HVACBossPro Blog — Tech App

The Arrived Text: Letting the Homeowner Know the HVAC Tech Is at the Door

Doorbells go unheard. A homeowner on a work call in the back bedroom, a parent in the shower, a tenant with headphones on. The tech rings, waits, rings again, and starts to wonder whether to skip the call. An arrived text puts a buzz in the customer's pocket at the moment it matters.

The Second Text

The on-the-way text tells the customer the tech is coming, as covered in Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the HVAC Tech's Phone. The arrived text tells them the tech is here.

In HVACBossPro, the arrived text goes out automatically when the tech gets to the call. The tech does not stop to send it. Customers who chose the “when the tech arrives” alert get it. Customers who turned it off do not.

Why the Arrived Text Matters for HVAC

Almost every HVAC call needs someone to let the tech in. The arrived text helps in a few specific ways:

• Fewer unanswered doors. A phone buzzing in a pocket gets noticed when a doorbell does not.
• Less awkward waiting. The tech can start pulling tools from the van knowing the customer has been told.
• A record of arrival. If a customer says nobody showed up, the office can see the call was started and the text was sent.
• A friendlier first moment. The customer opens the door expecting the tech, not wondering who is on the porch.

Outside-Only Starts

Some calls start outside. A condenser not running, a tune-up where the tech checks the outdoor unit first. The arrived text lets the customer know the tech is on the property and working in the side yard, so a homeowner does not panic at a stranger by the fence.

Then, when the tech is ready to come inside for the air handler and thermostat, the customer already knows they are there. A knock at that point is expected.

The same goes for a tune-up on a day when the homeowner is working from home. They can keep working while the tech handles the condenser, rinses the coil and checks the electrical outside. By the time the tech needs the attic ladder or the hall closet, the customer has had a few minutes' warning and can step away from their desk without being caught off guard. Small courtesies like that are a big part of why maintenance plan customers renew year after year.

Rentals and Commercial Buildings

The arrived text is especially useful when the customer is not the person at the door.

• Rentals. A property manager might want to know when the tech reaches each house on the list. Access notes can say how to reach the tenant, and the office can let the manager know as the day moves.
• Commercial buildings. A facility contact gets the text and walks down to meet the tech at the roof access, instead of the tech waiting at the front desk.
• Absent owners. A homeowner at work who left a lockbox code gets the text and knows the tech is in.

For a property manager set to Monthly billing, the invoices for each rental roll onto one statement at the end of the month, labeled by address. The arrived texts are how they know, day to day, that the work is happening.

Alerts the Customer Chooses

HVACBossPro lets customers pick their alerts: night before, when they're next and when the tech arrives. The night-before text gets them ready. The “you're next” text gets them home. The arrived text gets them to the door.

Some customers want all three. Some only want one. Letting them choose means the texts get read instead of ignored. The office can help a customer set their preferences, and customers can change them in the customer app.

What Happens if Nobody Answers

Even with the text, sometimes nobody comes to the door. The tech waits a reasonable few minutes, tries the number on file if your company does that, and then taps Skip with a note: “Arrived 10:40, knocked and rang, no answer, arrived text sent.” The office sees the skip and the note, texts the customer and reschedules.

A clear skip note keeps the tech from losing half an hour on a porch and gives the office everything it needs. Because the customer got both the on-the-way and the arrived text, the office can follow up with confidence: the customer was told, twice, and the next step is simply finding a better day. How Skip fits with Start and Complete is covered in Start, Skip, Complete: The Three Buttons That Run an HVAC Service Day.

Small as it is, the arrived text closes the loop the on-the-way text opened. For the rest of what the tech app handles, go to the HVAC technician app overview.