CXL Automotive

We use Yellow Schedule...we tried a few before that and they weren't consistent.  Check them out at https://www.yellowschedule.com/.  It sends text and emails which you set the timing.  We send out a text 24 hours and 1 hour before the appointment.  We then send out a text 24 hours after to thank them for choosing us.  <--This helps with reviews.

Perfect thanks a million for the info Much appreciated.

the main thing to check on is if it has usb connection or a serial port( the plotter) I set up a keyspan adaptor on a serial port plotter to run off the usb on a laptop. I know flexi will work that way. You might want to check sign warehouse they have tech help on set up. Like the others said there is a list on the software to  set up the correct parameters for all plotters. 

That's just what I needed. Thanks a million for the help!

we have a graphtec and a jaguar.   both run precision cut and flexisign pro.   we used to run another graphtec and a couple rolands with the same programs.   you can run whatever you want on any plotter.  

I've been eyeing some plotters offered on alibaba.com for about $600. Do you think precision cut and/or flexisign would run on those?

I wanted to add a recent change that we did that seems to be helping with people bring tardy.  It has only been a week, so a little premature, but so far so good.  If you have a scheduling system that texts your customers reminders, then make sure you add in the reminder to be on time or early.  It took me a minute to reword it right in ours since the character spaces are limited, but all of our appointments so far have been on time or even early.  Yesterday alone one was 30 minutes early and another 50 minutes early.  The 50 minute early person even said he came in early because of the text.

Sounds great! Thanks for letting us know

Do you have an appointment booking software that sends out a text automatically? If so, how much are you paying for it?

So have you used it on the dot matrix with window film ??

Would like to hear more about this as well

I'm not a plotter guy but to the best of my knowledge yes you can.

Thanks!

Can anyone else on here confirm this? :P

i'm not gonna babysit customers.    no-show = get other things done.  there's always something around the shop that needs to be taken care of.  

That's true. Everyone has different ways of viewing things for sure! 

For myself, I'd rather do as much as I can in order to get their business. Every client counts, especially when you're a small-timer.

Just my $0.02.  

bump~

Great idea, definitely thinking outside the box.  I have posted it before, but this is how we do it now which helps a lot.  Same as any solution, it is not 100%, but we went from 10 per week to 1-2 per week.  We use to book people in our scheduling system any time they wanted...1, 2, 3 weeks out.  The problem with this is in Atlanta there are a lot of things going on including traffic which can easily change peoples plans by the time the date arrives.  Now we write their info down on a list and explain to them that we will call them 1 day before the day they want.  This is to confirm they still can come in and we then schedule them in our system.  We explain that we have to talk to them that day otherwise they have no appointment.  Along with this, our schedule system sends out texts/emails for reminders.  It is more work to call these people everyday to confirm, but it helps a lot.

That's a great way to do it! Thank you for sharing

I am seeing a lot of different companies selling plotters including their software packages. I was wondering if you are able to use any plotter with any software.

For example, if you bought a plotter from Roland, would their software only work with a Roland plotter or would it work with any generic plotter? Thanks guys!

I've been thinking of methods to reduce the no show rate for appointments. Taking deposits from your clients is definitely a good way to do that, but doing so removes the trustful relationship between you and your client. The whole premise of a deposit is essentially "Hey, I don't trust you to appear for your appointment so I'm going to take your money and give it back to you when you show up".

After some time of reflecting, I tried to put myself in the client's shoes. What would make me WANT to come to my appointment so I wouldn't even think about changing my mind?

One word: incentivise.

What other value could you provide for your client other than your tinting service?

There are a lot of ways to provide your client an incentive to appear for his/her appointment such as:

1) Small discount for showing up x minutes before their appointment

Provide a small $10 discount if they show up, say, 20 minutes before their appointment. This provides them a cash incentive to show up. I'd much rather take a small hit of $10 than lose an opportunity to earn $200 from a job.

2) Gift card

Same concept as above, except they receive a $10 gift card of their liking. There are a bunch of electronic gift card retailers where you can just buy a card online and have the code sent to their email.

3) Raffle

If they show up x minutes before their appointment, you enter their name into a raffle for a small but popular item.

4) Rebate referral program

After their appointment is finished, have them send their friends and family over to you. For every referral they send, they receive an electronic gift card of their liking.

These are just a few of many ideas that you can use. Get creative!

Really hope this helps you guys out if you ever get a chance to try it, please post here if you've noticed a reduction in your no show percentage so we can all benefit from it.

Cheers.