Three photos of a bumper and no registration
A message arrives on the shop's WhatsApp at nine at night: three close-up photos of a scuffed rear bumper and 'how much to fix?'. There is no registration, no wide shot, no name. The next morning someone asks for more photos, the customer replies at lunchtime, the estimator looks at it on Thursday and sends a price from their own phone. Nobody follows up. The customer went elsewhere on Wednesday.
Private work, paid by the customer rather than an insurer, is often better margin and good for your local reputation. It is also the work most likely to be handled informally.
Private enquiries have no process
Insurance work arrives with a structure: a notification, a provider, required images, an authorisation. Private enquiries have none. They come through whatever channel the customer finds first, and the person who happens to see them deals with them.
- Enquiries are split across WhatsApp, email, website forms, social media messages and phone.
- Photos are too close, too dark or missing the registration and a wide shot.
- Quotes are sent from personal phones, so there is no record of the price given.
- No one follows up with customers who did not reply.
The work that quietly goes elsewhere
An enquiry that waits two days for a price is often lost, and you never know about it. A price that was given informally cannot be honoured reliably when the customer calls back, because nobody can find it. A shop with plenty of insurance work can end up turning away private jobs without meaning to, simply because the enquiries were never answered.
There is also the risk of quoting from poor photos and discovering on the day that the job is bigger, which leads to an awkward conversation at the counter.
Think of a Saturday. The shop is closed, but the enquiries do not stop: a scraped door from a supermarket car park, a cracked bumper from a reversing bollard, someone who wants a quote before deciding whether to claim on their insurance. By Monday morning there are several messages in several places, and the person who opens the shop starts the week already behind on work that could have been booked in.
How we build a private repair enquiry queue
- Enquiries from your website form, email and, where the business account allows it, WhatsApp and social messages are collected into one queue with the customer's details.
- An automatic reply thanks the customer and asks for what the estimator needs: registration, a wide photo of the side, close-ups of the damage and the mileage. A link lets them upload photos in one place.
- The estimator sees each enquiry with its photos together, and quotes from a template with your terms, including a note that the price may change after inspection.
- Quotes are sent from the business, not a personal phone, and stored with the enquiry.
- Follow-ups go to customers who have not replied after a set time, and the enquiry is closed as won, lost or no reply.
- Accepted quotes become booked jobs in your diary, with the photos and price attached.
| Stage | Before | With the queue |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry arrives | In whichever inbox was used | One queue, acknowledged |
| Photos | Wrong angles, no registration | Guided upload link |
| Quote | From a personal phone | From the business, recorded |
| No reply | Forgotten | Followed up, then closed |
Quoting remains your estimator's judgement. The queue makes sure each enquiry is answered and recorded.
What private work looks like with a queue
Every enquiry is answered, whoever is on shift. Estimators get what they need in one place and quote faster. Customers who call back can be found by name or registration with the price they were given. You can see how many private enquiries arrive, how many you quote and how many book in.
That last point matters when deciding whether to put more effort into private work, because you are deciding with real enquiry numbers rather than a feeling.
Signs private enquiries are slipping
- Photos for quotes arrive on personal phones.
- You cannot say how many private enquiries came in last month.
- Customers call back about a price nobody can find.
- Enquiries wait days for a reply.
- Nobody follows up quotes that were not accepted.