iMessage for cleaners, landscapers and home services

Home services have a structure that makes messaging unusually valuable: the visit is recurring, the customer is often not home, and the two things that go wrong are always the same — nobody knew when you were coming, or nobody could get in.

The arrival window is the message

Customers do not need an exact time. They need to know whether they have to be home, and whether today is still happening. A window sent the evening before and a heads-up when the crew is actually on the way solves nearly every scheduling complaint this industry has.

export const homeServices = {
  dayBefore: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.business}: we're with you tomorrow between ${c.windowStart} ` +
    `and ${c.windowEnd}. ${c.accessNote}`,
 
  onTheWay: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.business}: ${c.crewName} is on the way, about ${c.etaMinutes} mins.`,
 
  // Sent after the visit, from the person who actually did the work.
  done: (c: Ctx) =>
    `All done at ${c.address}. ${c.notes} ` +
    `Anything not right, just reply here. — ${c.crewName}`,
 
  skipRequest: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.business}: you're due ${c.dayDate}. Reply S to skip this one ` +
    `or nothing at all if you're good.`,
};

Access instructions belong in the thread

Gate codes, key safes, which door, the dog, where the bins go. Keeping this in the message thread means whoever turns up can find it, including a crew member covering a shift for the first time.

The completion message is your quality loop

The customer comes home to a clean house and no idea whether anything was flagged. A short note from the crew — what was done, anything that needs attention — converts a transaction into a relationship, and it surfaces small problems before they become a cancelled contract.

It is also the natural moment to ask for a review, a week or two in once the service has proved itself. Review requests.