TK Classics Customer Service — Professional Guide and Operational Playbook

Overview and Purpose

TK Classics customer service should be built as a front-line business unit that protects margin, preserves brand value and drives repeat sales. For a specialist retailer or restoration business, every customer interaction is also an opportunity to collect vehicle history data, confirm specification accuracy and convert enquiries into booked work or parts orders. In practice that means building processes that convert initial contact into a confirmed appointment or quote in under 72 hours and track outcomes with measurable KPIs.

This document outlines practical procedures, targets and staffing guidance appropriate to a small-to-medium classic vehicle business handling 200–1,000 customer contacts per month. The recommendations are operationally prescriptive: target response times, escalation steps, warranty language, training cadences and the minimum technical systems required to reach industry-standard service levels.

Contact Channels, SLAs and Triage

Offer at least three contact channels: dedicated phone line staffed Monday–Friday 09:00–17:00, email monitored continuously with a 24-hour initial response SLA, and a web-based contact form that creates CRM tickets automatically. For real-time issues (breakdown recovery, urgent parts needed for pre-booked work), a clearly published emergency number or priority line with an SLA of 1 hour first response is recommended. Non-urgent enquiries should have a published SLA of 24–48 hours for a substantive reply and 3–5 business days for a full written quote.

Set measurable SLAs and publish them to customers to manage expectations. Practical SLA benchmarks: first response rate 90% within 24 hours, resolution or constructive next step communicated within 72 hours for routine queries, and 80% of service appointments confirmed at least 7 days ahead of the booked date. Use a single-source triage sheet to classify contacts as Sales, Service, Parts, Billing or Complaints immediately on first contact to ensure correct routing.

Returns, Repairs, Warranties and Pricing Transparency

For parts and small repairs, implement a 30-day return window for unused parts, and a 12-month limited workmanship warranty on service work — both notes must appear on invoices. For restorations and major mechanical projects, a written estimate with staged payment terms (e.g., 30% deposit, milestone payments at 33% and 66%, final 7 days before collection) reduces disputes. Provide a typical example estimate breakdown: labour rate (e.g., £60–£120/hour depending on specialist skills), materials (listed line-items), and VAT where applicable. These transparent line-items reduce invoice queries by an estimated 40% versus lump-sum billing.

When quoting, always include an exclusions paragraph (rust discovery, parts lead-time variances, third-party failure) and an approximate timeline with contingency allowances (e.g., 8–12 weeks for a mechanical rebuild, 16–40 weeks for full concours-level restoration). Publish typical lead times and price ranges on your website or quote template to set expectations: for example, simple brake job £180–£450, full engine rebuild £4,000–£25,000 (illustrative ranges based on market experience).

Complaint Resolution and Escalation Protocols

Handle complaints using a three-level escalation: frontline resolution, specialist technical review, then managerial arbitration with independent appraisal if unresolved. Frontline staff should be empowered to issue immediate remedial actions up to a monetary cap (e.g., discounts up to £100 or complimentary inspection checks) to resolve low-value disputes quickly and preserve goodwill. A timely apology and a service recovery offer within 48 hours dramatically increases the chance of retaining the customer.

Maintain a documented escalation workflow and time-bound targets so no complaint stalls. Track complaint age, root cause category and resolution outcome; aim to close 90% of complaints within 14 days and escalate complex technical disputes to a senior technician for review within 5 business days. Regularly review complaint trends monthly to identify recurring supplier or process failures.

• Escalation steps: 1) Frontline acknowledgement within 24h, 2) Technical review within 3–5 business days, 3) Manager review and proposed remedy within 10 business days, 4) Independent assessment if dispute remains unresolved after 21 days.

Training, Quality Control and KPIs

Invest in role-specific training: customer-facing staff require product knowledge training (chassis, engines, electrics) delivered in 2-hour modules every quarter; technicians need structured competency assessments bi-annually with recorded outcomes. Introduce a QA sample audit process where a random 10% of completed jobs are inspected against a 25-point checklist (safety items, fit-and-finish, paperwork completeness) to drive consistent quality.

Measure and report a compact set of KPIs weekly and monthly: Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) target 85–95%, First Contact Resolution (FCR) target 70%+, average response time <24 hours, repeat business rate 25%+ within 24 months for restoration clients, and net promoter score (NPS) target 30+. Link staff incentives to a balanced scorecard containing quality, timeliness and customer feedback components.

Digital Tools, CRM and Self-Service

Use a lightweight CRM that integrates phone, email and web forms to ensure every contact is a tracked ticket with timestamps and owner assignment; modern cloud CRMs cost from £20–£75 per user per month and are a sensible investment for traceability and automation. Enable a customer portal where clients can view job status, invoices and estimated completion dates — this reduces status calls by as much as 50% and raises perceived professionalism.

Automate routine communications: booking confirmations, arrival reminders, diagnostic findings and invoices should be templated and triggered from ticket stages. Maintain a short library of technical FAQs and measured content (photos, serial number guides) to help self-serve common queries — this reduces handling time and improves conversion on parts sales.