Silverstein: The Hidden Cost of AI 

If you operate a high volume, transaction-based shop, then what follows will likely be of little interest to you. However, if you measure success using other barometers aside from the bottom line alone, then keep reading. 

I’ve got nothing against progress (although what is often defined as progress is anything but). I was there when carburetors were replaced by fuel injection and I didn’t blink when points were replaced by electronic ignition. But walk into a shop today, and you’ll hear something far more unsettling than a rod knock—the sound of total, digital silence and a surprising absence of human connection.

Communication Disaster 

It’s 2026, and the “smart shop” has arrived. Sales reps promise us the ultimate model of efficiency and increased production. They call it “AI-driven workflow scheduler/optimizer.” I call it an idea that isn’t ready for day-to-day use in the realm of our business. One that has the very real potential to negatively affect your profit-and-loss statement and sabotages the relationships with your clients that you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.

The pitch is simple and remarkably seductive—delegate some tasks to AI. We’re all short-staffed. Finding an experienced, efficient, and personable service advisor that can connect with people can be a daunting task. Software companies know this. It should come as no surprise then when the software guys show up with “the solution to your problems.” “Don’t worry, Dutch,” they say. “The AI will handle the follow-ups. It’ll track the tech’s efficiency and available work time remaining, text status updates, and even answer some customer questions with minimum input from your service writer, freeing them up to increase their output—all without having to hire another person.”

On paper, it’s a beautiful harmony of different elements culminating in the creation of a flawless symphony of efficiency and increased production. In reality? It’s a funeral dirge for the local shop that prides itself on building and maintaining relationships. 

Recently I had a plumbing emergency at my house. I contacted a local family-owned company that I had used before with good results. After initial contact with a human customer service representative, all remaining communication came from an “AI Agent.” Not surprisingly from that point forward, the communication from the company was horrible. It became chaotic, confusing, and contained contradictory messages. Ultimately, a tech showed up, completed the repair, and apologized for the scheduling and numerous communication issues. “It’s the new AI program,” he said. “Everyone hates it.” Two days after the repair was completed, I got another text confirming the appointment time that happened two days earlier. Pathetic.

Eroding Trust 

That’s the rub. AI doesn’t know people. It’s not invested in customer satisfaction or the company’s reputation. When you automate the “follow-up,” you’re telling the customer that their loyalty is just a data point to be processed by an algorithm that doesn’t breathe or care. AI “thinks” it’s being efficient. In reality, it’s creating a bottleneck of human frustration and customer resentment. And in this business, when frustration and resentment builds, customers leave. 

We’re told that AI is the solution to the technician shortage. “Replace the human touch with digital precision,” they say. But here’s the truth they won’t print in sales brochures or include in a salesman’s pitch: The independent auto repair business isn’t built on precision; it’s built on trust.

Trust is a human currency. You can’t write it into a Python script. When a customer hands over the keys to a $60,000 machine that carries their kids to school, they aren’t trusting the “optimized workflow.” They are trusting the guy across the counter who looked them in the eye and said, “I’ll take care of it.”

If we let the bots take over the talking, we’re just a commodity. If the customer feels like they’re being managed by an algorithm, they’ll start shopping by price alone. And if you want to compete on price against the big-box franchises and the automated OEM service centers, you’ve already lost the war.

So, by all means, use technology to scan VINs and track inventory. Use it to track your KPIs to your heart’s content. But the moment you let AI tell your customers how much you “value” them, you’ve stopped being a shop owner in the people business and started being a software middleman.

Keep the soul in the shop, ladies and gentlemen. Otherwise, the only thing you’ll be repairing is your reputation.