David Cerqueira, the service director at Benzel-Busch Mercedes-Benz, has worked at the dealership for more than 17 years and knows his customers well. He generally shies away from using AI agents to directly message customers, preferring a more personal approach.
Cerqueira told Wards Auto that if the service department isn’t communicating with customers in a traditional way, such as a phone call or well-written email, it’s not effective. However, the service department does use AI in other aspects of customer communication, particularly in refining writing and marketing copy.
The dealership employs 43 service technicians, and while they are highly skilled, not all are proficient in writing. To address this, some 30 technicians use a texting platform from CDK Global to polish their texts before sending them to customers.
This tool speeds up the writing process and ensures the response is fully legal. Cerqueira said this is an upgrade from the past, when technicians had to set aside time to figure out the best and most legal response. Now, AI formulates the response for them.
AI Improves Repair Efficiency
The AI platform also helps create clear explanations for complex repairs. Additionally, it has significantly reduced repair order turn time, with the dealership measuring the number of days a vehicle was in the service department from when the repair order was first written to when it was closed.
After implementing AI in communications, the dealership saw a reduction in repair order turn time from 6.5 days to 4.3 days. This improvement has had a positive impact on the service department’s efficiency.
Benzel-Busch Mercedes-Benz technicians use Microsoft Copilot when writing repair stories for warranty repairs. They upload the repair information and ask Copilot to put together a repair story, ensuring compliance with requirements such as addressing the cause and correction.
Using AI in this process speeds up the workflow, which is particularly helpful for flat-rate technicians who are under time pressure. The service department also uses AI to find answers to customer inquiries, such as how to use certain features of their new vehicle.
Instead of relying on guidebooks, the service department can now use AI to provide step-by-step instructions, copying and pasting the information from MBUSA’s website. This has improved the customer experience and reduced the time spent on customer inquiries.
Marketing Materials Created Faster
The dealership has also used AI to create marketing materials, such as a flyer for its mobile service van. Cerqueira said the dealership used Anthropic’s Claude AI to create the flyer in about 45 minutes, a significant time savings compared to relying on an external agency.
AI has also improved the technician onboarding process. Cerqueira uploaded the Mercedes-Benz Drive Program to an AI platform and created an onboarding checklist for new technicians. The checklist includes items such as the number of tools the technician has, ensuring they have everything needed to start work.
AI Powered Damage Detection
The dealership will soon begin using DamageSpeX from TraXtion, a firm with AI-powered diagnostic software and hardware. The AI-powered damage detection software captures a vehicle’s condition without a walkaround, reducing the dealership’s risk when a loaner car returns with damage.
Cerqueira currently has three people in the service lane taking photos of customers’ cars, but the damage detection software will eliminate this need. This change will not only improve efficiency but also reduce the workload of service lane staff.
