Service department phone scripts
Dealership service phone scripts for the five calls that matter.
Word-for-word scripts for a service department: booking an appointment, a recall call, a repair status check, an after-hours caller and a transfer to a person. Use them at your desk today, then see how Cleo handles the same calls.
Five scripts
Five service calls, and what to say on each.
01 · Book a service appointment
Open: “Thanks for calling [dealership] Service, this is [name]. Are you looking to book a service appointment?”
Ask one thing at a time: name (spell it back), best callback number, vehicle, mileage if they know it, what it needs, and when they want to come in.
Offer real times: “I have [time] or [time]. Which works better?”
Close: say the day and time only after it is in the schedule. If nothing fits, offer a callback.
02 · Recall call
Open: “Thanks for calling [dealership] Service. Is this about a recall notice?”
Ask: the vehicle, what the notice says, and the best callback number.
Say: “I will get you to the service team to set up the recall repair.” Connect them if the desk is open. If not, take a message.
Do not promise parts, repair time or a loaner until someone has confirmed it.
03 · Repair status check
Open: “Thanks for calling [dealership] Service. Are you checking on a car that is in with us?”
Ask: name and vehicle.
Say: “Let me get you to the advisor who has your car.” Do not guess at progress or a ready time.
If the advisor cannot pick up: “They are with another customer. Can I take your number so they call you back?”
04 · After-hours caller
Open: “Thanks for calling [dealership] Service. We are closed right now and open again [day] at [time].”
Offer: “I can book you an appointment, or take a message for the service team.”
Booking: use script 01. Message: name, number and what they need.
Close: “The team will call you when we open.” Say it only if someone will.
05 · Transfer to a person
Open: “Of course, let me connect you to [name or department].”
Brief them: tell the person taking the call who is on the line and what they need, so the caller does not repeat themselves.
If there is no answer: “They are not available right now. Can I take your name and number so they call you back?”
Never leave a caller on hold without telling them what is happening.
06 · Make them yours
Fill in the [brackets] with your own dealership name, hours, names and department titles.
One question at a time, in the caller’s own words.
Never guess at a repair status or a ready time you have not confirmed.
End every call with a next step: a booked time, a transfer, or a named person who will call back.
These are generic examples. Adapt the wording to your dealership, your hours and your phone system.
How Cleo handles these calls
The same five calls, answered by Cleo.
Booking, recalls and status checks
Booking: Cleo asks one question at a time (name with a spell-back, callback number, vehicle, mileage, what it needs and when), checks the open times in your scheduler and confirms a day and time only after the booking is created. If the booking fails, it takes a callback request for your team instead of retrying.
Recalls: with the recall workflow, Cleo does not schedule recall repairs itself. It transfers the caller to your service team when it is open, and takes a callback request when it is closed or the transfer fails.
Repair status: with the vehicle status workflow, Cleo does not answer status questions or guess at a ready time. It transfers the caller to service, and takes a callback request if no one is available.
After hours and transfers
After hours: Cleo answers around the clock. When the service department is closed it can still book appointments and take callback requests. It does not try to transfer to a closed department: it says so and offers a callback or to take a message.
Transfers: when the caller names a person or extension, Cleo transfers straight away. For a department, it checks that the department is open first. If the transfer does not go through, it offers a callback. Who Cleo can transfer to is the list of people and departments your dealership sets up, and a transfer can be set to brief the person before the caller is connected.
Which workflows Cleo uses, and which people and departments it can transfer to, are set up per dealership. Cleo follows step-by-step workflows in its own natural wording, not these scripts word for word. To hear how Cleo would answer your service calls, book a 30-minute demo.
Real dealership results
1,678 calls answered. 447 booking-outcome calls.
1,678
Calls Cleo answered at Stevens Creek Subaru, September 21 to October 20, 2026
447
Of those calls ended as a booked appointment (booking-outcome calls)
112
Appointments Cleo booked at El Cerrito Honda in a separate 30 days (Cleo dashboard, captured September 26, 2026)
A booking-outcome call is a call that ended as a scheduled appointment in Cleo’s call log. It is not a completed appointment and it is not revenue: Cleo does not report whether customers arrived or what work was paid for. The two dealerships are counted separately, over different windows. For the wider call mix, see our call statistics: 36,070 inbound calls that reached Cleo from September 22 to October 21, 2026. These are results at specific dealerships, not a promise of yours.
Source: Stevens Creek Subaru case study, September 21 to October 20, 2026. Read the case study →
FAQ
Still have questions?
What should a service advisor say when answering the phone?
Say the department and your name, then ask one open question or offer to book: “Thanks for calling [dealership] Service, this is [name]. How can I help?” Then ask one thing at a time, and end every call with a next step: a booked time, a transfer, or a named person who will call back.
How should we handle a caller asking for a repair status?
What should the phone say when the service department is closed?
Does Cleo follow these scripts?
Contact
Hear how Cleo answers your service calls.
Book a 30-minute demo and hear how Cleo would answer your service calls and book appointments when the phones get busy.
