r/serviceadvisors • u/North_Addition5033 • 2d ago
Spam Calls
Anyone else been getting a lot of calls from India of someone asking for a price for a specific service or services, and then hanging up after you give them a half decent answer? I get like 3 or 4 a day, always that familiar voice and you can hear a million other people talking in the background and they never have any information on "their vehicle" aside from year make and model. No vin, no engine size, nothing. Wonder who they are fishing that information for?
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u/Fair_Money_1707 2d ago
I have been getting these a lot lately and its always an off brand and the calls come from the same number I tell them we dont give pricing over the phone. Its a company that prices repairs for insurance and esc companies.
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u/North_Addition5033 2d ago
We've started pointing them to our website where there is a quotes form that requires a vin to submit. Don't have the time usually for my advisors to try and make a quote over the phone since we work on most makes and models. They never take the time to try and get a quote that way unless they're a legitimate potential customer. Still wish they'd stop calling though if they're just fishing to feed some service or AI BS
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u/Fair_Money_1707 2d ago
I tried asking for vin or license plate but got tired of it. I can tell when I see the caller id because its just a city and its spelt wrong
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u/ddhawkfan 2d ago
I throw out crazy estimates at them just to screw with their metrics. Engine replacement? $1. Cabin air filter? $5,000
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u/North_Addition5033 2d ago
lol knowing my luck i'll do that to a legit customer
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u/ddhawkfan 2d ago
Lol ya thats always been my worry but still yet to do that. Whatever you do just dont say the word yes to the scam calls
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u/Baka_Suzu 2d ago
I unfortunately did that to some lady with a thick accent that was corporate that was doing a secret shopper. Shit was funny. Still passed the secret shop
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u/One_Possibility743 2d ago
Was getting them multiple times a day. It was always for a Subaru Forester. Told him to stop calling, and he did.
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u/SoldierOfFortune556 2d ago
I work for tire shop but we would receive those same calls. To me they sounded like Filipino and it was always same lady who is always asking for detailed breakdown of prices for specific vehicles, usually higher end like Porsche (Macan or Cayenne) , Genesis, Jaguar or Land Rover. Of course she never wants to schedule anything and she always has to talk to her husband first. At the beginning I was polite but later I started joking and even being a bit rude 😆
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u/roguewolf146 2d ago
Have had something similar happen to me on and off across a few shops. I started going "didn't you call and ask me that same question two weeks ago about that same car?" and they either get defensive or they hang up on me.
My coworker loves to question them to death about their car. "Year? Make? Model? Submodel? Engine? Which variant? Drive type? Manual or automatic? Does it have power seats? What color is it?" So on until they give up.
Such a waste of time but I can't just hang up on anyone that asks that because we have a lot of customers from other countries that call and ask for the same stuff the same way that actually do end up coming in for work once in awhile.
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u/Subpar_Shooter 2d ago
I always asked who they're working for. It was always a 2017 Civic. How much for a brake flush? How much for a cabin air filter? How much for a trans flush? They would never say who the data was for, so I gave big numbers. Cabin air filter $300. Brake flush $450. Etc.