Booked while they're still on the line
IDP's agents read real openings from your scheduler, offer times, and write the appointment back during the conversation. Then every booking, the agent's and the store's, lands in one appointment book.
"Someone will call you back to confirm a time" is where a lot of appointments go to die. The customer was ready at 9:44 PM. By the time a person calls back at 10:15 the next morning, they've booked somewhere else, or forgotten why they called.
IDP's agents book in the conversation. They read the openings your scheduler actually has, offer a couple of times, and write the appointment back while the customer is still on the call, in the chat or in the text thread.
On a call
When a caller wants to come in, the agent checks availability for the day they asked about and offers two times. On a yes it books the appointment and confirms it: day, time, and who they'll see.
The same goes for text, email and web chat. In the website chat, the visitor sees a ticket for the booking with its status, date and time, and an Add to calendar button.
What it needs to know
A booking is only as good as the details attached to it. The agent already knows a lot before it asks: who the caller is, what they drive and whether they have an upcoming visit, from your scheduler, DMS and CRM. When something is missing, it asks for it, and a VIN can be texted rather than spelled out (how that works).
For sales, customers can book with the car they drive today or the car they want from your stock. A sales appointment booked in your CRM moves the lead to "Appointment Set" so your team's pipeline stays true.
One appointment book
Your agents aren't the only ones booking. Advisors book at the counter, BDC agents book from the phone, and some customers book online. If the Calendar only showed what the agents booked, it would be the least useful calendar in the building.
IDP keeps one book of your store's appointments from every connected system that can list them, starting with Dealertrack. When two systems hold the same visit, it counts once. The store's own bookings show the service and who booked them, and bookings the agents made show the advisor, services and vehicle the store's system holds for them.
Changes, from wherever you are
Plans change, and your team can change them without opening another system:
- Book, reschedule or cancel from a customer's record.
- Reschedule from Needs a person when a customer asks for a change your agent couldn't make.
- Book for someone who isn't a contact yet, such as a walk-in or a referral.
Every change shows when it happened and who made it.
After the booking
A booking isn't the end. Reminders go out on the schedule you set, a moved or cancelled appointment drops any reminder still waiting for the old time, and a missed one can trigger an offer to rebook (appointment campaigns). Then IDP follows the visit through your DMS to see whether it happened (credit for visits that happened).
Which systems
Agents book into the scheduling systems they're connected to, which can include Xtime, Dealertrack service scheduling and Tekion service appointments, and CRMs such as ELEAD and DealerSocket for sales appointments. Which scheduler and DMS a store connects, and what each allows, is confirmed during setup.
Questions about this? The agent on this page runs on IDP. Ask it anything here, or how it would work at your store.