CarpetBossPro Blog — Scheduling & Dispatch

On-the-Way and Arrived Texts for Carpet Cleaning Customers

A carpet cleaning customer on the day of their appointment is waiting. They have moved the small stuff, put the dog in the backyard, and maybe stayed home from work. Every half hour without word makes them a little more likely to call the office and ask where the van is. Multiply that by a few customers per van and the office spends its day answering the same question.

On-the-way and arrived texts answer it before it gets asked.

Part of Keeping the Day on Track

The last guide, Rescheduling Carpet Cleaning Jobs Without Losing the Customer or the Day, was about changing plans. Texts on the day are about keeping the customer informed while the plan runs.

In CarpetBossPro, on-the-way and arrived texts go out automatically from the tech app as the van works the route. The tech does not type anything. They work their jobs in route order, and the customer hears from you at the right moments.

The On-the-Way Text

The on-the-way text tells the customer the van is headed to them. For a carpet cleaning customer, that is the cue to do the last-minute things:

• Put the dog or cat in another room.
• Move the car so the van can park close.
• Open the gate or the garage if the hose runs that way.
• Pick up the last toys or shoes off the floor.

A customer who gets that text a little before the van arrives is ready at the door. A customer who gets no warning answers the door with a barking dog, and the first ten minutes go to sorting that out.

The Arrived Text

The arrived text tells the customer the tech is there. That sounds unnecessary when the customer is standing at the window, but it matters more often than you would think: a customer working in a back office, someone upstairs with headphones on, or a family that left a lockbox code and is not home at all. For those last customers, the arrived text is how they know the work has started.

Customers Choose Their Alerts

Not every customer wants every text. CarpetBossPro lets customers choose their alerts: the night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives. Some customers want all three. Some only want the night-before reminder. Respecting that keeps your texts welcome instead of annoying.

Plans include a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 texts sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew, for the US and Canada. A few texts per job fits comfortably for most carpet cleaning companies.

The Live Map Fills In Between Texts

Between the night-before reminder and the on-the-way text, customers can open the customer app and see today's route on a live map with their place in line: “You're stop 3 of 6 — the crew is 2 stops away.” It is the same idea as the texts, but on the customer's own schedule. That map is covered in The Customer Live Route Map: Showing Carpet Cleaning Customers Where the Van Is.

Replies Come to the Office

Automatic texts sometimes get replies: “Running five minutes late, be right there,” “Can you park on the street?” or “Please also do the stairs.” Those come back to the office through two-way texting, not to the tech's personal phone. The office can answer, update the job, or pass a note to the tech.

That keeps the tech's hands on the wand and keeps a record of the conversation with the customer.

Texts for Customers Who Are Not Home

Some customers leave a lockbox code and go to work. For them, the on-the-way and arrived texts work like a status report. They know the crew is headed over, they know when the crew got there, and they can plan to get home after the carpet has had some time. When the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created and the customer can see it, along with before and after photos, in the customer app. A customer who was never home still knows exactly what happened.

Accurate Routes Mean Accurate Texts

Texts follow the route. If the route order is right, the texts go to the right customers at the right times. If a job is moved during the day, the route on the tech's phone follows and so do the texts. That is one more reason to build days by area and auto-route each van: a sensible order makes for predictable texts and fewer surprised customers.

A Quieter Phone

Automatic texts will not stop every call, but they stop the most common one. Customers who know the van is coming are home, ready, and less anxious. Techs walk into homes where the dog is put away and the floor is clear. To see how texts fit with reminders, routing and the tech app, visit the CarpetBossPro carpet cleaning scheduling software page.