Batman Needs a Robin: Meet Your Shop’s New Sidekick Ninja App [THA 479]
Remarkable Results Radio Podcast
Batman Needs a Robin: Meet Your Shop’s New Sidekick Ninja App [THA 479]
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Company
NapaTrax
NapaTrax is software that auto repair shops use to keep everything organized. Instead of relying on paper or scattered systems, it helps the shop manage day-to-day work and customer info in one place.
Term
SMS systems
“SMS” here means the computer system a repair shop uses to run the business. It can help with things like tracking jobs and keeping customer and vehicle info organized.
Concept
shop management system
A shop management system is the software that helps an auto shop run its daily work. It can help the shop keep jobs organized and make sure information doesn’t get lost.
Car
Chevrolet Trax
The Chevrolet Trax is a small SUV made for regular daily use. It’s meant to be easy to drive and practical for things like commuting and errands. In your quote, “Trax” sounds like it may be referring to something else, not the car.
Company
Kukui
Kukui is a marketing platform for businesses. The idea is it helps turn website visitors into customers and keeps track of what marketing is actually working.
Concept
automated follow up
Automated follow-up means the system reaches out to people automatically after they contact you. It helps make sure leads don’t get forgotten.
Concept
one and done cycle
A “one and done” customer is someone who comes once and then disappears. The problem is the shop has to keep finding new customers instead of building repeat business.
Company
Pit Crew Loyalty
Pit Crew Loyalty sounds like a customer retention program. The goal is to get people to come back for more service instead of only visiting once.
Term
CRM
CRM is software that helps a business keep track of customers. It can show how many times someone has visited and when it’s a good time to contact them.
Term
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme is a popular doughnut shop. Here it’s mentioned in a fun story about making doughnuts using a kitchen device.
Concept
rebate
A rebate is money back or a discount that you’re supposed to get. Here, the shop needs to catch it in the system before they finish the job so the customer actually receives the deal.
Term
free oil change
A free oil change is a promo where the shop covers the cost of changing the engine oil. The episode is about making sure the advisor sees the offer in the system.
Term
wiper blades
Wiper blades are the parts that wipe the windshield clean. If they’re worn, visibility gets worse, so the shop wants to replace them before the customer has a problem.
Concept
lifetime value
Lifetime value means how much money a customer brings to the shop over time. If customers keep coming back, the shop earns more overall.
Company
AppFuel
AppFuel sounds like the company that makes the app the shop uses. The point is to make sure customers only get discounts or rebates when they’ve actually engaged with the app, not just because an advisor mentions it at the counter.
Concept
customer profile
A customer profile is just the app keeping track of you. Here, you have to set it up and stay active so the app can unlock the rebate.
Concept
gamification
Gamification means turning something like an app into a game. In this case, you earn points/stars for actions, which keeps you interested and coming back.
Concept
records of vehicles you own
The app remembers what cars you have. That way, the shop can contact you about service for those other cars too.
Concept
repair order
A repair order is the shop’s official paperwork for a car job. It’s where they record what the customer wants, what the car needs, and what work gets done.
Concept
omnichannel
Omnichannel just means a company tries to reach you in more than one way—like phone, email, and an app—so it feels seamless. The point here is deciding which channels to keep versus remove.
Concept
app alerts
App alerts are the notifications you get on your phone from an app. The point is that people are more likely to notice and act on these alerts than on random emails.
Concept
click-to-call
Click-to-call means you tap a number on a screen and the phone starts dialing automatically. It saves time and reduces the chance of mistakes compared to typing the number.
Concept
service record
A service record is the documented history of maintenance and repairs performed on a vehicle. For shops, having accurate service records supports better diagnostics and more transparent recommendations. For customers, it helps verify what was done and when.
Term
AI ROX
AI ROX is the name of the feature they’re rolling out. It’s meant to improve and measure the whole service experience around your car’s repair order.
Concept
non-update update
Sometimes nothing new has happened yet, but customers still want to know you’re on it. A “non-update update” is a quick message that says, “No change, but we’re still working and we haven’t forgotten you.”
Term
back order
A back order is when a needed part isn’t in stock, so it has to be ordered and you wait for it to arrive. It can slow the repair down, even if the shop is doing everything else.
Concept
white glove approach
It’s a fancy way of saying the shop treats the customer like they’re getting top-tier service. Even if there’s a delay, they communicate clearly and handle everything carefully.
Concept
loyalty program
A loyalty program is how a business rewards you for coming back. It often uses “levels” so people feel motivated to reach a higher status tier.
Concept
TSA pre-check
TSA PreCheck is a special program that helps you get through airport security faster. If you qualify, the security line is usually quicker and you don’t have to do as many steps.
LIVE
This is the Automotive Repair Podcast Network.
Hey everybody, Karm Capriotto, a remarkable results radio.
Good to have you here back at Vision 2026 here at the Overland Park Convention
Center. And I know it doesn't matter what time it is, but I think in about a
half hour, the expo hall opens after the second day of training.
We're always excited to be here.
Tracy did a training class with Sarah and I did great that I facilitated the
mastermind, CEO mastermind today and it was really, really good.
Also, thank you so much to NapaTrax for sponsoring us here.
I talk too much about SMS systems and the total usage of them.
And I got to tell you, everybody that I spoke to says, yeah, yeah, we're
probably a little shy of using all the great features that are in all the
SMS's. The thing I love about NapaTrax is they've got local people daily training.
There's nothing they won't do for any different position in your company to
know and understand how to make their SMS, the NapaTrax SMS, a very powerful
tool in your company.
I got a very interesting episode on tap for you.
You're going to really like it because we're going to talk about some really
neat new software that's coming out from one of the guys who's with and he's
been on before. I'll tease you with his name, Jeremy Glasgow.
We'll be right back.
Hey, for over 30 years, NapaTrax has made selecting the right shop management
system easy by offering the best, most comprehensive SMS in the industry.
We'll prove to you that Trax is the single best shop management system in the business.
Find NapaTrax on the web at NAPATRACS.com.
Hey, how well does your team know their stuff?
Test their automotive skills with the Today's Class Basic Advanced or Service
Advisor quizzes.
It's a quick, effective way to spot gaps and grow stronger teams.
Take the quizzes now at today'sclass.com forward slash TCQuiz.
Shop owners stop juggling multiple marketing tools.
Kukui's integrated platform, they deliver four times better website
conversions, automated follow up and real time ROI tracking.
Get industry leading customer support with Kukui.
That's KUKUI.com.
You're probably tired of chasing new customers who never return.
We understand.
Pit Crew Loyalty ends the one and done cycle, turning first visits into
lasting reliable revenue on the web at pitcrewloyalty.com.
Jeremy, welcome to the show, my friend.
How are you doing?
I'm great, Karm.
Jeremy Glasgow, founder of AppFueled, unlike any other CRM in the entire world.
It's a bold claim, but we're making it.
It is, yeah.
And the founder of the original mobile app, Ninja.
Damn.
We're going to talk a little bit about this Ninja app.
Joe, Schindler is with us.
Family Legacy Company from what, 1972.
65.
65, even longer.
Yep.
I read that one in 1972 on your website.
You better change it.
Well, 72 is when we were in the, we're in the building we're in now.
65 is the start date for my, they started it up, but they moved to this
location.
So we have been in one location since 1972.
Okay, Joe.
Floyd's knobs.
I'm sorry.
That is just a funny sounding town name.
We get made fun of because of it and stuff because it used to be Floyd
knobs without an S.
Now they put two S's on it and everything.
Floyd's knobs.
God.
It's actually listed in some place, one of the dirtiest names.
Tell you what I mean, we're right down the road from French lick.
So Indian.
Oh my God.
Two on one.
So, oh my God.
Okay.
That's all in Indiana.
Please be careful when you drive through Indiana.
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, you don't want to get stuck in Floyd's knobs or French lick.
You say it's French lick.
Yes, just down the road.
And they have a motel six, I'm sure.
Carm, since we're talking about towns, I live in a town that's going to be
greatly confused with your sponsor.
Shout out to your sponsor, Nampa, Idaho.
Yeah.
And everyone goes like, Nampa, Nampa, N-A-M-P-A.
But it's really close.
It's right in there.
It's right in there.
I get it all the time.
Okay.
So I'm talking about this whole gap thing of, you know, the app gap that
exists before we turn, if you were ever behind the scenes in any of my
episodes, especially when we go live, we seem to start doing the episode.
It says, okay, let's structure this.
I've got some notes.
Here's the way we want to make sure we give the listener.
And then, but we're about eight minutes in and we've already done the episode.
Yeah.
We couldn't contain ourselves.
I just can't.
That's great.
So what is your opinion on what this app gap is all about?
Okay.
My opinion on an app gap, it's not there for any of us in the auto industry as consumers.
Right, Carm?
So if any of us are rebuying right now, I would wager, I don't know, $5 that when
you rebuy, probably you're on the third or fourth rebuy, you're using an app.
Really?
That's as a consumer.
So rebuying.
I had one relationship.
Second, you say by the third, I'm using an app.
Third or fourth visit, I'm going to wager that you're using an app.
Wow.
Uh, Southwest Airlines.
Okay.
Amazon.
Okay.
Costco, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A.
And our grocery store, and our Walmart, is that what you're saying?
The list goes on.
So we don't have an app gap as consumers.
But where we do have it is with us asking our consumers to get our app.
And that gap just, it's why I don't sleep at night.
I do not sleep at night.
Because you're wondering how to pull them in?
Well, as consumers, we all know apps work.
We all use them.
It makes doing business easier at that business.
And that's why we download them.
And we don't download them because we think that the app does not build trust.
The app is used when you trust someone.
And so I've always misunderstood that, right?
I mean, as an app builder, I'm really biased on this.
I go, oh, we're going to build you an amazing app.
You're going to look legit.
You're going to be in the app stores.
You're going to be an amazing brand.
Your customers won't download it because you have an app.
They'll download it because they trust you.
And coming back to your shop will be easier.
You'll have some value in there.
You'll have some conveniences.
And that's why, as consumers, we use apps.
So that app gap is, how do we close it in our industry?
Carm?
And that's why I'm so thankful I'm on the show, just to get the question out there.
Like, I'm not claiming to have all the answers, but that is the question.
Why do we have an app gap?
I just love what you just said.
It just really rocked my soul.
They only put the app down because they trust you.
Yeah, I've had it wrong.
I think I've been telling the story since 2015.
We used to be a different company.
We've rebranded, app-fueled.
And why did we do that?
And my thought was, let's fuel the rebuy experience.
Everyone talks about retention.
No guys like Craig O'Neill.
Just brilliant mind to talk about retention and relationship.
I'm just under the impression that it can't be left to only text, only email,
only postcards, and only phone calls.
I'm not against any of those things.
But why not also an app?
So that's, I kind of just wrestle with the question every day.
Why an app gap?
Okay. My mind is reeling in a million places,
and I got to try to control it and bring it down.
Joe will be with you in a minute.
Joe's our guest here, too.
And I know Joe wants to say a ton of things,
but coming from Floyd's knobs, how much?
Oh, sorry, Joe.
I didn't know it was going to be like this.
I get picked on everywhere, so I go, good.
So here it is.
It's the rebuy experience.
So I come into your shop, Jeremy.
I'm a brand new client.
And you just do great things for me.
And I come second time.
Every CRM, all the software we have in the world
can tell you this is my third, fourth, or fifth visit.
It can.
And if on the third visit, is that when I talk about my app with you?
I mean, you could.
I would say you're missing the boat.
You could wait till the third visit.
The reality is, half of your customers,
you won't see for a third visit.
So I wouldn't wait till the third visit.
But you said that I'm not going to download it
until the third visit.
Well, it's possible that that's true.
We have evidence that you can move the needle.
You can move people to download something for other reasons.
So things like, I probably mentioned this on one of your shows before,
I didn't trust Krispy Kreme,
like that they were going to be a nutritional donut.
But they did offer me a free donut,
and I downloaded their app to get that donut.
It wasn't that I trusted Krispy Kreme in all things,
or maybe they were going to help me with chocolate milk, too.
Like I may not have known all the things Krispy Kreme was going to do.
But at that moment, I wanted a free donut.
And so we can do that in our shops, too.
We can get crafty.
We can have swag.
We can have something special that's going to happen today.
We could have a spin the wheel contest.
We could, I mean, restaurant people are great at this.
You might get a free appetizer by downloading our app today.
At Applebee's.
You don't have to wait till the third time.
Got it.
But the probability is most people won't be using and engaging in your app
until that second, third visit.
Again, I say go for it now, though.
Why not ask?
Jeremy.
Krispy Kreme's.
Okay.
You like them?
Well, I like free donuts.
And so, but it's very difficult to go get free donuts.
Am I right?
What do you have to do?
Be homeless, sit on the corner?
What do you have to do?
Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of ways.
Like I teach a discipleship group of high school boys and they get free donuts for me.
So, you know, you can just show up to random.
You don't have mentors that might bring you free donuts,
but otherwise it's a challenge to go get them free donuts.
Have you ever taken a waffle iron?
Krispy Kreme in the middle of it.
Have it very nice and hot.
Close the cover and wait.
How long, Trace?
Just not even 10 seconds, I think.
10, maybe 15 seconds.
Lift the lid.
Take a look at that.
Krispy Kreme that's got those square marks all over it.
Cut it in half.
Put it in your mouth.
You've never, ever done a Krispy Kreme like that before, ever.
And we actually did a show, an entire show.
It has to three years ago.
Can we do round two?
I mean, can I be invited?
And Joe?
Joe, we're coming back.
Isaac Rodell.
There he is.
Every year.
There he is.
Every year.
Sunday morning.
Thank you, Joe.
Was it 100, 200 donuts he brings in?
And he does a little waffle iron.
Best thing you'll ever eat.
And so here's the story.
This was the coolest thing.
Trace, he says, we got to do this.
So he brings it into our studio.
So we didn't have a lot of chaos going on.
He brought a box, the waffle iron's on.
And I said, Trace, just go and interview him.
She approaches it like she's a news person
for the first time discovering this unbelievable treat.
And she's starting to ask really tough questions of Isaac.
And it is a boot because you know we're playing it for fun.
Yeah.
And it was so much fun.
And then somebody left to go get chocolate chips
or something like that was the funniest.
So I don't mean to be laborer or episode about crispy creams,
but you brought it up.
I do.
And I'll keep bringing it up if you want to.
I love, yes, yes.
You have this thing called the App Ninja.
And I really want to jump inside that thing.
You said, Karm, it's like,
if you have Batman, you have to have a Robin.
And Batman is everything that we have today,
but you need to have this sidekick.
You call it the sidekick.
Sidekick, Nijan.
What it is about the Batman, that just occurred to me one night.
Most people, if you're a client of App Fuels,
your customers should not know who we are.
Because we're building the app for you.
It's your branded app.
And so we are App Ninjas.
We hang out in the shadows.
We don't want your customer to know about us.
This is to position your brand in the right way.
So it just made sense to me when I was talking
with a branding cliche, we're talking about service advisors
have way too many tools, Jeremy, way too many tools.
And I said, OK, so they've got their hero.
Their hero is Batman.
So pick your shop management system.
You know, Naptracks, Techmatrix, Shopwear.
That's Batman.
And we knew to be the App Ninja that's in our DNA,
which is to come alongside your day without interrupting your day,
and not really asking you to use an extra tool is just come alongside the advisor.
And we thought Batman usually works alone at night.
Which is how he is.
But occasionally Robin shows up.
And that's that's how we view our Sidekick Ninja.
OK, so when you just come alongside their day.
Robin shows up on their screen.
That's right.
Yep.
And it does what for them?
Well, so the problem that we first wanted to tackle was
what we assumed was a missed call scenario.
And there's a lot of ways that can happen.
And not just a missed call, a missed engagement.
For example, if I was, let's just go along with the Krispy Kreme story for a moment.
At the window or wherever, the person told me I had a free donut, right?
I downloaded the app and then I drove around to the window.
If the person at the window couldn't within one second see that I was the customer
expecting a free donut, all you've done with that reward or that membership opportunity
or that loyalty is you've actually messed that person up.
Because you might be about to write that ticket.
Close them out.
And oh, wait a minute.
This was an A customer who had our app downloaded with a $12 rebate and 14 stars.
And they were actually a member.
And so that was really the first problem we wanted to close is we discovered that advisors.
Because they didn't they didn't have time to go to that extra tool.
Didn't even know what the customer's profile was.
So we thought, hey, you're in there looking at that ticket.
You're about to write that up.
Don't write this ticket up and forget their $13 rebate.
That customer's going to call you out.
Okay, all right.
So it makes so much sense to me because Joe, jump in any time.
I keep thinking about the word sidekick.
Listen, Tracy leads this network of ours.
She does 90% of the heavy lifting to get us where we are.
But she's my sidekick in many cases.
Sidekick Tracy.
To me, it is one of the most.
I think every one of us in this world that are doing good things for people
can't remember everything.
It's like, I'm so enamored about, okay, oh, tell me all about this client.
The phone calls that have come in, the work we've done, the future commitments,
the mileage.
Tell me about their family, their occupation.
Tell me about their dreams.
And all of that's in the CRM, but we have to stop and integrate it or open it.
And it would be so cool that if I'm kind of joking about my watch,
and last time Jeremy was on, the last thing we talked about, the blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, it's my watch could be my sidekick.
But you've decided to say, how can I give the kind of information
that continues to build loyalty and trust?
Because when I talk that language to the client, right, Joe?
They're looking at me and says, damn, how do you know all that about me?
How do you remember that stuff?
It's the key to remember that stuff.
It is the key because you've got so much going on.
And pre-psychic ninja, customer comes in, you have to remember to switch over to the website,
prep, field, look at the customer profile and put in.
At the same time, your phone's ringing, customers in front of you.
And then the next thing you know, you get a phone call, a day later,
hey, you forgot to put my 5% rebate, my free oil change, whatever's on there,
because didn't have it right there.
Now it stays on the screen.
It's right there to see.
And it's got a little spot that says, hey, you have a coupon available for this customer.
You click on it, see what coupon they have.
Oh, they've got a wiper, so wiper blades.
Okay.
So if the car's in for an oil change and basically the wipers were halfway,
we were quite gone.
But then now, hey, bring it back in, put a wiper blade on.
We're going to go ahead and take care of this in advance to take care of the customer and say,
hey, we applied this to you for your free wiper blades or the birthday.
We give a birthday for your birthday.
That's a great one for them.
Hey, I want to wish you a happy birthday.
You got $30 off coupon.
It's right there.
And that's what I've tried other CRMs.
And you had to log in, log out of different things.
And as an owner service advisor, since I do both roles,
I've got 400 things going through my mind at all times.
And I forget.
And then I've had customers call, hey, I had this.
They're not upset.
I had this.
You just nailed the feeling that every person who's listening here,
who's never been treated to the deserving discount coupon,
free something that you get.
Oh, that's great.
Well, the next time I get there, they didn't even remind me.
They didn't offer it.
They didn't know I'm pissed.
I am pissed.
And when you go to checkout, I can't remember where I was.
Oh, I think I went to OfficeMax.
I joined their program because we do a lot of our printing there and stuff.
And when I went there, the guy looked at me and he goes,
hey, you've got some points.
Do you want me to take it off of your order?
You had no clue.
I didn't.
I just signed up because they convinced me this was a good thing.
You're going to get some future discounts.
We won't bother you a lot.
And I said, okay, I figured he's not an incentive.
You know, I'm a businessman.
I come here.
And so that, wow, I see why I keep coming here.
They care.
Hey, let's face it.
Your shop management system is the single most important tool in your shop.
Period.
NapaTrax has made selecting the right shop management system easy
by offering the industry's best, most comprehensive SMS.
Now, it all starts when a local representative meets with you
to learn about your business and how you need to run it.
After all, it's your shop.
So it's your choice and having local representation is a huge plus.
Customizing tracks to your business, whether you're a one person shop
or a large multi-bay or multi-location company,
a representative consults with you to help optimize your shop's workflow,
efficiency and profitability.
Trax always has the flexibility to do business how you need to do it,
which means it can also grow as your business grows.
And unlike the other guys who'll be there for you after installation
with the best training and support in the business,
yes, a learning management system tailored to each role in your company.
Simply put, Trax was designed and built for shop owners just like you.
Visit us on the web at NapaTrax.
That's N-A-P-A-T-R-A-C-S dot com.
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I will protect the owner's money. Can I explain this for one second?
Yeah, yeah.
Some rebate programs, I'm not picking it in any particular because we've all experienced this.
You don't even know you have a rebate and you show up to a business. So as a consumer,
we've all done this. You walk in there, you didn't even know you had one. You came back
because you just came back. You walk up there and the person behind the counter does the great
thing, the honorable thing, the trustworthy thing, and they give you the rebate you didn't know you
had. That is great customer service. That's great trust, but it's also giving away money you didn't
have to give away because you came back without knowing about that rebate. So AppFuel, we want to
empower the owner to not give away their own money unless the consumer is the one that engaged with
the program. So for example, someone goes to Joe's shop, they don't have a rebate, a balance
that they didn't know about because they had an app and they unlocked it after the visit.
That's how we want to use the owner's money is it's an investment in them engaging in your brand
so that they saw it, they unlocked it, they swiped it, they looked at the ticket, they gave Joe a
thumbs up, thumbs down on the visit, and now it's in your brain. We just won some philosophical time.
We got six seconds out of your customer. Boom, your brands. So we don't want that moment to
happen that you just experienced. I don't want that to happen where an advisor is mentioning
rebate dollars that you didn't know about as a consumer. Is that fair, really?
I really understand protecting the money. I really get that. Yeah, I'm not arguing for
not giving it away. The consumer is more informed because the app empowers, updates you and keeps
the consumer to know this. Joe, you've got a really big ticket. The car needs a lot of work.
And over on Sidekick, you're seeing that there's a rebate out there that the customer hasn't asked
for. However, that works. Is it possible that that big ticket item could actually come in the
house if you remind that customer about that? Oh, it most certainly can stuff and everything
because if you've got a rebate, they're like, oh, well, I'll go ahead and do it. I understand what
you're saying. They can choose to use it when they need it if the client doesn't ask. And if
there's so much going on in our world to remember everything, we've got loyalty cards for the grocery
store. I mean, we're scanning it. Yeah, let me restate what I was trying to say. What I'm not
saying is that if the rebate is there, I think Joe should be quiet about it. I'm not saying that.
What I'm saying is our app does not add the rebate dollars to their account unless the customer
keeps the app on their phone, creates a profile, and then within 24 hours unlocks the dollars
themselves. I see. If they don't do that, the rebate dollars actually expire and go away. Okay.
They have to be engaged. They have to stay engaged to keep the app to have the rebate
bounce. If they unsubscribe, it all goes away. Okay. That's fair. No, I'm not asking that.
I hope I didn't say it that way. I'm not trying to get advisors. And I'm sorry, I read it the wrong
way. But I'm good at miscommunicating. So part of what my job is here is that if I was unclear,
my audience, maybe I think it's clear. And I want to drive down there. Okay.
And I think one of Jeremy's things that he's not mentioned, because he taught me about it,
is gamification. And basically, that was a conversation we had was that basically,
he engages the client and gamifies it so that they get the adrenaline rush by unlocking stars,
by adding vehicles. So one of the things I loved about it initially was customer comes in,
I've got their 2010 Chevrolet Silverado. I'm working on it. They download the app and they
get home because he sends a text to him, hey, you're free of my app because I actually charge
for my app because they get some great benefits. I get like $300 with benefits for $59.99. First
year's free. So they go home, they download it. And then they go in, oh, I get 20 stars for every
vehicle I own and add. So now I have records, hey, he is a BMW, he has an Audi, and he has a Corvette.
And he's got all these cars, he's put in his things. So next time he comes in,
hey, I know you bring your Chevrolet pickup truck here, but you've got these other vehicles,
we do work on those so we can work on those for you. It's just a reminder to basically
reach out to customer, learn about them, and basically be able to say, we can do that work.
Information is power. Yes.
Plain and simple. And so if they're playing in the app, you gain the benefit of all of that
information and you ask, why not? Yeah, I mean, I get their, we already got their name, the phone
number and address and everything. We might not collect the email that day. To me, email has
somewhat went away because you get bombarded, so they ignore that. But they give you your email
because it earns them stars. So now I get their email, I get their birthday because they get an
extra $10 off their next visit for giving me their birthday, which is a big thing because I get a
report of birthdays and I'm like, hey, this person's birthday this week. And they get a notification.
A hot, crispy cream on your birthday. If there was one around your shop.
I'm all about co-partning with people. So yes, I mean, you get so much information to dig in and
like you said, being able to collect all that information and tell your customer and say,
oh, I just want to wish you a happy birthday today. When they come in the week before or
everything, and then you got rebate, I think 30 days is the expiration. Yeah, you can adjust it.
So this app combines phones, texts and emails and Sidekick Ninja is bringing that all up,
integrating with the phone. Whose phone system do you integrate with? Well, this is where we,
like I think we're blowing people's minds. Thank you, Joe. This is where I have to get to say
a thank you to Joe. It's call inbound. Joe is a call. Great people, by the way. They're
sponsoring our shows. Yeah, he has blown us away. Like what is actually possible with a phone system?
And so for AppFuel to be a CRM, I've wrestled with it to be honest, like does a CRM have to
become a phone system in today's world? And the answer I'm coming up with is no, because I know
David over at call inbound. So Joe, like reach out to Joe, you go, Joe, this is unreal. We think
we can show all of your phone calls. Every phone call your shop has, we can AI score it,
transcribe, record it, and give it to you all wrapped up in a nice, let's call it gift wrap bow,
right there next to the repair order. So if Joe's looking at a repair order today,
and he clicks on our little ninja, it opens up, he can see all of the texts, calls,
whether it was from the shop management system, or from AppFuel, the CRM, or from the phone system,
sees it all up to two days before the repair was opened, and up to two days after the repair
order was closed. So rather than looking through a whole customer thread of calls and texts that
might be unrelated, we just kind of wrap it up and say, here was your repair order. Now,
why do we go back two days before and two days after we're looking for that appointment reminder
moment? Sometimes there's some texting going on in there that happens the day before. During the
visit, there's a lot of calls and texts as Joe knows, he's an advisor owner, you get that there's
a thousand things happening while the tickets open. Then when the ticket posts, because you usually
have things like rebates going out, you have things like a Google review prompt, you might have a
call center task that's loaded up in your ninja prompting you to make that next day satisfaction
call, it's all visible right there with the repair order. So at any moment that Joe wants to, he
could go back in time, hey, I want to like maybe a customer calls back and he's wanting to rehash
a visit from two months ago, he could click on that repair order, open the ninja, and he'll see
all of the communication with that visit in one click. It's scary smart right there. It's scary
smart. The fact is that one thing he hit on right there was being able to have the reminder, hey,
I need to do the 24 hour follow up and call my client and say, hey, did everything go okay? Or
did there was any issues? And I have a record of that because if I just see, did I miss that?
It's not on here. It's not my, because it's a little task. It's a little task master for you.
To be able to tell a client the last time we talked, the last time we text,
I'm telling you that's scary. That's scary smart. I'm not saying that the client would be scary.
It's scary in a good way that they look at you and say, wow, these people really care. They've
got this detailed information about the safety and the reliability of my vehicle and value me as
a client, that they track all of this because they don't stay on the center line. We know this
stuff because we don't want you to go left or right. So when did this hit you that you had to
do this? Well, I mean, this vision, it came in 2015, Karm. It was that the word back then nobody
really knew the word was omnichannel. Right. Right. That word's been around for a decade now,
maybe longer, but that's as far back as I can remember. And when I think of omnichannel,
again, back to it's more of a question than it is that I have the answer. But if the statement is,
we want an omnichannel, how could we leave phones out? And how can we leave apps out? I don't think
you can. Right. And by experiencing what we're all experiencing as consumers today, a lot of
businesses, the first channel they're actually to get rid of is phones. And I don't think our
industry's up for that. I don't think we should. You deal with Amazon, you're not calling an Amazon
rep on the phone right now. That's probably not happening. You're not going to talk to a human
and get some help on an Amazon order. So our industry, we're not going to get rid of phones,
which I think is great. Good. Let's keep it that way. But then in other industries, they might cut
out email, but they're not cutting out email and not replacing with something. If they cut out email,
it's because you became a direct channel. You chose the channel they wanted. And I use Starbucks
as the perfect example. I don't get Starbucks emails anymore. But it's not that Starbucks
doesn't believe in email. They email people too, but they know they have me in the app.
They're tracking my actions and I get app alerts. So, and that's the channel they want me in,
because I'm way more likely to click on a Starbucks app alert than I would be on a random
email because I have 400 emails, but I only have a few businesses that I trust enough
to allow an app alert channel to be reaching me. Again, I'm just kind of wrestling with those
questions, Karm. But it was in 2015, I just said a CRM should not exist in today. And that was back
then. I still believe it today. It shouldn't exist unless it's considering the direct channel
of app alerts, profile notifications. Phone. I mean, yeah, absolutely phones. We had phones
about four years ago. Of course, there's a group that pushed us to go next level. Now, when I say
phones, we don't ship out phones. We're not a phone company. But we did allow our system to be
clicked to call. So this sidekick ninja we're talking about here, Joe can click on a phone
number inside a shop management system and it's dialing outbound. So we've minimized people
having to pick up a phone and type in 10 numbers and it's still just making an outbound call from
your phone system. So it brings the phone and then you pick it up. Oh, it doesn't even do that.
You just have a headset. Yeah. Oh, you're doing it with a headset. Yeah. Basically,
I click the button and I use Apple. So I have my Apple iPod or your phone in and it basically
will direct the phone call to my ear. What about cell? Like calling from a cell phone.
They call you on a cell. They call you on a cell. It's just an inbound phone call.
It's an inbound phone call. Yeah. I mean, it comes right to it. So it doesn't matter if the old
landline things. It wouldn't matter how they dial. There's some instances on how like Joe might
dial. He can dial from the app field app if he wants to. So he can dial from a phone. He could
be on the road making a call from his call inbound phone number from an app from his phone.
So it's all recorded. It's all pulled together. It's app information. It's
repair order information. And it's the CRM if we're intelligently pulling in the acronym of
Ford Family Occupation Recreation and Dreams. Yeah. There are so many great points.
All of this came from John de Julius years ago is that you've got to know this stuff about your
client if you want to have a very powerful and trusted relationship. You need to know what's
going on because being able to talk their language to them and now you've got this side
ninja with all this other stuff over here. It's like the doctors say we have this medical chart
thing and you could sign on and you can see all the blood work the last time you were in and
drugs that you've been given and taken and your pharmacy. It's all there. Really kind of saying
is we got your ass covered. Your vehicle covered. This is why you come here because we're all
knowing and all seeing we're Oz. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's scary. This is the Oz sidekick ninja.
And the thing is you hit on something right there because I have that app for my doctors.
I see everything and I had a client the other day that called me. Hey, can you send me this,
this and this? I want to remember what I have lost my things. I said, you have my app, right?
He said, yes, I said, well, I'll send them to you by text, but you can just go on your app.
It's connected to you. You can pull your vehicle up and you can look at any service record in my
system on your app. I mean, he goes, I didn't know I could do that. And that has been my selling point
for downloading the app. Basically, clients come in and they basically will actually have had four
or five in the last couple of weeks. They lose their basically paperwork and all of a sudden,
they need the paperwork for something. Neither selling the car. They got a quarantine question.
They didn't know it was available because they were an early client that I had that I
did not push real heavy on the feature. Now they are and they're like, oh, I can do that. Okay,
great. And that is one of the big selling points of the app because you have every service record
I have in my system. So, yeah, it's great. And Joe, like we've got a couple, you know,
AI is the buzz, right, guys? Who's not going to bring up AI in a show? I'll bring it up.
It'll be the fourth time today. Yeah, fourth time today. But I'm actually going to go past
the word of AI. Like this is what we're doing. It's AI rocks. I'm putting it out here for the
first time. AI ROX. First time you guys have heard it. It's trademarked AI ROX. And it stands for
authentically intelligent repair order experience. So it's not AI like artificial intelligence.
It's authentically intelligence repair order experience. And what that is is we are capturing
we're about to roll this out. So we had to get the phones in first. Thanks, Joe. It's a huge win
because we got the phones in there. We've got the text in there. We've got the consumer engagement
in there. We have the notes in there. We even now have all of the status updates from the SMS in
there. So guess what we're doing, guys? We're putting that into a score, a repair order experience
score. So we've always been able to score customers. We give them an A through F,
but we thought and everybody can score calls, you know, real estate scores calls,
app field scores calls, a lot of people score calls. But what we're doing is we're taking the
collective, that entire repair order experience, that whole journey, all of the message communication.
Did they engage? Did they not? Did they become a member? Did they not? How the advisor do on
the timing? Did we do what we said we were going to do? We're even finding trust breaches in there.
So if the advisor says something like, this was supposed to happen at three, and then there was
a bad sentiment in a call, we're wrapping it all up. And we're calling it the authentically
intelligence repair order experience score and IROX so that you can look through your tickets for
the day and you go, how did we do as a shop today? You're going to see your every repair order you
have, not just every call you have scored, but the actual visit experience. I love it.
And that I'm so excited to do and we could not do it without phones. So thanks for David for
helping us get this integration. We're about to go big time with it, but it's just guys,
if we can put this story together and help shop owners look at how we're doing, how is our team
doing? Did the car get delivered well? Did the call after go well and just kind of put it into
an experience that we can look at and get better at shops? I don't know if we said it here today,
but a word that just hit me upside the head was the word collective.
And I also came up with another incentive for our peoples. It's an AI ROX score. Didn't you say
there's a score? It's a score. It's a score, right? It's a score. It takes 12 ingredients.
If we're measuring all of these individual and or particular areas of do they have the app,
are they engaged with it? What's our phone call records look like as it gets opportunity,
digital vehicle inspections, delayed work, all comes into the AI ROX score somehow.
It's either the company has it or the service advisor has it assigned. This could go a lot of
places. Yeah. And our thought was not to scare someone like Joe. We didn't want it to be like,
advisors, you're being watched by the Justice League and we're coming down hard. It's just you
could have live information. You make that next day satisfaction call to the customer.
You're going to see all the sentiment of the calls yesterday. You're going to know how it went.
So it's more of a self-improvement if we view it that way. Of course, everyone can
use it the wrong way. I think these tools should be used as self-improvement. So advisors that like
their job. Honestly, as the service advisor, I mean, I actually audit my calls all the time
to see if I am not speaking correctly because I have been told multiple times I talk too fast on
the phone and I do and I try to work on it. So knowing where I dropped the ball in the customer
experience, I can work on that and improve myself to do that. So it would be a coaching tool where
you can say, hey, we need to work better on the communication while the vehicle's in because
that is where I dropped the ball is basically keeping up to date the client so that I'm not
getting a phone call three hours after. So I love this idea because it's going to blow
making customers experience better overall. At the mastermind this morning, we were talking
about huddles and meetings and some people would do it. They do an eight, I think a 10 a noon and a
two and at the 10 o'clock huddle as they regroup, even if the car, it's a non-update update. That's
what it is. Thank you, Trace. A non-update update. I like that. I'm going to call the client. I have
nothing to tell him, but I want him to hear from me. The part didn't arrive. It was on
back order. It was supposed to arrive this morning. It didn't. We're following through,
but we want to let you know. We haven't forgotten about you. I know I'm porting the vehicle is to
you, but we're still at a standstill on this. A non-update update. I'd almost say something
Jeremy did whenever I started with him, the white glove approach. Basically, you're handling them
like they have just purchased a Rolls Royce and everything's going to be touched, handled to you
with white gloves on. I love that approach to it as well. You know where's the hell out of me?
We've done some incredible episodes while we're here and they're going to go out,
people are going to listen to them. They're going to say, oh my God, those are some great ideas,
and then do nothing, nothing about it. That upsets me the most. Mr. and Mrs. Listener
upsets me the most that we give so much positivity and information, but they said,
listen, learn one thing and you got to implement something that you learn. A lot of things have
come out of this episode, but at least step forward to do one thing. Jeremy, appfuel.com,
appfuel.com, and if they want to go right to me, it's forward slash Jeremy.
Forward slash Jeremy. Yeah, book of call. I really just like to talk about vision.
So I walked into KC Joe's last night, great barbecue place, and Brandon and I walk in,
Brandon Cresce, I'm a business partner with him in another business. And if you guys need someone
to kick a service advisor, by the way, just reach out to Brandon, former Marine, he'll get it done.
I know you will. He's like that. He's a little scary. So I walk in to go, Brandon,
check it out. So this is my one action. If we want these guys to do any one thing,
here would be my one thing. We walk into this restaurant, and I don't think they did it on
purpose. I'm just watching this because I love to see how consumers are directed almost like
cattle. We walk in and then we'll say red, like a theater red rope line. As we walked in and I go,
Brandon, I've always wanted to try this in a shop. So this is a to your listeners,
Karm. Just an idea. I think it'd be fun to try it as an industry. Just split your counter in half,
put a beautiful red rope, and then on one side, make it just look like a normal counter.
And then on the other side, have a nice sign above VIP members on the left side of the rope,
you would be so subtle, you wouldn't even have to say it. Customers would walk up,
they have to make a choice. And if they made the non-member choice, and guys, I'd say,
love the mess with psychology of people. Wouldn't that be cool for the probably half of your
customers? I don't know, Joe, you want to try this? But they would probably walk up on one side.
Maybe let's say they picked the guest side, not the member side. But their first question would
probably be, I didn't know if I should be walking over there or how could I walk over there? And so
instead of you having to be a salesman, as it were, you just create interest. And I think for
customers to know there was a better way to do business here at the shop. And you could do it
in subtle ways. That's just like a beautiful visual. I guess I would say that's my next step,
Carm. It's like, I think we can be member shops, and we can do it in subtle ways.
You're a VIP to me. Come on over here. Yeah. And you wouldn't even have to say it.
It's just... And honestly, thinking about this, my first loyalty program was inspired because
they put a casino near our home, and Caesar's Casino has silver, gold, platinum, and diamond.
Nice. Everybody wants to be diamond. You don't want to spend the money to be diamond,
but they want to, so they can go get the privilege of going to that one side.
I mean, we all fly to these conferences, and I'm a Delta Diamond member now,
and you get to go in a special lane. If you're in certain airports, you get to go through a
special line through TSA without having to pre-check and everything. Everybody has that
in their head, the level that you get when you see that red rope is what it is and stuff like
That's a really clever idea. The apps are the after effect of you thinking through your shop
brand. How do you want to be? Do you want to be just a guest shop, or do you want to have a member
experience? And if you haven't thought through that, apps are really the after. That's the after
thought. But a velvet rope is almost a feel of belonging. Think about it. No matter what side
you're on. It worked for me at Casey Joe's. I don't know what side I chose. It wasn't clear,
but I still got great barbecue. Think about it. Just the subliminal messaging. You've got a counter
with two service advisors, client advocates there, even if it's a CSR, and the person sees the rope
and they see a distinct left and right, but there's no sign that says VIP or nothing. It's just the
messaging that I'm on the velvet rope. It's not like the TSA barriers. It's not this
piece of seatbelt material that separates the columns. It's a velvet rope.
It's, and everybody knows what the velvet rope means, because if you've ever seen a movie,
it has a night club up with a bouncer. It's always got that nice, sleek, red velvet rope there.
That means I'm special. I get to go there. All right. If somebody who's listening tries the velvet
rope thing. Please try. Reach out to appduel.com. Appduel.com forward slash Jeremy. And don't
forget to carbon copy me because I also want to know, and if not, you've got to call me and tell
me. I will. This was fun. It was great. Thank you so much, Jeremy Lasko, founder of the original
mobile app Ninja. And now side kick Ninja, the Chrome extension. And Appfield, of course,
unlike any other CRM and Joe Schindler, from the greatest name of a little town in the world,
Floyd's knobs, Indiana. Got to get to say that 10 times fast later. Four and a half day business.
You're open till noon on Thursday, huh? And I am on Friday. Friday's half. And I am about three
steps away from just saying, we're going to be closed Friday. Ah, okay. So that's why you're
diamond at Delta, because you have the whole weekend to travel, right? To be honest, I don't
travel but Amber, but these are my vacations. How do you get diamond? I don't understand.
I'll tell my secret. Somebody help me. I got a Delta American Express card. I'm not diamond.
You don't have a shop anymore. I put all my expenses on my shop. So that gets to me.
Oh my God. That'll be another episode, Joe. How do we all be getting diamond? Yeah. And plus,
I'm a big boy. So I do, I will pay for first class. Tracy did such a great job of putting you in the
camera that nobody can see you're wearing a sling. Yes, I hurt my shoulder. He hurt his shoulder
and he's wearing a sling. Your style's a little crept, I'm sure, because you're pounding on the
table. Anyone heard the rumble of drums in the background? It was but Jeremy and Joe
pounding on the table. Trying to get their points across. We're just really testing Tracy's editing.
This was a blast. Thanks for being here. Yeah, thanks, Carl. Thanks, Tracy.
Thanks for being on board to listen and learn from the Premier Automotive Repair Business
Podcast, Remarkable Results Radio. Get your episodic education on the ARPN
listening app at automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com. Also, enjoy the podcast on our Carm Capriado
YouTube channel. Carm is all for advancing the professional automotive service industry. Until
next time.
About this episode
AppFueled founder Jeremy Glasgow and shop owner Joe Schindler break down the “app gap” problem and why customers download apps only after trust is earned. They pitch AppFueled’s “Sidekick Ninja” concept: a branded, low-friction app experience that helps advisors see customer engagement (rebates, coupons, stars, vehicle history) without switching tools. The discussion also covers omnichannel communication, gamification, and deep phone integration (calls/texts tied to repair orders) plus an upcoming “AI ROX” repair-order experience score for coaching and shop improvement.
Original notes
Thanks to our Partners, NAPA TRACS, Today's Class, KUKUI, and Pit Crew Loyalty
Watch Full Video Episode
Recorded live at VISION 2026, host Carm Capriotto is joined by Jeremy Glassco of AppFueled and shop owner Joe Schindler to explore how auto repair shops can better connect technology with customer engagement.
Glassco introduces the concept of the “App Gap,” explaining that while consumers frequently engage with apps from major brands, auto repair shops struggle with adoption because customers only download apps they trust or see immediate value in. To bridge this gap, he emphasizes delivering clear incentives and meaningful engagement.
A key innovation discussed is “Sidekick Ninja,” a Chrome extension tool that complements the shop’s management system by surfacing real-time customer insights, including communication history, profile data, and available offers, directly within the advisor’s workflow. This integration ensures no missed follow-ups, rebates, or opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
Schindler also highlights strategies to protect shop profitability, including gamifying customer engagement within a shop app. By rewarding users for actions such as adding vehicle details or personal information, shops can gather valuable data while encouraging deeper engagement.
Ultimately, the episode reinforces that when technology is used to enhance, not replace, the human connection, shops can create better experiences, stronger relationships, and more consistent growth.
https://www.appfueled.io/sidekick-ninja VISION Hi-Tech Training and Expo: https://visionkc.com/ Jeremy Glassco, Founder, App Fueled Joe Schindler, Schindler's Garage, Floyds Knobs, IN Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Today's Class Optimize training with Today's Class: In just 5 minutes daily, boost knowledge retention and improve team performance. Find Today's Class on the web at https://www.todaysclass.com/ Thanks to our Partner, KUKUI Stop juggling multiple marketing tools. KUKUI’s integrated platform delivers 4x better website conversions, automated follow-up, and real-time ROI tracking. Get industry-leading customer support with KUKUI at https://www.kukui.com/ Thanks to our Partner, Pit Crew Loyalty You’re probably tired of chasing new customers who never return. We understand. Pit Crew Loyalty ends the...
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