Do you work on my car?"
It answers from your list of the makes and kinds of vehicles you take, and the ones you don't: European, diesel, hybrids, fleets, classics.
Estimate requests.
Year, make, model, what the car is doing and the best number, written up and marked for a callback with a price.
Hours, Saturdays and holidays.
It answers from your hours, and tells after-hours callers when the shop will actually call back.
Drop-off and getting home.
Your address, key drop, early drop-off, and whether you give rides or loaners, if you've told it. It never makes up an address.
Your warranty.
Explained in your words. A question about a particular repair goes to a callback.
Monday mornings cost the same. The rush after a holiday weekend or the first cold snap is still $500 a month, with no per-minute or per-call charge and no limit on how many calls it answers (pricing).
"Is my car ready?"
Customers with a car in the shop call to ask, and it's the one common call VVOXA can't finish on its own. It can't see your repair orders or your shop software, so it doesn't know where a car is in the job.
What it does instead: it takes the name, the vehicle and the best number, and marks the call so your service writer can call back with an answer. It won't guess a time or say a car is done.
If you'd rather these calls reach the front counter during open hours, tell us, and it puts them through instead of taking a message.
Breakdowns and tow calls
A customer stuck at the side of the road needs a person, not a message.
You choose which calls come straight to you: a car that won't start, a breakdown, a customer stranded after a repair, a tow you arrange. VVOXA puts those callers through to the number you give it, usually the front counter or your cell. If nobody picks up, they can leave a voicemail, and the call is marked in your account.
If you don't run a tow truck, give it the name and number of the towing company you send people to, and it can pass that on.
It can't send help. If someone at the roadside is hurt or in danger, VVOXA is instructed to tell them to call 911. It can't send a tow truck or anyone else, and it can misunderstand, so keep your own way for stranded customers to reach a person (Terms, section 6.3).
Fixed prices only
A price said on the phone is a price the customer expects to pay. So VVOXA only says the ones you'd honor without seeing the car.
Your menu prices. Oil change by type, tire rotation, diagnostic fee, alignment check. It gives the prices you list, worded the way you wrote them, "from $49" included, and won't make up a price that isn't there.
Brake, engine or transmission work. Anything a tech has to look at first gets a callback, not a number.
What's wrong with the car. A noise, a smell, a warning light: it writes down what the caller describes and leaves the diagnosis to you.
Whether it's safe to drive. That's your tech's call. It says so and offers to put the caller through.
Parts prices or when a part will arrive. It can't see your suppliers.
If a price isn't in its facts, it doesn't know it, so it says so and takes a message for a callback.
A Thursday in your account
These are the sample shop's calls as the Calls list in your account shows them. Each one opens to a summary, the transcript and the recording.
9:43 AMDane W. Front brakes on a Corvette C6, wants a price. Needs callback
10:12 AMPriya S. Oil change, booked Friday 8:00 AM. Booked
11:30 AM(239) ••• ••18 asked if you're open Saturday. Answered from your hours.
1:47 PMLuis M. Car won't start. Put through to you. Urgent
3:05 PMKaren T. wants a callback about a tire rotation. Message
Made-up calls at a sample shop. Turn on alerts in the VVOXA app and you get a notification for new bookings, messages and voicemails; an alert never shows the caller's number or the words of a message. VVOXA doesn't text or email you about each call.
Shop software, honestly
VVOXA has no connection to Tekmetric, Shopmonkey, Mitchell 1 or AutoLeap. It can't open a repair order, look up a vehicle's history or check a job's status in them.
What it does use:
Its own calendar. Bookings land there, and it never offers a time that's taken.
Google Calendar. Built in. Connect it and every booking shows up there too, and it won't offer a time you're busy.
Cal.com. Reads busy times and puts bookings in.
A web address of your own. Sends each call to Zapier, Make or n8n.
If you schedule the bays in shop software, you have two simple options. Let VVOXA book phone customers into its own calendar and copy them across, or switch booking off so it takes the request and the times that suit, and flags it for your service writer to confirm.
What to have ready for your setup call
Setup is a phone call with Matt, our founder. These are the answers that make the line sound like your shop. Print this list or copy it into a note.
The makes you work on, and the ones you don't.European, diesel, hybrids and EVs, fleets, classics.
Your fixed-price menu.Only prices you'd honor without seeing the car.
How long each bookable job takes.So an oil change and a half-day job don't land in the same slot.
What to take on every estimate request.Year, make, model, what it's doing and the best number. Mileage or VIN, if you want them.
Drop-off, rides and loaners.Key drop, early drop-off, shuttle or loaner rules.
Your warranty, in your words.How long, what it covers, and who to ask.
Who takes breakdown calls.One number: the front counter or your cell.
Towing.Whether you tow, and who you send people to if you don't.
Forwarding your number, and the rest of the setup, are on how it works.
Questions shop owners ask
Can it book oil changes and service appointments?
Yes. With booking switched on, it books into open times in your VVOXA calendar, each job for the length you set, and keeps Google Calendar in sync. With booking off, it takes the request and the times that suit, and flags it for you to confirm.
Can it tell customers if their car is ready?
No. It can't see your repair orders, so it takes the name, the vehicle and the number, and marks the call for a callback. If you'd rather, it can put those calls through to the front counter during open hours.
Does it work with Tekmetric or Shopmonkey?
No. VVOXA has no connection to Tekmetric, Shopmonkey, Mitchell 1 or AutoLeap. It books into its own calendar and Google Calendar, and can send each call to Zapier, Make or n8n through a web address of your own.
Should it give repair estimates over the phone?
We don't think so, and it won't. It gives the fixed prices on your menu, like an oil change or your diagnostic fee. For anything a tech has to look at first, it takes the details and marks the call for a callback with a price.
Can it handle breakdown and tow calls?
It puts them through to you. You choose which calls count, such as a car that won't start or a customer stranded on the road, and the number it rings. If someone is hurt or in danger, it's instructed to tell them to call 911. It can't send a tow or any other help.
Is it better than voicemail?
Callers get an answer on the first ring and a booking or a clear next step, instead of a beep. You get each call written up with the vehicle and what they want, instead of a voicemail to play back between jobs. It costs more than voicemail, so the real question is what the calls you can't answer are worth to your shop.
Does it work after hours and on weekends?
Yes. It answers day or night, weekends and holidays. Outside your hours it can still book an open time, and when it takes a message it tells the caller when the shop will actually call back.
What does it cost?
$1,000 to set up, then $500 a month, with the first month free. There's no per-minute or per-call charge, so a busy Monday costs the same as a quiet Tuesday (full pricing).
Hear VVOXA answer it before it answers for your shop. Put your number in on our home page and it calls you in about twenty seconds, or ring our demo line on (650) 754-4948 and book a practice appointment.