How can a garage stop MOT and service no-shows?
Send a reminder a couple of days before and the day before every booked MOT or service, with an easy way to rebook, and keep a short list of drivers who’d take a slot at short notice. For longer jobs, like a full service or diagnostic time, taking payment or a deposit when people book online makes a no-show much less likely.
By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .
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- Industry
- Car garages and MOT centres
- Problem
- No-shows
- The fix
- Online Booking & Deposits, £1,800
- Do it yourself?
- Yes, the first steps below
Why it happens to car garages and mot centres.
- MOTs are booked well ahead
- Drivers often book when the DVSA’s own reminder arrives, about a month before the MOT is due, then forget the date by the time it comes round.
- Cancelling means phoning the garage
- If the only way to change a booking is to ring during working hours, some drivers just don’t turn up instead.
- A missed MOT leaves a tester idle
- An MOT bay and an approved tester are booked for that slot. A no-show is time you can rarely fill at a few minutes’ notice.
- Drivers don’t know they can come early
- An MOT can be done up to a month (minus a day) before it runs out and keep the same renewal date. Drivers who don’t know that leave it to the last week, when slots are tight and plans change.
What to do, in order.
Check what your garage software can do
Many garage management systems can already send text reminders. Make sure they’re switched on for every booking, with an easy rebook link or reply option.
Tell drivers they can book early
Say on your website and in your reminders that an MOT can be done up to a month (minus a day) early without losing time. It spreads bookings into quieter weeks.
Keep a short-notice list
Drivers who want an earlier slot are glad to take a gap. Text them when someone cancels.
Decide your policy for longer jobs
For services and diagnostic time, consider payment or a deposit at booking, and show your cancellation rules clearly when people book.
Add online booking with reminders
Online Booking & Deposits (£1,800) adds booking to your current website, with reminders and your cancellation rules shown at booking. The booking tool’s monthly fee and card fees are paid directly by you, and listed before you agree.
Where M1 can do it for you.
Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged. Any running costs are listed before you agree.
- Online Booking & Deposits £1,800
Drivers book MOTs and services on your website in the evening, with reminders before each slot and your cancellation rules shown when they book.
Bookings taken online, with a deposit paid up front.
- Missed-Call Rescue £800
Automatic reminders and a text back for missed booking calls, if you already have a booking system but slots still go empty.
Missed calls get a text back, automatically.
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Before you decide.
Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.
Should a garage take a deposit for an MOT?
Some garages take full payment online at booking, others take nothing and rely on reminders. For a short MOT slot, reminders and easy rebooking often do most of the work. Deposits make more sense for longer jobs. Read how deposits reduce no-shows.
Isn’t the DVSA reminder enough?
The DVSA’s own reminder service tells drivers their MOT is due, but it doesn’t remind them about the slot they booked with you. A reminder about the booking itself is what cuts no-shows.
What do no-shows cost my garage?
Put your own numbers into the no-show cost calculator: how many slots go empty a week and what each is worth.
Keep reading.
Know what to fix. Then decide.
Sammy writes down what’s holding your business back and what to fix first. The Foundation Blueprint is yours within 5 working days of your answers.
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