Among dealership service customers who scheduled their appointment online, more than three-fourths (76 percent) said they were apt to go that route again, according to research from Cox Automotive.

What’s more, setting up the service visit online creates a path toward a happier customer, says Jim Roche, vice president of marketing and managed services at Xtime.

Problem is, many customers don’t know that online appointment-setting is an option.

According to that same research from Cox Automotive (Xtime’s parent company), 45 percent of customers who didn’t use online scheduling were not aware it was offered.

“That is a surprising and disappointing fact,” Roche said in a phone interview last week. “It’s on us in the industry that we have that lack of awareness.”

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