Why the phone is the problem
MOT calls are short and they never stop. They arrive while the tester is in the bay with a car on the ramp, and each one is a diary question that takes thirty seconds to answer and a whole test to interrupt. The ones that go unanswered are the ones somebody else picks up.
Here is each kind of call, and what should happen on it. The page for MOT stations covers what an assistant does for a station like yours, and the recorded calls include an MOT booking from start to finish.
“When is your next slot?”
The most common call, and the shortest. The answer is a real time in the diary, not “we will ring you back”. A caller who is told a day and a time books; a caller who is told to wait rings the next station.
A good processOffers the next slots that genuinely exist, takes the registration, reads it back and books on a yes.
“I failed. When can I bring it back?”
A retest is a different job from a first test, and it is often booked by somebody who is already annoyed. It needs recording as a retest so nobody mistakes it for a fresh one.
A good processNotes that the car has been tested and failed, books the slot available for it, and flags it as a retest in the message you get.
“How much is an MOT?”
The price is the same question every time, and the answer belongs to you. It should be the figure you have set and never a guess.
A good processQuotes only the price you have entered, and says the garage will confirm where it does not have one.
“When is mine due?”
A tempting call to automate, and one to be careful with. A due date stated from memory, or from a lookup nobody has checked with the owner, is a date somebody relies on.
A good processAsks the caller when the car is due or what they need, rather than telling them, and books the slot they choose.
“Do you do vans?”
A question about what you will and will not test. A wrong yes wastes a morning, and a wrong no loses the customer.
A good processAnswers from the services you have listed, and takes a message for the ones that need a decision from you.
What to have ready before you hand it over
- The hours you can test, and how long a test slot takes.
- How many cars you can take at once, and how much notice you need.
- The price you want quoted, and which vehicles you will and will not test.
- Where you want the booking to land the moment the call ends.
None of that is technical. It is what you would tell a new receptionist on their first morning, and the setup guide shows where each answer goes.