Yes, I have been on a kick about who owns the data that a shop owner collects. And, I want to clear up any misconceptions out there in this auto repair world about who owns a shop’s data, even the data collected from your Digital Vehicle Inspection reports. Once again, the answer is YOU, the shop owner, who works hard every day to build a trusting relationship with your customer. That DVI is part of your customer data that you need to keep up with that customer’s vehicle.
I get this question asked a lot: “Chris, if I used Autoflow and decide a year from now that I no longer want to use it, what happens to my data?” This question concerned me, because I have not had the answer until now. If you use the Autoflow workflow, communication, DVI, and QC for your digital workflow solution, and in a year or a few months from now you aren’t happy with our system, I am, from this day forward, giving you access to your data for one year. That means you can continue to login to Autoflow and view your archived history of conversations and past completed DVIs and QCs. Of course, you won’t be able to use the AWESOME features of the tool, but YOUR data will be there for YOU to look over, download, or access online anytime.
I am a shop owner, and I work hard everyday to please customers who are already mad at me because their cars are broken and don’t have the money to fix them. I work hard to turn them around to have a pleasant experience. I work hard to collect that data on them so that next time, I can pick up where I left off.
Who owns your Digital Vehicle Inspection data? You do, just like you own the customer data you collected from your Shop Management System.
Chris Cloutier
Architect/President at Autoflow
The Desire for Continuous Improvement
As an auto repair shop owner of Golden Rule Auto Care, Chris Cloutier realized the need for a better way to communicate with his customers as he observed how communication gaps created bottleneck situations and wasted valuable rack time.
