A new service named “Audi Cam”, which is being rolled out by the German automaker in the UK this week, will enable customers to not only see and hear about the repair work on their cars but also to authorise it through a mobile phone or a computer.
The Audi Cam is an evolution of the Direct Reception technology introduced across the Audi Centre network last year and which gives customers audiovisual access to their cars from the dealer’s reception area as technicians equipped with head-mounted cameras and two-way audio links worked on them.
Now, customers will be able to leave the dealership and interact with the technicians on their home computers or smartphones.
Equipped with a high-definition hand-held video camera, Audi technicians will film and verbally identify any problems found after an initial inspection and then propose solutions to those problems.
The brand with the four rings says that the videos will be uploaded to a special page within minutes while at the same time, a secure link to that page will be emailed to the customer, who has sole access to it using a unique PIN number sent separately by text message to their mobile phone.
Said page contains relevant film clip or clips, and grades each problem as either ‘urgent’, ‘advisory’ or ‘for info’ while also providing a VAT-inclusive price quotation for each job and action buttons that allow the customer to authorize the fix, to reject the work or call back to discuss it.
“By effectively beaming the workshop to our customers’ homes or smartphones, Audi Cam greatly simplifies the service and repair process, and at the same time breaks down more of the barriers between the service bay and the customer that have traditionally fostered scepticism and suspicion,” commented Paul Sansom, Head of Aftersales and Service for Audi UK.
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