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Declined work at your shop: Shopmonkey's Deferred Service Reminder or an advisor call list?

Questions and answers on following up declined and deferred repairs: what Shopmonkey's campaigns do, when a ranked call list for advisors makes more sense, and what our mock test produced.

By (@MattRonnX on X) · Published · 3 min read

Every shop has a list of work customers said "not today" to. The question is who follows up, and how. This is a Q&A on the two options for shops on Shopmonkey, with the call list from our declined-work call list recipe as the example. More recipes are on the auto repair hub.

Is declined work really going unfollowed?

Two surveys point the same way. In a Tekmetric-commissioned Ipsos survey of 1,147 US vehicle owners (Sept 2025), 38% said a shop had recommended work and never followed up (Ratchet+Wrench, Oct 1, 2025). Tekmetric sells a follow-up product, so weigh that. Independently, the OEC survey of nearly 700 US mechanical shops (Sept 2025) found 50% see customers delaying or declining work, and 49% say customers are more cautious about approving work that isn't required (OEC / PartsTech report, PDF).

You'll find "20-30% of estimates get declined" on agency blogs. We couldn't trace it to a primary source, so we left it out.

What does Shopmonkey already do?

Shopmonkey's Campaigns include a Deferred Service Reminder, an automated campaign for customers who declined services on past invoices, and its Deferred Services feature lists declined work under each customer's Deferred menu so an advisor can add it to the next estimate. Campaigns are filed under CRM Essentials, which Shopmonkey's pricing page lists as a paid add-on ($349/month, or $314 billed annually, when we checked on October 31, 2026). Check with Shopmonkey which plan you need.

So why a call list?

Because some declined work deserves a person. A text that says "your brakes are due" reads as a sales pitch; an advisor who asks "how's the Camry doing?" gets an actual answer. Our recipe doesn't contact anyone. It emails the advisors one list every Monday at 8 a.m.

What's on the list, and in what order?

Work declined 14 to 180 days ago that's still deferred in Shopmonkey. Brakes, tires, steering and other safety-related items go first, then the rest by dollar value. Here's the top of the list from our test run, with invented customers (scenario AR4-04):

  1. [safety] Dana Whitfield +15555550311: Rear struts, $1,120.00 (2018 Honda CR-V, declined Mar 1, RO #3002) - listed 1 of 3
  2. [safety] Ray Okafor +15555550344: Front brake pads and rotors, $489.00 (2010 Toyota Camry, declined Mar 1, RO #3001, said: Next paycheck) - listed 1 of 3

The "said: Next paycheck" note is the decline reason recorded on the order. Nothing on the list tells anyone their car is unsafe; that's your technician's call, made in person.

How does it avoid nagging the same customer?

Three rules, each tested against the mocks:

  • Fixed work drops off. When Dana's struts were done, they left the next list (AR4-06).
  • Customers with a car in the shop are left off, with a note, so the advisor brings it up at the counter instead (AR4-06).
  • Three lists, then it stops. Ray's brakes appeared March 22, 29 and April 5, then disappeared (AR4-07).

Work declined more than 180 days ago is left out (AR4-08), and running the job twice in one week doesn't send a second list (AR4-05).

Can I use both?

Yes, and if you pay for CRM Essentials, we'd start with Shopmonkey's Deferred Service Reminder for routine items and keep the call list for the big tickets. That's why both our estimate approval escalation and declined-work recipes are internal only: they add a person's call, not a second automated text.

What did the test cover?

12 scenarios, all passing against mocks of Shopmonkey's API and signed webhooks: duplicates, a forged signature (AR4-09), Shopmonkey returning 500 (the office is told the item isn't on the list, AR4-10) and 429 (retried, full list, AR4-12). The method is on how we test.

The recipe for this problem

  • Declined-work call list: one ranked Monday list for advisors, safety items first
    When an order is invoiced in Shopmonkey, its declined and deferred services are logged. Every Monday at 8 a.m. the service advisors get one email: work declined 14-180 days ago that is still deferred in Shopmonkey, brakes, tires, steering and other safety-related items first, then by dollar value, with the customer's phone. Customers with a car in the shop right now are left off with a note. An item drops off after it has been on three lists. No customer is contacted automatically; a person makes the call.
    Verified with mocks · last tested 2026-10-31 · setup, cost and test results
  • Estimate approval escalation: a 'call them' nudge for advisors and one end-of-day number
    Every 15 minutes in shop hours, the workflow reads open Shopmonkey orders. Any estimate sent to the customer and still not approved after 2 hours (you set it) gets one email to the service advisors with the customer's name, phone, vehicle and total: call them. Re-sending the estimate restarts the clock. At 4:30 p.m. the manager gets one text and email: how many estimates are waiting, the dollars, the oldest one, and estimates that were written but never sent. Nothing goes to customers; Shopmonkey's own Estimate Reminders can do that.
    Verified with mocks · last tested 2026-10-31 · setup, cost and test results

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