Getting customer approval for extra repairs without phone tag

Set the approval boundary at check-in

A clear approval boundary tells your team which work the customer has already authorised and which discoveries need a new decision. When getting customer approval for extra repairs, start by recording the original request: investigate a noise, carry out an agreed service, or replace a named part. Do not treat permission to investigate as permission to repair everything you find. Explain how you will contact the customer if the scope changes, and confirm who can approve it.

For example, a customer leaves an imported used car for a routine service and mentions a vibration. Record those as distinct requests rather than assuming the service includes fixing the vibration. If the car belongs to a family member or a company, establish the decision-maker before the mechanic starts. Confirm the contact number and explain that unanswered messages may delay completion. This makes the approval step an expected part of the visit, not an unexpected interruption.

Send separate lines with evidence and a clear price

Each extra repair should reach the customer as a specific proposal they can understand and decide on separately. Name the affected component, explain what you found, describe the proposed work, and show its price before asking for approval. Separate labour and parts clearly enough that the customer understands what the line covers. A photograph should show the actual finding on their vehicle, with a short explanation of where to look. Evidence supports the recommendation; it does not replace an explanation.

Extra work found during a job goes to the customer as an SMS link with the price (and often the mechanic's photo); the customer approves or declines each line, and the answer is saved in the order's history. In Junto, this gives the service adviser and mechanic a shared reference instead of separate recollections of a call. Before sending, check that the photo matches the vehicle and the proposed line. Avoid vague descriptions such as “additional repairs” that leave the scope open to interpretation.

Explain priorities without pressuring the customer

Priorities should explain the consequences of each finding without making every recommendation sound equally urgent. Distinguish a safety concern, work needed to resolve the original complaint, and a maintenance recommendation that can be planned separately. Ask the mechanic to explain the reason for that distinction in ordinary language. If you cannot establish whether a condition is safe, say what further assessment is needed rather than offering reassurance. Never turn a photograph alone into a claim about the vehicle's roadworthiness.

In Georgia, ask about the car's actual use: Tbilisi traffic, mountain journeys, or an LPG/CNG conversion may be relevant to the mechanic's assessment. They are not automatic reasons to sell additional work. For an imported used car with an uncertain service history, distinguish a confirmed defect from a recommendation based on missing records. Check the owner's manual or ask the appropriate specialist when a technical specification matters. If periodic technical inspection is the customer's concern, keep your explanation tied to verified findings rather than promising a result.

Use a short approval checklist before work resumes

A short handover checklist makes the approval decision usable by everyone working on the car. Assign one person to send the proposal and check the response, rather than having several staff contact the customer independently. If a call helps explain a confusing finding, follow it with the written proposal so the decision remains attached to the work. Do not treat a delivered message, an unanswered call, or a general “please finish today” as approval for new lines.

Before the mechanic resumes, compare the customer's answer with the exact work now planned. Partial approval matters: accepting one repair does not approve the neighbouring line or a related replacement. If inspection reveals a different scope after approval, pause that additional work and send a revised proposal. In Junto, the mechanic's phone view and work order can help your team work from the recorded job rather than a hurried verbal handover. Your internal rule should remain simple: check the decision before starting the extra work.

• Confirm the vehicle, contact number and authorised decision-maker.
• Check that each proposed line has a clear scope and price.
• Attach relevant evidence and explain the priority.
• Check the saved decision for each line before starting.
• Explain any change to the expected collection time.
• Keep declined and unanswered work outside the approved scope.

Keep declined work visible without treating it as consent

Declined work should remain a useful recommendation, not disappear from the record or quietly return to the active job. Declined lines are kept as recommended work not done and can be offered again on the next visit. Note the condition you observed and keep the explanation factual. If the customer gives a reason, such as wanting another assessment, record it without judgement. A clear record helps the next adviser understand what was discussed without asking the customer to reconstruct the conversation.

Treat an unanswered proposal differently from a decline: you do not yet know the customer's decision. If you cannot reach them, continue only within the already approved scope and explain any effect on collection arrangements. For declined safety-related work, explain the mechanic's assessment calmly and document the discussion; a saved decline is not proof that a vehicle is safe. On a later visit, reassess the finding before proposing it again. The vehicle's condition, the customer's priorities and the appropriate scope may have changed.

Build the invoice from the approved work

The invoice should reflect the work the customer approved, with descriptions that match the agreed scope. Invoices are built from approved lines only. Before presenting the bill, compare the completed work, recorded approvals and invoice lines. Check that a declined recommendation has not been added back during a handover and that an earlier proposal was not mistaken for an accepted one. An approval record loses much of its value if the final bill uses unrelated descriptions that the customer cannot recognise.

At collection, briefly explain what was completed and what remains recommended, keeping those two categories separate. In Junto, work orders with labour and part lines, SMS approval and invoices support this workflow without requiring you to reconstruct it from messages. The common mistakes are procedural: starting while waiting for a reply, bundling unrelated work, or relying on an adviser's memory. Review disputed jobs with your team to find the missing step, and improve that step rather than adding more calls to an already confusing process.

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