Messages
Two-way texting with every customer, threaded by conversation and tied to their vehicle and repair order.
Customers text back. Shop Commander gives you a full two-way SMS inbox — every conversation threaded per customer, with their vehicle and repair order one click away. Incoming messages appear instantly, on every logged-in screen, without a refresh.
The inbox
Conversations with unread messages are pinned to the top with a bold badge; the rest sort by most recent. The search box finds anything — name, phone, vehicle, plate, or the text of the message itself. "Which customer texted about the Silverado?" takes two seconds, not scrolling.
Each conversation shows the customer's name and vehicle, with direct links to their profile and repair order. Every outgoing message shows a delivery status — sent, delivered, or failed — so you know it actually arrived.
Replying
Type in the box and hit send. Along the way you can:
- Insert an SMS template — your saved templates, with variables like the customer's name, vehicle, and RO number filled in automatically
- Draft with AI — one click generates a reply based on the conversation
- Attach an image — pull from your files or take a photo on the spot; MMS goes both ways, so customers can text you photos too
Tied to the repair order
Conversations link to repair orders. If a text comes in from a number Shop Commander doesn't recognize, assign the thread to a repair order and reply from there — nothing falls into an anonymous pile. Once linked, the whole exchange lives in that job's history.
Automated messages land here too
Shop Commander sends automatic texts at the moments that matter — vehicle received, estimate ready, inspection ready, awaiting parts, vehicle ready for pickup. All of them are customizable per shop in your SMS templates, and all of them show up in the same conversation thread, so you always see exactly what the customer has been told.
Alerts in context
If a customer has an active alert on their profile, it shows right in the conversation — so the person answering the text knows the history before they reply.
For outbound marketing at scale — seasonal blasts and declined-work follow-ups — see Campaigns.