BMW Names Xtime Preferred Vendor for Web Service Scheduling

Xtime (www.xtime.com) announced today that BMW of North America, LLC has named Xtime a preferred vendor to provide BMW centers with web-enabled service scheduling. Allowing customers to schedule service appointments online is one of a suite of capabilities that Xtime's ServiceCRM(TM) software provides to help dealerships improve customer satisfaction.

SAN MATEO, Calif. (Business Wire EON) October 24, 2007 -- Xtime (www.xtime.com) announced today that BMW of North America, LLC has named Xtime a preferred vendor to provide BMW centers with web-enabled service scheduling. Allowing customers to schedule service appointments online is one of a suite of capabilities that Xtime’s ServiceCRM™ software provides to help dealerships improve customer satisfaction.

I've got Xtime setup to track all of the resources needed for each appointment made, including loaners, greeters, and technician skills by team

“Xtime’s unique web scheduling product enables participating BMW centers to build on BMW’s reputation for using advanced technology to directly benefit the consumer,” said Matthew Russell, Service Retail Operations Manager for BMW of North America. “BMW drivers will discover Xtime’s online system to be a convenient way to schedule service, any time of day. They are also likely to enjoy a better customer experience at the Service department because of reduced telephone call volumes at the centers.”

BMW center service departments typically face the challenge of handling large numbers of service customers while also maintaining the highest standards for customer satisfaction. Checkered Flag BMW has used Xtime since 2006 to address this challenge and as a result, has been BMW’s highest-rated center for customer satisfaction in sales and service combined for 2007 to date.

“Xtime’s appointment system has definitely helped us become the top BMW dealership for customer satisfaction,” said Jim Huber, Parts and Service Director at Checkered Flag BMW, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “The biggest issue Xtime has solved is the high volume of phone traffic we had coming into our service advisors. With Xtime, making a high-quality, detailed appointment is as easy as point-and-click, whether it’s our customers booking themselves on our website or our call center agents using Xtime to take phone appointments. Now our service advisors are free to deliver more personalized face-to-face service, which translates to happier customers and higher dollars per repair order. Xtime makes it easier for our customers to do more business with us.”

Bill Fyffe, Parts and Service Director at Kelly BMW in Columbus, Ohio has been using Xtime since 2005 and has also found that Xtime makes a significant impact on customer satisfaction by freeing service advisors. "Today, 25% to 35% of our service customers make their appointments online each month. That means that a large part of our Service Advisors' time--time they would have spent on the phone scheduling appointments--can now be spent answering customers' questions, thoroughly explaining the services needed, how much it will cost, and making sure the right work is being performed on the vehicle. That way, the customer gets better, more convenient service, and a better understanding of the service value."

While its ease-of-use frees service advisors to provide better face-to-face consultations, Xtime’s capacity management features work in the background to make the most of busy technicians and other shop resources. “I’ve got Xtime setup to track all of the resources needed for each appointment made, including loaners, greeters, and technician skills by team,” said Huber. “By anticipating our shop loading better each day, we reduce the inefficiency that occurs when technicians are overbooked, and fix more vehicles on the first visit.”

“Xtime helps our individual teams maximize daily output of hours sold,” said Stephen Aubertin, Parts and Service Director for BMW of San Francisco, who began using Xtime earlier this year. “Our dealer management system doesn’t do a good job of managing hours by teams, and I’d been looking for a solution since 2005. Xtime allows us to see the loading for each team at the same time, and move appointments to balance capacity across teams.”

“BMW centers face extremely demanding service expectations and volumes,” said Neal East, Xtime's CEO. "BMW’s approval of Xtime as a preferred vendor is proof that our ServiceCRM software enables dealerships to keep pace with the most demanding requirements. We welcome BMW centers to speak with us about providing online service scheduling and the other benefits of our web-enabled appointment system.”

About BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Since then, the BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales and financial service organizations for the BMW and MINI brands and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Corp. in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW car, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle, 148 BMW Motorcycle retailers, and 77 MINI dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About Xtime

With a 1,000 dealerships enrolled and over 3 million appointments booked in less than three years, Xtime is now the leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions for automotive service departments.

Xtime’s ServiceCRM™ software combines consumer web scheduling, call center automation, service marketing, advanced shop control and certified, real-time DMS integration into a complete and unified solution for automotive service departments. By integrating these features into an easy-to-use and affordable system, Xtime gives automotive dealerships the ability to create, schedule and manage more service appointments per day, increasing profitability through increased customer-paid service. Privately held, Xtime's investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, RPM Ventures and Innovacom. Xtime is based in San Mateo, Calif. and can be reached at 650-508-4300, or http://www.xtime.com.