Diagnostic Time Tracker — stop the bleed

Deb tonight: "I sell 1 hour of diag. Tech often takes 3, 6 hours. Jordan was on a Volkswagen for 6 hours today — I billed 3. I lose money on diag every single day."

This page is the fix. Tech starts the timer. System auto-texts the customer at 75% of sold time. Customer one-taps approve. Bleed stops. Revenue captured.

Unbilled diag (today so far)

3.2 hrs

= $480 still leaking

Captured this week

$1,125

9 approval texts, 7 approved

YTD recovery estimate

$56,250

@ 50% capture rate × 5 days × 50 wks

Avg time to approval

9 min

text-back response

🎚️ Active diagnostics — right now

🟡 Bay 7 · '12 VW Passat — electrical gremlin

Ticket #2014 · Customer: Linda Massey · Sold: 3 hrs · Jordan

⚠ OVER SOLD TIME

5.8 hrs of 3 hrs sold · 193% · $420 unbilled

5h 48melapsed

3h 00msold

$420unbilled

~$150/hrVW rate

⏰ Stop the bleed — message Linda now

Auto-drafted text to Linda Massey (706-555-0511): Hi Linda — Jordan's been on your Passat about 5 hours now finding the electrical issue (these VWs hide it well). To keep going on it, I need to add 2 more hours of diag at $150/hr — $300. Reply Y to approve, or call me at 706-900-9696 and we'll talk options.

🟢 Bay 3 · '08 F-150 5.4L — P0755 / P0758

Ticket #2015 · Customer: Sarah Jenkins · Sold: 1 hr · Mike

⏰ 75% mark — TEXT NOW

45m of 60m sold · 75%

45melapsed

1h 00msold

$0unbilled (yet)

$150/hrtrans rate

📱 Pre-empt the overage

Auto-drafted text to Sarah (706-555-0142): Hi Sarah — Mike's 45 min into your F-150 diag. He's seeing more in the trans wiring than expected (TSB territory). Want to approve 1 more hour at $150 so he can finish properly today? Reply Y or call us.

🔵 Bay 5 · '20 Tacoma — bearing isolation

Ticket #2016 · Customer: Robert Henley · Sold: 1.5 hrs · Irwin

✓ Customer approved +1 hr

1h 38m of 2.5 hrs total · 65% · on pace

1h 38melapsed

2h 30msold (1.5 + 1)

$0unbilled

$150/hr

✅ Robert approved the extension at 9:48 AM via text — recorded with timestamp for the court-ready audit trail.

📊 Week's diag math

Day	Diag hrs spent	Diag hrs sold	Captured via texts	Recovered $$
Mon	9.5	5.0	+2.5	+$375
Tue	11.0	6.0	+3.0	+$450
Wed	8.5	5.5	+1.5	+$225
Thu	7.0	4.0	+0.5	+$75
Fri (today, partial)	6.3	3.5	+0 (in progress)	— pending —
WEEK	42.3	24.0	+7.5	+$1,125

Before this tool: that +7.5 hours of recovered diag was unbilled bleed. Compounded over 50 weeks at average capture rate = $56k recovered per year.

⚙ How it works (simple flow)

Customer drops car off. Deb books the diag at 1 hour standard ($150 trans, $125 standard).
Tech taps "Start Diag" on the ticket when they begin. Timer starts.
At 75% of sold time (e.g. 45 min if 1 hr sold), system pings Deb + David. Pre-drafted text ready.
Deb taps "Send" — or edits the wording first. Customer gets the text on their phone.
Customer replies Y — meter continues with new sold time. Or replies N — tech wraps at next stop.
Customer doesn't reply within 15 min → escalate: Deb gets a "📞 CALL NOW" alert. Voice call beats unbilled time.
End of diag — total time + approvals logged forever. Court-ready audit trail (per Deb's 30-year court-tested standard).

🛡 Honor Mike's softness

Mike doesn't talk on the phone about money (Deb: "he steps down when they say 'I got kids'"). This tool makes sure Mike never has to. The clock pings Deb, not Mike. Deb sends the text. Customer approves. Mike just keeps working. Mike's heart stays protected, the shop stops bleeding. Both at once.

Honest math, Papa & Deb: conservative 50% capture rate = $56,250/yr recovered. Aggressive 70% capture (most customers approve once they see the text) = $78,750/yr. This single feature pays for the entire MDC admin subscription many times over. Lead with it when you pitch Mike.