Capturing marketing consent at collection

Summary

The best time to ask a customer if they want your offers and tips is when they are stood at the desk, happy, collecting their car. Torqueflow prompts your staff to capture marketing consent at exactly that moment, and offers the same opt-in to customers on their portal after a job.

This is about marketing only: money-off deals, seasonal car-care tips, that sort of thing. Booked-work reminders (MOT due, service due) keep going out regardless. A customer who says no to marketing still gets their MOT reminder. The prompt makes that clear so the consent you capture is lawful and informed.

Prerequisites

• You have the customers.consent.manage capability (Owner, Manager, and Service Advisor by default).
• The customer record has at least one usable contact channel (email, mobile for SMS, or WhatsApp). Channels with no contact details show as unavailable.

Steps

Where the prompt appears

The opt-in prompt shows up at the natural collection moments:

1. After taking a payment. When you record a payment on a customer’s invoice, the opt-in prompt opens once the payment dialog closes.
2. On a finished work order. When a job is signed off, the work order shows a small “Ask {first name} before they leave” card with an Ask now button.
3. On the customer’s portal. After a job completes, the customer sees a tidy opt-in card on their portal dashboard. They can accept, decline, or dismiss it themselves.

The prompt only appears when the customer has not already opted in, has not declined recently, and has a contact channel on file.

Capture the consent at the desk

1. Turn the screen so the customer can see it, or read it out with them. The consent must come from the customer, not from whoever happens to be holding their phone.
2. The prompt asks if they want offers and tips, and states plainly that their booked MOT and service reminders continue either way and that they can unsubscribe at any time.
3. The customer picks how they want to hear from you: WhatsApp, SMS, or Email. A channel with no contact details on file is shown but cannot be chosen.
4. If they would rather not, choose No thanks.
5. Select Confirm. Nothing is recorded until you confirm, so a stray tap does not opt anyone in or out.

Read the context line

If the customer has been asked before, the prompt shows a short note, for example “Declined on 3 March - only re-ask if it feels natural”. Use your judgement. Do not re-ask a recent decliner cold.

Expected Outcome

• A customer who opts in is recorded as marketing-consented on their chosen channel, and that becomes their preferred channel.
• A customer who declines is left on operational reminders only, and is not asked again for a good while.
• The whole exchange is recorded against the customer for your audit trail, including the wording they were shown.

Notes

• Marketing is separate from booked-work reminders. MOT and service reminders go out under legitimate interest and do not need this opt-in. This prompt is only for promotional messages. See Choosing how customer reminders are sent.
• The system will not nag. A customer who declines is not asked again for about six months, on any surface. A prompt that staff close without asking is held off for about a month on that surface only, so the customer still gets a fair chance to be asked elsewhere.
• One preference per customer. The channel the customer picks becomes their default for messages.
• Withdrawing consent. A customer can opt out at any time from their portal preferences, by telling you, or by replying STOP. A STOP stops everything. See When a customer stops all contact.

Troubleshooting

Problem: The opt-in prompt did not appear after I took a payment. Cause: The customer has already opted in, declined recently, has no contact channel on file, or the invoice is not linked to a customer. Fix: Check the customer’s reminder preferences card. If they want marketing on, you can set it there directly.

Problem: A channel chip is greyed out. Cause: That customer has no contact details for it (no email, or no mobile number). Fix: Add the missing detail to the customer record, then ask again.

Problem: I do not see the opt-in prompt or the “Ask now” card at all. Cause: Your role does not have the customers.consent.manage capability. Fix: Ask an Owner to grant it.

Permissions

• Capture or decline consent at the desk (customers.consent.manage): Owner, Manager, Service Advisor.
• Customers manage their own marketing consent from the portal without any staff permission.