Service reminders for garages and workshops
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- You run a mechanic, service centre, tyre shop, body shop or car wash, and repeat customers are most of your income.
- Customers forget when their next service is due, and you remember only when they call.
- You don't have a booking system that texts people, but your staff can fill in a short form at the counter.
Where the data comes from
Section titled “Where the data comes from”| How | What |
|---|---|
| A form your staff fill in | The Job done form this playbook creates: staff fill it in at the counter or on a phone, matched to the customer by phone number. |
| A Google Sheet or Excel file, synced | Or your customer sheet, synced every hour, with last_service_at and next_service_due columns. |
What it sets up
Section titled “What it sets up”| Kind | Name | What it does | Lands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Service desk | Calls customers who are past due for a service and haven't been back. | Empty |
| Form | Job done | Staff form to log a finished job, matched to the customer by phone. Saves the date done and the next service date. | Draft, not published |
| Segment | Service due soon | Next service due within the reminder window. | Ready |
| Segment | Service due today | Next service date is today (it started in the last day). | Ready |
| Segment | Service overdue, not back yet | Service date passed more than a day ago, within the window, and no newer job moved it forward. | Ready |
| Template | Thanks for visiting (SMS) | Thank-you the day after a job, with a review ask if you gave a link. | Ready |
| Template | Service due soon (SMS) | Reminder before the next service is due. | Ready |
| Template | Service due today (SMS) | Reminder on the day the service is due. | Ready |
| Template | Thanks for visiting (WhatsApp) | WhatsApp thank-you after a job (needs Meta approval). | Ready |
| Template | Service due soon (WhatsApp) | WhatsApp reminder before the next service is due (needs Meta approval). | Ready |
| Template | Service due today (WhatsApp) | WhatsApp reminder on the due day (needs Meta approval). | Ready |
| Follow-up | After the job: thank you | The day after a job is logged, a thank-you (and review ask). | Off |
| Follow-up | Service reminder 1: due soon | Daily run over "service due soon": one reminder per service. | Off |
| Follow-up | Service reminder 2: due today | Daily run over "service due today": one reminder. | Off |
| Follow-up | Service reminder 3: call when overdue | Daily run over "service overdue, not back yet": a call task for the service desk; the outcome is saved. | Off |
The questions it asks
Section titled “The questions it asks”| # | Question | Default | Fills in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What should messages call your workshop? | none, must answer | org_name |
| 2 | Which number should customers call or message to book? | ‹workspace phone› | shop_phone |
| 3 | What jobs do you want to pick from on the form? One entry per job. Staff choose one when they log a job. | Full service, Oil change, Brakes, Tyres, Car wash, Other | service_types |
| 4 | Is there a link where customers can book? (leave empty to give your phone number only) | empty: skipped | booking_url |
| 5 | Should the messages go by WhatsApp instead of SMS? Needs a connected WhatsApp Business number and Meta-approved templates. | No | use_whatsapp |
Other settings
Section titled “Other settings”These have defaults. Change any that don’t fit.
| Setting | Default | Key |
|---|---|---|
| Review link in the thank-you (leave empty to just say thank you) | review_url | |
| Team that calls customers who are past due | Service desk | service_team |
| First reminder before the service is due | 7d | remind_before |
| How long after the due date to keep looking for customers who haven't returned | 30d | missed_window |
| Hours the desk has to make the call | 72 | call_due_hours |
| Daily send time | 09:00 | send_time |
| Default phone country on the form | ‹workspace country› | default_country |
| Time zone for the daily runs | ‹workspace timezone› | timezone |
| Greeting when a first name is missing | there | greeting_fallback |
Timings
Section titled “Timings”- The thank-you goes the day after the job is logged.
- Runs every day at 09:00 in ‹workspace timezone›. A reminder when the next service is due within 7d, another on the day it is due.
- When the due date passed up to 30d ago and no newer job has been logged, the Service desk gets a call task, due in 72 hours. Each customer gets that task once every 45 days at most.
Channels
Section titled “Channels”| Channel | Needed for | Before it can send |
|---|---|---|
| sms | The thank-you and the reminders | An SMS provider, or Origamy managed SMS after business verification (KYC). |
| The same three messages, if you answer yes to WhatsApp | A connected WhatsApp Business number, and the three templates approved by Meta. |
What you need to do
Section titled “What you need to do”- Publish the Job done form and bookmark it on the counter computer or the staff's phones. Staff enter the customer's phone, the job, the date it was done and the date the next service is due (a good rule of thumb is six months or 5,000 km).
- If you keep your records in a sheet instead, sync it with last_service_at and next_service_due columns (dates like 2026-12-01) and skip the form.
- If you chose WhatsApp: connect your WhatsApp Business number and submit the three templates (service_thank_you, service_due_soon and service_due_today) for Meta approval before switching the follow-ups on.
- Add people to the Service desk team. If you run the shop alone, put yourself in it. A task assigned to an empty team reaches nobody.
- Connect an SMS provider or finish business verification, switch the follow-ups on and test with your own phone and a job logged for today.
- The plate number and mileage on the form stay on the job record. Don't put them in messages, and tell customers you keep their number only to remind them about their service.
- Set the next-service date when the job is logged, not later. A sensible default is six months or 5,000 km for a car, four weeks for a car wash plan, or when the tyre check is due. Use the same rule for every job so staff don’t have to think about it.
- The form takes a minute at the counter. Keep it open on a tablet or the owner’s phone, and make one person responsible for filling it before the customer leaves, when they still remember their phone number.
- Plate numbers and mileage stay on the job record. They never appear in a message, so a forwarded text can’t be used to identify a vehicle. Tell customers you keep their number only to remind them about their service.
- Regular customers often prefer WhatsApp. If you turn it on, put a photo of your workshop and your opening hours on your WhatsApp Business profile so the reminder looks like a real business.
This playbook is synthesized: no customer has run it with us yet. If you build it, tell us what you changed, and we’ll replace it with the real version.
Copilot eval
Section titled “Copilot eval”The request used to test the copilot on this playbook (a live eval):
I run a garage. Give my staff a short form to log each job with the customer's phone, the job and the date the next service is due. Text the customer a thank-you the next day, remind them a week before their next service and on the day, and if they're a month past due and haven't been back, give my service desk a task to call. Keep plate numbers out of the messages.
It passes when every piece is a valid draft and everything lands off, with at least: form, segment, workflow, message_template. It must never use: plate.