Tell customers when a visit is running late
When a route slips, draft a short delay message with a realistic arrival window for you to approve.
Customer support · Home services · When something happens · Updated
Works with
- Slack
SlackHow do you tell customers when a visit is running late?
To tell customers when a visit is running late, set up a trigger on delays. Maito sees a technician more than 30 minutes behind in Jobber, works out the new arrival window, drafts a text to the next customer, and posts it in Slack for approval.
How it's done today
Customers phone the office for updates.
What Maito does
- Read the technician's live status and route
- Work out a revised arrival window
- Draft a short text for the office to approve
- Escalate severe delays to a person
Example
Loop run: Dee is 55 minutes behind
Dee is running 55 minutes behind. Her 9:00 job at Initech is still in progress and her status was last updated at 10:31. Affected today: • 11:00 Acme Dental: new window 11:45 to 12:15 • 1:30 Hooli Cafe: no change expected Draft text to Acme Dental: "Hi, this is Northstar. Dee is running behind from an earlier job and will arrive between 11:45 and 12:15. Sorry for the delay." Catch: Acme's office closes for lunch at noon, according to the notes on their record. A 12:15 arrival may find the door locked. Source: Dee's job status and route in the field service software. Nothing is sent until you approve.
@Maito change the window to 11:30 to noon and send it.
Sent to Acme Dental with the window 11:30 to noon. I'll check Dee's status again at 11:15 and tell you if that's slipping.
Maito (10:38 AM):
Dee is running 55 minutes behind. Her 9:00 job at Initech is still in progress and her status was last updated at 10:31.
Affected today:
• 11:00 Acme Dental: new window 11:45 to 12:15
• 1:30 Hooli Cafe: no change expected
Draft text to Acme Dental: "Hi, this is Northstar. Dee is running behind from an earlier job and will arrive between 11:45 and 12:15. Sorry for the delay."
Catch: Acme's office closes for lunch at noon, according to the notes on their record. A 12:15 arrival may find the door locked.
Source: Dee's job status and route in the field service software. Nothing is sent until you approve.
Tom (10:42 AM):
change the window to 11:30 to noon and send it.
Maito (10:43 AM):
Sent to Acme Dental with the window 11:30 to noon. I'll check Dee's status again at 11:15 and tell you if that's slipping.
How to set it up
- Ask your agent
“When a technician runs more than 30 minutes behind on a route, draft a text to their next customer with a new arrival window and post it in #dispatch for approval.”
- Connect field service software
- Jobber
- Connect SMS
- Twilio
Not connected yet? Your agent sends you a link to sign in.
What it won't do
It can only judge delay from the status it sees. A stale status makes its estimate stale too.
Questions
No. Nothing goes out until dispatch approves.
From job status and route times in Jobber.
Yes. It flags things like a lunch closure that could clash with the new window.
