The test drive that was booked and never happened

A booking is a statement of interest, not of intent

Somebody who books a test drive online at ten at night has told you they are curious. They have not cleared a Saturday, arranged childcare or decided your car is the one they want to sit in. Treating the booking as a commitment is how a dealership ends up surprised by a no-show it had every opportunity to prevent.

Three reasons the person does not arrive

The car was not there - sold, out on another drive, or at the other site, and nobody told them. Nothing confirmed the appointment, so it stayed a half-remembered intention rather than a plan. Or they arrived and nobody was expecting them, which is the worst of the three because it happens after they made the effort. Every one of these is an information problem, not a motivation problem.

What a confirmation has to contain

The specific car, including registration or stock number, so they know which one is reserved for them. The time, the site address and who to ask for by name. What to bring - licence, and whether a second form of identification is needed for insurance. And what happens if they are late or need to move it, because the person who cannot easily reschedule simply does not come.

Count arrivals, and count them by source

Bookings taken is a vanity number; arrivals is the one that predicts sales. Record both, split by where the booking came from - website form, telephone, walk-in, an assistant out of hours - and the weakest channel will identify itself within a month. Dealerships frequently find the channel they trust least has the best arrival rate, because it was the only one that confirmed anything in writing.