Automatic On-the-Way Texts From the HVAC Tech's Phone
“We'll be there between 8 and 12” is how most HVAC appointments start. It is also why the office phone rings at 10:45 with a homeowner asking where the tech is, and why techs knock on doors where nobody answers because the customer ran to the store. An on-the-way text closes that gap.
The Text the Tech Does Not Send
Before-and-after photos tell the customer what happened after the fact, as covered in Before-and-After Photos in the HVAC Tech App: Dirty Coils, Clogged Drains and Burnt Contactors. The on-the-way text tells them what is about to happen.
In HVACBossPro, on-the-way texts go out automatically as the tech works the route. The tech does not type anything, does not pick a template and does not stop to send it from their own number. They work their list, and the customer hears from the company.
That matters because a tech who has to remember to text will forget on the busiest day, which is exactly the day it matters most.
Why HVAC Needs It More Than Most
Some trades can do the work with nobody home. HVAC mostly cannot. The air handler is inside. The thermostat is inside. The attic ladder is inside. Nearly every call needs someone to open the door.
An on-the-way text gives the homeowner a heads-up that the tech is coming soon, so they can:
- Be home, or get home.
- Put the dog up.
- Clear the boxes out of the hall closet in front of the furnace.
- Open the garage or prop open the side gate.
- Tell a tenant, if it is a rental.
Every one of those saves the tech time at the door, and some of them save the call from being skipped altogether.
It also changes how the visit starts. A homeowner who has been staring out the window since 8am, wondering if they took the day off for nothing, is not in a good mood when the tech finally arrives. A homeowner who got a text and had time to finish what they were doing opens the door relaxed. The tech walks into a better conversation, and that conversation is where tune-up recommendations and maintenance plans get discussed.
Customers Choose Their Alerts
Not every customer wants every text. HVACBossPro lets customers pick their own alerts: night before, when they're next, and when the tech arrives. A retiree who is home all day might only want the night-before reminder. A homeowner working from a coffee shop might want the “you're next” text so they can head home.
Letting the customer choose keeps the texts welcome instead of annoying. Customers who turn off what they do not need tend to read the ones they keep.
The Live Map Behind the Text
The text pairs with the customer app, where customers can see today's route on a live map: “You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away.” A customer who gets the text and wants to know more can open the app and watch the van come.
That only works if the tech follows the route order set by the office. A tech who jumps around makes the map and the texts look wrong. That is one more reason to work the list top to bottom, as covered in The HVAC Tech's Day in Route Order: Working the Call List Top to Bottom.
Replies Go to the Office
Customers reply to texts. “Running 10 min late, please wait.” “Can you come tomorrow instead?” “Gate code is 2290.” Those replies go to the office through two-way texting, not to the tech's personal phone. The office handles it and, if needed, updates the call or the access notes so the tech sees it on the card.
The tech keeps driving. Nobody is texting customers from a personal number that the customer will keep and use at 9pm on a Sunday.
Keep the Texts Plain
Text messages are billed by segment, and long messages or fancy characters can turn one text into several. Keep company messages short and plain: who is coming, roughly when, and how to reach the office. HVACBossPro plans include a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew, which covers a lot of on-the-way texts when the messages are kept short.
Texting is available for customers in the US and Canada. The arrived text that follows is covered in The Arrived Text: Letting the Homeowner Know the HVAC Tech Is at the Door.
On-the-way texts are one of the features customers notice first, and they cost the tech nothing. To see how they fit with the rest of the tech's phone, visit the HVAC technician app page.
Texts That Send Themselves
HVACBossPro sends on-the-way and arrived texts automatically, with alerts each customer chooses and replies going to the office.
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