# Eight jobs worth a pilot

Each one is a question somebody at the store answers many times a day. A tool drafts; a person still sends. Pick one, fill in the lines at the end of it, and bring it to the meeting.

## Questions the site should answer

*Website.* The customer asks: “Is the service department open on Saturday?”

**Worth weighing first.** Whose job is the hours page today, and when was it last touched?

**What a draft could do.** An answer from the store’s own pages: hours, departments, directions and the scheduler link for the right department.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- Current hours and phone numbers by department
- The scheduler link each department actually uses
- One person who owns those pages

**What it must never do.** Quote a price, book a time, or promise one.

**How to check it.** Ask the question the way a shopper would, from a phone, after hours. Then open the link the answer gives. Our inspection follows every booking link a site offers and keeps the page each one opened.

**What we saw at a store (October 11, 2026).** The booking link in the site header took a reservation. The second scheduler, linked from the service pages, opened to “This page is unavailable.” The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-service-booking-paths/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## Is it still available

*Sales.* The customer asks: “Do you still have the white Telluride?”

**Worth weighing first.** How old is the feed a draft would answer from at 7 pm?

**What a draft could do.** The stock number, a vehicle link that opens on a phone, and the two closest units if it sold.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- A feed with sold status that updates within the hour
- Stable stock numbers and working vehicle links
- A rule for what to say when the unit is gone

**What it must never do.** Answer from the last feed it saw, or imply a vehicle is on the lot because its page is still up.

**How to check it.** Pick a unit that sold this morning and ask about it tonight. The answer should know. Our inspection asks about a real unit and keeps the reply.

**What we saw at a store (October 30, 2026).** A reply came inside the form’s stated 24 hours and answered the used-SUV question. It never mentioned the advertised special the shopper had asked about. The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/automotive-bdc-checklist/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## What is my trade worth

*Sales.* The customer asks: “What would you give me for my 2022 Sorento?”

**Worth weighing first.** What can a reply honestly say before an appraiser has seen the car?

**What a draft could do.** The range the valuation tool showed, what it rests on, what the appraisal will check, and a way to send photos.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- The valuation tool’s range and its assumptions
- The store’s rule on when a number is firm
- A photo route that works from a phone

**What it must never do.** Invent an offer, a deadline, or a number the tool did not show.

**How to check it.** Submit a trade-in on your own site and read every email that follows for two weeks. We did; the sequence is in the follow-up guide.

**What we saw at a store (September 22 to October 9, 2026).** A trade-in inquiry named a 2020 Silverado. The first reply named it too and offered an appraisal. Seventeen days later a follow-up arrived with the subject “2026 Make Unknown Model Unknown.” The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-lead-follow-up-quality/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## Who gets this lead

*BDC.* The customer asks: “I filled out the form on the Sportage. Who do I talk to?”

**Worth weighing first.** Does the CRM know who is on the floor tonight, or does a person?

**What a draft could do.** A route by department, language and who is on, and a first reply that names the person.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- The floor schedule, including after hours
- The CRM’s own receipt of the lead
- A rule for leads that arrive when nobody is on

**What it must never do.** Tell the shopper a lead arrived before the CRM has it, or let two people answer.

**How to check it.** Send a test lead from every form on the site and find each one in the CRM. One of our inspections found the contact form saying no while the price form said yes.

**What we saw at a store (October 29, 2026).** The general contact form came back “Unable to process.” The price inquiry on a vehicle page, the same day, went through. The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-lead-form-testing/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## The next email after a reply

*BDC.* The customer asks: “Actually, can you tell me about the Sportage instead?”

**Worth weighing first.** Does the next message know what the shopper said last?

**What a draft could do.** A reply built from the whole thread and the vehicle named last, with the queued follow-up paused.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- The thread, not just the lead record
- The vehicle the shopper named last
- The sequence’s pause switch, and who holds it

**What it must never do.** Send a template with an empty field. The October 9 subject in the guide is what that looks like.

**How to check it.** Reply to your own sequence between scheduled sends and read what comes next. Our inspection keeps every email a shopper receives, in order.

**What we saw at a store (September 22 to October 9, 2026).** A trade-in inquiry named a 2020 Silverado. The first reply named it too and offered an appraisal. Seventeen days later a follow-up arrived with the subject “2026 Make Unknown Model Unknown.” The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-lead-follow-up-quality/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## Questions before the visit

*Service.* The customer asks: “Can I drop off before you open?”

**Worth weighing first.** Could an advisor’s answer come from one page the store already keeps?

**What a draft could do.** The drop-off instructions, where the key drop is, the shuttle hours, what to bring.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- One page the service manager owns
- The booked work and time
- The shuttle schedule as it is this month

**What it must never do.** Move or book the appointment. That stays with the scheduler.

**How to check it.** Book service on your own site and ask the question in the confirmation thread. Our inspection books the same way, from every link the site offers.

**What we saw at a store (October 11, 2026).** The booking link in the site header took a reservation. The second scheduler, linked from the service pages, opened to “This page is unavailable.” The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-service-booking-paths/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## The note after the visit

*Service.* The customer asks: “What did you end up doing, and when am I due back?”

**Worth weighing first.** What does the customer hear after the repair order closes, and from whom?

**What a draft could do.** A plain summary of the work done, the work declined, and the next due service with a date.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- The closed repair order and the declined work
- Mileage and the next-service rule
- A person to reach for a concern

**What it must never do.** Thank a customer for a visit the repair order does not show, or recommend work the advisor already closed.

**How to check it.** Take one week of post-visit messages and read each against the repair order it refers to.



- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

## Does this fit my car

*Parts.* The customer asks: “Does this roof rack fit a 2021 Sorento?”

**Worth weighing first.** Can a draft see the catalog by VIN, or only the part number?

**What a draft could do.** A yes or no from the catalog by VIN, the price, stock, and pickup or install options.

**What it needs, and who owns each.**
- The catalog with fitment by VIN
- Today’s stock
- The parts counter’s hours and who answers after

**What it must never do.** Place the order, or guess a fit from a similar model year.

**How to check it.** Follow your own Parts button from a phone first. Our inspection did, and found a vendor page that would not load.

**What we saw at a store (October 28, 2026).** The Parts button in the site’s navigation opened a vendor page that could not make a secure connection. The browser showed its own error instead of the catalog. The capture is in the guide: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/dealership-vendor-link-checks/#observed

- Owner at the store:
- The facts above, with a name beside each:
- Current provider or cost:
- The one number we compare:
- Pilot store and team:
- Decision date:

Dr. Canary, 2026-11-05. Part of Building AI at your store: https://www.drcanary.com/resources/building-ai-at-your-store/