You’ve probably played the telephone game at some point—one person whispers a message to another, who passes it to the next, and so on. By the time the message reaches the end of the line, it’s completely different from how it started.
When you’re six years old, it’s hilarious. When you’re running a shop, it’s costly.
And yet—most auto repair shops are operating just like that.
A technician says something to a service advisor, who writes it down, who tells another advisor, who enters it into a system. And somewhere along the line, the context disappears. Or something gets mistyped. Or the message changes just enough to cause confusion, delay, or lost revenue.
We’ve seen it in shops of all sizes:
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Duplicate parts ordered.
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Techs doing unauthorized work because no one told them the job changed.
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Advisors forgetting to call a customer because the note got lost in translation.
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Jobs stalling because someone was “waiting on an update”—but no one knew from who.
And we get it. You didn’t build it this way on purpose.
It evolved—like most shop systems do.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
If one person in your shop has to tell another person something just so they can enter it into the system, your workflow is broken.
Why This Happens
This breakdown usually comes from one of three things:
1. Lack of system access
A tech doesn’t have the tools (or permission) to enter info directly, so they pass it to someone else.
Result: You’ve now doubled the work—and halved the clarity.
2. Poorly designed systems
Even if your team has access, if the workflow isn’t intuitive, people work around it.
They start texting, writing sticky notes, or giving verbal updates because it feels easier in the moment.
3. Lack of trust or ownership
Sometimes techs don’t enter info because they’re used to being overridden.
Or advisors don’t rely on tech input because they’ve been burned in the past.
So they double-handle everything “just to be sure.”
What It Feels Like in the Real World
When your workflow depends on people relaying information instead of entering it at the source, you get:
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Redundancy – Two people doing the same task.
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Delay – The right person doesn’t get the info when they need it.
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Frustration – "I already said this. Why am I saying it again?"
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Confusion – No one’s sure who owns what.
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Risk – The customer hears one version of the story. The tech heard another.
And that’s how “just a simple repair” turns into a callback, a discount, or a one-star review.
What Healthy Workflow Looks Like
In a healthy shop workflow:
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The tech enters inspection notes directly—where the advisor sees them in real time.
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The estimate builds from source data—not secondhand conversations.
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The system tracks communication attempts—no more wondering if a call was made.
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Everyone—techs, advisors, even the owner—sees the same truth, at the same time.
This isn’t about being rigid. It’s about being clear.
Because clarity isn’t just good for efficiency—it’s good for people.
You didn’t hire techs to be messengers. You hired them to move work forward.
Ask These Questions About Your Shop:
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Are my techs passing info to someone else just so it gets into the system?
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Is anyone re-entering the same info more than once?
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How many steps happen between the inspection and the customer conversation?
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How often do we ask, “Did someone call that customer?”
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Where is information getting lost, delayed, or misunderstood?
If you’re playing the telephone game, the cracks will show. Maybe not right away—but eventually.
And you’ll feel it in comebacks, customer tension, team burnout, and tech turnover.
How to Fix It
Here’s a starting point:
1. Capture information at the source
Let techs input inspections. Let advisors see real-time updates. Stop double-handling.
2. Design your workflow for clarity, not control
Build containers and statuses that clearly say:
"This job is waiting on you” vs. “You’re waiting on them.”
3. Reduce the number of hops
The more people involved in passing info, the more diluted it gets.
Make it direct. Make it visible. Make it simple. Make it quick.
Final Thought
The telephone game was fun when we were kids.
But in your shop? It’s killing efficiency. Quietly. Slowly. Daily.
So if your workflow feels like a series of verbal relays, post-it notes, and shoulder taps, ask yourself:
Am I building a system that moves work forward, or just managing a system that moves information around?
When you fix that, everything else gets lighter:
The shop you’re building should run on clarity, not conversation. Build it that way—and watch the noise disappear.
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