Why a customer isn't hearing from you: how opt-outs work on each channel, PBS Unsubscribed, the blocked numbers and suppressed email lists, and how to unblock someone.
This article answers one question: why is this customer not hearing from us? Three separate things can stop a message: the customer's opt-out (their consent record), a PBS Unsubscribed on their dealership-system record, and the two block-lists, Blocked numbers and Suppressed email addresses, which are the last two sections of Settings → Customer messages.
How a customer opts out of texts, email or calls
Customers opt out in their own words, on any channel, and AutoBook Agent records it and confirms in one line.
- An opt-out stops the channel it names, wherever it is said. "Don't email me" in a text stops email; "stop texting me" in an email stops texts; "don't call me" stops calls. The channel they are using stays open.
- Naming two channels stops exactly those two. "Don't text or email me" leaves calls on.
- No channel named stops everything. "Stop" or "don't contact me" stops every channel.
- "No promotions" stops offers on every channel, including ones added later. It comes off only when the customer asks for offers again in a way that proves it is them.
- The STOP keyword is per number. A STOP sent to your service line stops texts from the service line only; your main line can still text them, and the reverse.
- START to the same number resumes texts from that number. It does not lift "no promotions".
- The confirmation comes from the number they used. AutoBook Agent's one-line confirmation, like a verification code, always goes from the number the customer is texting, so a STOP to one of your lines never blocks a code they ask for on the other.
You can see everyone who has opted out in the Opted out strip at the top of Customers, and on each customer's record.
When PBS says Unsubscribed
If your PBS customer record says Unsubscribed for texts, email or phone, AutoBook Agent starts nothing on that channel, from either desk: no follow-ups, campaigns or courtesy texts. PBS Marketing Unsubscribed counts as "no promotions". It lifts when PBS lifts it. At a store that writes to PBS, an opt-in the customer gives us (asking for texts or offers again on a path that proves it is them) is written back to PBS for your store's own customers within about an hour. Anywhere else, update the customer in PBS to change it.
Still allowed: replies in the customer's own conversation, a rep's own one-to-one message (you're warned first), verification codes, and texts about a visit they booked. Our own STOP always wins.
PBS shares one customer list across a dealer group, so being in your PBS list doesn't make someone your store's customer. Outreach your store starts only goes to your store's own customers.
A block is not the same as consent
Taking someone off a list here lifts the block only. It does not change their consent record. If a customer is marked as opted out, AutoBook Agent still won't message them: check the Opted out strip on Customers. The confirm dialog says so every time.
Blocked numbers: who AutoBook Agent will never text
Settings → Customer messages → Blocked numbers is your dealership's list (the store picked in the store row), plus any group-wide rows labelled All stores, which block texting everywhere. Each row shows the number, why it is blocked, and when.
| Reason | What it means |
|---|
Replied STOP | The customer texted a carrier opt-out keyword. They can text START to the same number themselves, which is the clean way back. |
Opted out (from our older records) | We inferred the opt-out from your consent records when the block-list was first built: our own record, not something the carrier told us. |
Texts could not be delivered | Texts failed permanently, usually a wrong or disconnected number, sometimes a carrier block. |
Blocked | On the list with no recorded reason. Remove it only if you know why it is there. |
Suppressed email addresses: who AutoBook Agent will never email
Settings → Customer messages → Suppressed email addresses covers your whole group (it says All dealerships above it): one blocked address is blocked for every dealership. Each row shows the address, why it is suppressed (unsubscribed, reported as spam, or bounced), and whether it is All email blocked or Marketing only. A marketing-only block still lets booking and service email through.
Unblocking a number or email address
1
Find the row
Open Settings → Customer messages and scroll to the last two sections. Switching dealerships changes the Blocked numbers list; the email list is the same for every store. Unblocking needs a manager.
2
Click Remove and read the confirmation
The dialog says what removing this row would resume. A failing number, a customer who asked us to stop and a spam complaint are different decisions.
3
Confirm, or keep it blocked
Remove block takes it off the list. Cancel closes it and changes nothing.
Remove with a reason, not out of tidiness
Unblocking a permanently failing number or a spam complaint hurts the dealership's own sending reputation, which affects every other customer's messages. Remove a block when you know the number was corrected or the customer asked to be re-subscribed, not to shorten the list.
A customer texted STOP by mistake. What is the cleanest fix?
Ask them to text START to the same number. That resumes texts from that number and leaves a proper record. Removing the row by hand works too, but the customer's own START is the cleaner evidence.
Why does a blocked number say "All stores"?
We couldn't tie that carrier opt-out to one dealership, so it blocks texting for the whole group. It shows on every store's list on purpose, so a rep can see why a text won't send.
I removed the block and AutoBook Agent still will not message them.
Then something else is stopping it: their consent record says they opted out (check the Opted out strip on Customers), their PBS record says Unsubscribed for that channel, the channel is Off on Settings → AutoBook Agent Autonomy, or AutoBook Agent is paused at this dealership.
Can I add someone to these lists by hand?
No. Both lists are written by the system: a carrier opt-out, an unsubscribe click, a spam report, a permanent delivery failure. These lists are the undo, not a data-entry form. A customer who asks you to stop is recorded by AutoBook Agent when they say it.