How Court Street Ford grew service appointments 10.6% compared to the previous year
4007
Total Calls Handled
in a single month
72%
Phone Appointments
booked by ShortLoop AI
10.6%
Average Monthly Increase
in appointments vs prior year
Court Street Ford deployed ShortLoop's Voice AI across inbound phone operations and outbound customer campaigns, capturing every call, working the full customer database, and running targeted outreach campaigns to meet their ever-growing demand.
The Situation
Court Street Ford is a 40 year Ford dealership in Bourbonnais, Illinois, serving Kankakee County and the broader Chicago metro. Court Street Ford has a history of transparent pricing, honest service, and a commitment to long-term customer relationships rather than quick sales. The dealership has been recognized by Ford Motor Company with seven President’s Awards.
With their tenure and reliable reputation, Court Street Ford was handling an inbound call load of over 4,000 calls every month. Advisors were managing the floor, scheduling technicians, and handling inbound traffic all at once. Due to high demand, calls would go to voicemail at peak times. Outbound also fell by the wayside with past customers, declined service contacts, and recall-eligible vehicles sitting idle. Without the bandwidth to run campaigns or work the list, revenue that already existed in the system went untouched.
They brought in ShortLoop to handle the phones and handle outbound to cover the growing demand.
The Solution
ShortLoop's inbound AI extends the capabilities of every service advisor, handling the phone so advisors can take care of the floor. At Court Street Ford, every inbound call is answered immediately, regardless of how busy the dealership floor is. The AI handles the full intake conversation: identifying what the customer needs, finding available time slots, confirming vehicle details, and booking the appointment directly into Auto/Mate - the DMS Court Street Ford runs on.
On the outbound side, ShortLoop ran four targeted campaigns across six months, each built around a specific customer segment and offer, without pulling Court Street Ford's team off the floor.
ShortLoop's Impact
In October and November, before ShortLoop, appointment volume was as expected but from December onwards the appointment volume went up and that trend holds every month. By April, Court Street Ford was booking 265 more appointments than the same month in the previous year.
There was an increase of 10.6% on average across five months of live deployment, with 55 hours of staff phone time saved per month alongside it.
Outbound campaigns: turning the database into revenue
Court Street Ford ran four outbound campaigns with ShortLoop. Each was built around a specific customer list. The $25 Off Service Campaign in January showed immediate ROI, with 44 booked appointments in the first week with no advisor hours spent. February’s Recall Campaign put personalized notices in front of 152 eligible customers within days of the list’s release. The March campaigns, a Ford Rewards Campaign and Rebate Campaign running concurrently, hit one-in-three engagement across more than 400 combined contacts. Moreover, a standalone CSI Campaign secured the dealership’s highest NPS rating in over a year.
What This Looks Like Going Forward
Court Street Ford runs over 4,000 inbound calls a month, four outbound campaigns in six months, and a CSI program all through ShortLoop. The results across those three tracks: a 10.6% average monthly increase in appointments, 72% of phone bookings handled by AI, receiving the highest NPS rating in the past year, all while 55 hours of staff time was saved in April alone.
Most dealerships are still figuring out how to use AI on the phones. Court Street Ford is already running it across inbound, outbound, and CSI. With an on-going lost customer campaign and CSI campaign, Court Street Ford is pulling further ahead with every month of data behind them.
Results
1,752
Total service calls
In April
72%
Phone Appointments
booked by ShortLoop AI
16.6%
Percentage increase in appointments
in April vs prior year
55+
Hrs Saved
In April
Can customers tell they're talking to AI?
Most don't. Even when they do, customers generally appreciate the immediate & effective outreach.
Does ShortLoop work with our DMS and scheduler?
Yes. ShortLoop integrates with the major DMS and scheduling platforms used across dealerships, so appointments land directly in your existing workflow.
Does Al replace BDC at a dealership?
No. Al does not replace your staff but helps them. The Al handles a lot of initial and after-hours work for BDC and frees BDC phone time while increasing total jobs captured.
What happens to contacts who don't pick up or aren't ready to book in outbound?
The AI leaves personalized voicemails and automatically retries. Contacts who engage and seem interested but don't book are flagged as qualified leads and handed off to your team for final activation.
What does the typical ROI for ShortLoop Al look like?
A dealership usually breaks even with only a few additional service bookings per month. Urban dealerships can expect an ROI of 20x each month. Results scale with call volume and missed-call rates.